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2009 MJHL Bantam Draft
June 1st, 2009 - The
2009 MJHL Bantam Draft
took place yesterday
(May 31st) in The Pas,
MB. The 2009 MJHL
Bantam Draft was the
final component of the
MJHL's Annual General
Meeting weekend, and an
event that all the
member teams were
looking forward to.
All 1994 born players
living in Manitoba were
eligible for this year's
draft. With the Kings
finishing the 2008/09
season with a record of
42-16-2-2, Dauphin held
the 8th position in this
year's draft.
With their first pick,
8th overall, the Dauphin
Kings selected forward
SUTTON OLSON
from Deloraine, MB.
"Sutton is an extremely
talented individual. He
has great vision on the
ice and is an excellent
passer," says Kings'
Head Coach and Assistant
G.M. Marlin Murray.
"The puck always seems
to be around him and
he is always a factor in
big games." Sutton is
projected to play with
the Southwest Cougars of
the MMHL next season.
The Kings second
selection in 2009 was
forward CAMERON
ROWAT from
Souris, MB. Coach
Murray had this to say
about the 16th overall
selection. "Cameron
will be an excellent Jr
A player. He is very
gifted offensively and
is great around the
net. He plays in all
situations and is
projected to be a thirty
goal scorer someday with
us."
The Dauphin Kings then
traded up in the draft
in order to secure the
player they were after.
Dauphin traded their 5th
round pick to the Saints
in order to obtain their
2nd round pick. With
that pick, the Kings
selected defenseman
REID BURAK
of Morden, MB. "In
order to acquire Reid,
we felt we had to trade
up in the draft. We
like Reid a lot,"
explains Murray. "He is
a defenseman who moves
the puck well and he can
play on the power play
and penalty kill. He
has an excellent net
presence in the
defensive zone and plays
with a lot of grit."
Round 3 saw the Kings
pick up a top end
goaltender when
they selected
BRIAN ARCHIBALD
of Killarney, MB 30th
overall. "Brian is the
best rural goaltender in
the province for his age
group. He could develop
into a big time
goaltender. He is
always square to the
puck and we like his
rebound control," says
Murray.
The next round saw
Dauphin select
defenseman
MITCHELL THOMPSON
of Wawanesa, MB. When
asked about Mitchell,
Coach Murray had this to
say. "Mitchell is a
big, strong,
right-handed defenseman
who does everything
well. He plays a very
physical game and makes
good first passes. We
project him to be a very
good defenseman and a
tough customer."
Having traded their 5th
round pick to the
Saints, the Kings
selected defenseman
CAREY MORRISON
of Winnipeg, MB in the
6th round. Morrison
played with the Winnipeg
AAA Hawks last season.
"Carey is an excellent
defenseman who moves the
puck extremely well. He
has hockey smarts second
to none and never panics
with the puck. Carey
will be a very good Jr A
player," says Murray.
The Kings selected
another Winnipeg player
with their 7th round
pick, when they selected
forward SEAN
HIGGINS. Sean
played for the Winnipeg
AAA Sharks during the
2008/09 season.
"Higgins is a 5 foot 10
forward who will be one
of the hardest workers
game in and game out,"
explains Murray. "His
work ethic is admirable
and he is a very good
penalty killer."
Having traded both their
8th and 9th round picks
to the Selkirk Steelers
in previous trades, the
Kings waited until the
10th and final round to
select forward
DYLAN McCOMBIE,
of Flin Flon, MB. Coach
Murray was very excited
that Dylan was still
available in the 10th
round. "We feel this
player could be the
steal of the draft. We
had him ranked in our
top 12 rural forwards.
He looked great at our
spring camp and we think
other teams stayed away
from him because of
wrist injuries. He
broke his wrist twice
last year and doctors
say that his wrist was
not set properly the
first time. Having now
seen a specialist, the
doctors feel he should
have no problem in the
future with his wrist.
Dylan is a forward with
a huge skill level,
skates very well and can
put the puck in the
net."
Please check
mjhlhockey.ca for
all of this year's draft
results.
With the draft now
complete, the Kings
shift their focus to
their off-season
recruiting. Make sure
you visit
dauphinkings.com
for updates on all the
latest Kings
news throughout the
off-season.
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