ESTEVAN — The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins were busy during the SJHL's Draft Day June 10.
The team made six selections, with one pick in the two-round draft for 2010-born players, and five selections over the six rounds for 2009-born talent. Estevan also pulled off two trades involving picks.
With their lone pick in the 2010-born draft, the Bruins selected forward Taren Anderson of the Pilot Butte Storm 15th overall. Anderson, a Pilot Butte product, finished the 2024-25 season with 50 points (29 goals, 21 assists) in 26 games, while adding 66 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, he registered 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 11 games to help lead the Storm to a U15 AA provincial championship.
Anderson was also recognized as a leader on his team and in his community as the 2024-25 recipient of the Prairie Storm Minor Hockey Adam Herold Merit Award.
Bruins head coach and GM Drew Kocur said getting Anderson at the 15th pick was one of the real highlights of the day.
“We were very happy with our selection getting Taren,” Kocur said. “He’s skilled and can score, he can skate well and has good hockey IQ. He also has some good size to him already and is fresh off a U15 AA provincial championship, so we’re looking forward to seeing Taren’s development grow in the next few years.”
The Bruins sent the third overall pick in the 2010-born draft to the Kindersley Klippers in exchange for the fifth overall selection in the 2009-born draft, giving the club a first-round selection.
“For us, we just felt that we needed to have a first-round pick in the 2009 draft so making a move with Kindersley to move up in that draft was important and we were happy with the trade,” Kocur said.
The Bruins then used the fifth pick to draft 15-year-old forward Ramy Borowsky. Already 6'1" and weighing 194 pounds, Borowsky brings some valuable size and skill to the prospect pipeline, according to Kocur.
“Ramy is a good young player, he skates well, has good size, and has a lot of potential to be a really good hockey player in our league. He came to our spring camp and we believed he wanted to be a Bruin so that was a plus as well.”
A Martensville product, Browosky made the jump to U18 AAA with the Tisdale Trojans last season. With the Trojans, he put up 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 44 games as a 15-year-old rookie, and added an assist in three playoff contests.
The Bruins next two selections came following another trade. This time, Estevan sent their 15th overall pick in the 2009 draft to the Humboldt Broncos in exchange for the 18th and 30th overall selections. The team then used those picks to draft defenceman Orsen Poll and goaltender Adam Muntain, respectively.
“We wanted to add another pick in the draft and we felt it was the right time to make a move,” Kocur said of the trade. “Poll is a really solid defenceman with great size who moves the puck well and should be a real threat in the SJHL in years to come. Muntain is a good goalie who wanted to be an Estevan Bruin, so that made the decision easy. He played a big part on the Regina Pat Canadians and all of their success this season.”
Poll, a native of White City, is a right-shot defenceman who put up eight points (two goals, six assists) in 44 games as a 15-year-old rookie with the Yorkton Maulers U18 AAA team last season. His efforts also saw him take home the Maulers’ Mr. Versatility Award for his all-round contributions to the team.
Muntain is coming off a strong rookie season at the U18 AAA level. Suiting up with the national-champion Pat Canadians, he posted a 14-2 record in 2024-25, along with a 3.00 goals against average and .889 save percentage.
The Bruins drafted forward Cash Arcand-Vandale from Saskatoon with the 51st overall pick. Arcand-played his first full season of U18 AAA with the Saskatoon Contacts in ’24-25, posting 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 29 games as a rookie.
Kocur said of all the players selected, Arcand-Vandale could be the most prepared to step in and see some action with the Bruins next season.
“Cash was a late pick for us as we know he’s a second rounder to the Red Deer Rebels [of the Western Hockey League]. He’s a gamer who works hard and is skilled and we hope to see him play some games with the Bruins this upcoming season.”
With their sixth and final pick of the day, the Bruins selected defenceman Kane Bechard from the Regina Rangers U18 AA program. A right-shot defender officially listed at 5'10", 150 pounds, Bechard finished the 2024-25 season with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 32 games with the Rangers last season.
Kocur said on the whole, the team is very pleased with how they fared on draft day and the prospects they were able to add to the organization.
“Just want to say our scouting staff did an excellent job, and we are very happy with how the draft went,” he said. “[Our scouts] are some of the best in the business and we look forward to the next few years as these players hopefully become Bruins.”
