MOOSE JAW -- It was a wild and chaotic day of trades and deals for Saskatchewan teams through the first round of the Western Hockey League Prospects Draft.
The Regina Pats got things started with a massive trade that ended up landing them two exceptional status players with the top three picks, and you can read about all that right here.
The Swift Current Broncos and Saskatoon Blades saw that happen and apparently said ‘hold my drink’ before getting to work on their own major deals.
The Broncos struck first with a huge trade prior to the 15th pick, sending overage forward Luke Mistelbacher and defenceman Grayson Burzinski to the Brandon Wheat Kings for 2009-born forward Alex Letourneau, the aforementioned 15th selection, a second round pick in 2025, third round pick in 2027, third round pick in 2028 and sixth round pick in 2028.
Swift Current then sent the 15th pick to Saskatoon for the 2025 first round 22nd overall pick, fourth round 72nd and fifth round 93rd picks.
It was the second major deal of the day after the Broncos sent overagers Brady Birnie and Nolan Stevenson to Penticton as part of the Vees expansion draft.
The Blades then used the 15th selection to pick Kain Martiniuk from Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U. A 5-foot-11, 157-pound forward from Peachland, B.C., Martiniuk had 44 goals and 80 points in 57 games while also racking up 110 penalty minutes.
Things settled down from there, with the remaining Saskatchewan team picks coming in order and without trades.
The Prince Albert Raiders had the 16th pick and added Athens Shingoose from Rink Hockey Academy Winnipeg. The 5-foot-6, 128-pound forward had 31 goals and 60 points in 32 games playing U15 in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, and then added another four goals and five points in three games with the U17 AAA Rink Academy team.
The Moose Jaw Warriors were up next with the 18th selection and kept it in-province, adding Kash Elke from the Humboldt U15 AA Broncos. A 6-foot-2, 165-pound forward hailing from Lanigan, Elke led the Broncos in every offensive category, putting up 33 goals and 66 points in 29 games.
The Broncos were back on the board with the 22nd overall pick, and they added Cohenn Rotar from the Grande Peace Storm U15 AAA team from the Alberta Elite Hockey League. A 5-foot-7, 137-pound forward, Rotar had 34 goals and 67 points in 34 games for the Storm and added another four goals and 10 points in 10 league and provincial playoff games.
Regina then had the final pick of the first round of the draft, selecting Logan Henry 23rd overall. A 5-foot-10, 186-pound centre from Prince George, Henry had 32 goals and 51 points in 31 games for Burnaby Winter Club 15 Prep, while also racking up 116 penalty minutes.
The WHL Prospects Draft resumes at the conclusion of the U.S. Priority Draft on Thursday morning, with the Priority Draft beginning at 9 a.m. You can follow along with all the picks from both drafts at www.whl.ca.
