Neepawa ready for MJHL draft
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- Published on Friday, June 3, 2016
Representatives from the MJHL & the 11 member clubs gathered in Neepawa last year for the annual bantam draft.
This year’s event takes place this weekend in Selkirk.
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner
Months of extensive research and hard work by the scouting staff of the Neepawa Natives is set to culminate at the 2016 Manitoba Junior Hockey League bantam draft. Neepawa comes into this year’s draft, which will take place this weekend in Selkirk, with the first pick in the opening round. General manager Myles Cathcart said the team has been doing a lot of work in preparation for the selection.
“We’ve been quite busy throughout the off-season. Watching the top prospects and speaking with those that we have an interest in. It’s been well over 500 games among all the representatives with the team,” said Cathcart. “It’s all headed up by [Director of player personnel/head scout] Byron Billett, who has been in and out of the rinks quite a bit. Myself, along with Byron and the rest of the scouting staff got together [on Tuesday, May 31] to go over the results of all that time and effort and formulate our final plan for the draft.”
As for who will be chosen by Neepawa this season, Cathcart acknowledges the club has narrowed its focus on a few specific options, though he is keeping those names close to the vest. He does note however, that drafting the right person is more than simply picking the best available player.
“There are a few specific players we have interest in and we’ve been working the phones a lot lately. Byron has been talking with those players and their parents. Gauging their interest in coming to Neepawa and checking on their availability as well. Because these players can also be drafted already by teams in the major juniors, such as the Western Hockey League. General rule of thumb is fourth round and later are more likely to be a viable option. There are also scholarship options. Some player may choose to go the scholastic route. That’s why it’s more than just watching them play. You need to be aware of what the player’s goals are. You ensure you’re educated to ensure you make the best picks that you can,” Cathcart said.
As for the players selected by the team during the 2015 draft, which was held in Neepawa last June, Cathcart said after another year of development, those names could be on the backs of Natives jerseys this season.
“Going into this year’s training camp, our selections from 2015 will be coming in and ready to prove themselves. Our first pick, Mackenzie Belinski and Sam Stewart, who was our second selection, are a year older and a year more experienced. All our picks from last year are ready to move up and take a legitimate shot at cracking the lineup this year,” said Cathcart. “The core of any good team in the MJHL has been assembled through the draft. We as an organization have built up our prospects list over the past few years and that hard work is starting to show itself in the lineup.”
Cathcart concluded by noting that this is a solid draft class with several extremely talented players out there who would be a welcome addition to the roster. Cathcart stressed the club is optimistic they’ll select someone who will be a good fit with the Natives and their young core of talented players.
