The Swift Current Broncos selected a pair of players from British Columbia in the opening round of the 2019 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft in Red Deer on Thursday.
The Broncos opened their day by using 14th pick to select Richmond, BC forward Mathew Ward. The 5’7” centre had 24 goals, 40 assists in 30 games with Delta Bantam Prep this season.
The Broncos used the 21st pick to grab Kelowna’s Tyson Jugnauth, a 5’9 defenseman who played for the Central Rockets.
“We are very excited, both are very skilled players,” said Broncos Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Dean Brockman.
The first round was uncharacteristically filled with trades as five deals were made in the first 11 picks alone.
The Winnipeg Ice opened the draft by selecting forward Matthew Savoie with the first overall pick. They also traded into the second spot to draft Manitoban forward Conor Geekie.
The Prince George Cougars used the third pick to take the first defenseman of the day when they selected Sherwood Park’s Keaton Dowhaniuk.
The first round was comprised of 14 forwards, and 8 defenseman. Regionally, British Columbia led the way with 11 players selected, followed by Alberta with seven, Manitoba with three and one from Saskatchewan.
The Broncos added goaltender Reid Dyck with the opening pick of the third round, the 45th overall pick. The 6’2’’ Winkler, MB product posted a 3.44 goals against average and a .912 save percentage with the Pembina Valley Hawks Bantam AAA team this season.
The Broncos used the 46th pick to select defenseman Sam Court from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The 5’5’’ blueliner registered 13 goals and 25 assists in 33 games with the Winnipeg Monarchs Bantam AAA team this season.
The Broncos used their third pick in the third round to select Josh Davies 54th overall. The Airdrie forward had 29 points in 28 games with the Edge School Bantam Prep in the CSSHL this past season.
Congratulations to Edge Bantam Prep Forward Josh Davies on being drafted to the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL Draft today! pic.twitter.com/h2g1apvIUy
— Edge School (@edgeschool) May 2, 2019
The Broncos opened the fourth round by selecting forward Josh Filmon with the 67th overall pick. The 5’10’’ Winnipeg native had 28 points in 29 games with the Rink Hockey Bantam Prep in the CSSHL.
Extremely exited to be part of the @SCBroncos organization. Can’t wait to get started. #broncosintheback
— Josh filmon (@joshfilmonn) May 5, 2019
They used their second pick of the fourth round to select Sherwood Park centre Ty Hurley 84th overall. The 5’5’’ forward registered 25 goals and 18 assists in 33 games with the Sherwood Park Bantam AAA Flyers.
The Broncos used the 111th pick to select defenseman Karson King to open the sixth round. The Warren, MB product racked up 21 goals and 20 assists in 35 games with the Interlake Bantam AAA Lightning this past season.
The Broncos used their seventh round pick to select forward Connor Hvidston 133rd overall. The 5’10’’ forward from Tisdale led the North East Wolfpack with 27 goals and 30 assists in 31 regular season games. He added four points in three playoff games.
The Broncos used their 10th pick of the day to select defenseman Owen Pickering with the 177th pick overall to open the ninth round. The 5’7’’ St. Adolphe, MB product registered 17 points in 35 games with the Eastman Bantam AAA Selects.
The Broncos 2019 draft class was comprised of five forwards, four defenseman, and one goaltender. They selected five players from Manitoba, two from both British Columbia and Alberta and one from Saskatchewan.
