Swift Current’s Cutter Knight reached an impressive hockey milestone when he was selected in the seventh round, 149th overall, by the Kelowna Rockets in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.
“I found out from a friend that texted me. Then I looked at the draft board and my name was there, so it was kind of funny that way,” he said. “I just told myself to go to school, don’t worry about it, and see what happens from there,” Knight added of his approach to the day.
“It’s been doing hard work on the ice every practice and the off-ice training in the summer really helped me,” said Knight when asked how he had made it this far in his hockey career.
Knight will be joining one of the Western Hockey League’s premier franchises, which has a long history of Southwest players, including the likes of Marty Flichel, Travis Moen, Ryan Cuthbert, and Kole Lind.
“It’s good. I have heard lots of good things about their organization and their coaching staff. Kelowna is a beautiful place, so I’m happy that they picked me.”
His father, Jeff Knight, played four seasons in the WHL, winning the Memorial Cup with the Swift Current Broncos in 1989.
“Yeah he’s been a huge help in my progress in my hockey career. He’s given me a lot of experience from what he has done and it’s just helped me tremendously along the way.”
The 6’1’’ defenseman has five points in 24 games with the Estevan U18 AAA Bears this season. He had five points in five games with the U15 AA Broncos last season.
“It was hard going from the Covid year straight into it, but I finally got adjusted into it and it’s been good now,” he said of the adjustment to the U18 AAA ranks.
The Bears won both games in Yorkton over the weekend and now sit ninth in the Saskatchewan U18 AAA Hockey League, four points back of the Swift Current Legionnaires for the final playoff spot.
“It’s been good. We had a rocky start to the season, but we’ve finally turned things around. It’s been fun out here,” said Knight.
It won’t be long until Knight can head to Kelowna for his first WHL training camp.
“I just have to keep working hard on the ice and especially off-ice. Going against those older guys I need to just keep putting on muscle and keep training hard.”
