Bantam Draft Sees Chiefs Pick Center
The Spokane Chiefs made Blake Evans, a hard-hitting, goal-scoring center from Smiley, Sask., their first pick in the Western Hockey League bantam draft Thursday, then made a deal to cover themselves down the road.
The Chiefs sent a second-round pick to the new Calgary Hitmen, who in return agreed not to take a Chiefs player in the May 25 expansion draft.
Evans was the seventh pick of the draft and the first of Spokane’s two first-round selections.
“That’s great,” Evans said Thursday afternoon from his parents’ home in Smiley, a community of about 100. “I thought I might go somewhere from eighth to 12th. I had calls from Swift Current, Seattle and Moose Jaw - just checking to see if I was interested in playing in the WHL. I definitely am.”
Evans, who turns 15 on July 2, said he expected to play next year in North Battleford or Saskatoon.
The Chiefs used their other first round choice - the 15th selection of the draft - on Ty Jones, a 6-3, 200-pound center from Eagle River, Alaska. Jones has ties to Spokane. His father Terry attended Central Valley schools.
The bantam draft is for players born in 1980. Jones has a 1979 birthday but was eligible because for the first time, U.S. players were included in the draft, Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said.
Babcock said Evans has the balance and agility to work well in traffic.
“He has an excellent shot and handles the puck with a lot of confidence,” the coach said. “He’s a big guy (6-foot, 180) with good hands who skates at high speed.”
Spokane used its second-round choice - the 22nd overall - on Kyle Rossiter, a 6-1, 195-pound defenseman from the Edmonton suburb of Sherwood Park.
They sent to Calgary the 43rd pick to avoid losing a player to the Hitmen in the expansion draft.
“That finalizes the trade for Bryan McCabe,” Babcock said. Spokane gave up McCabe for defenseman Adam Magarell, Trevor Chernecki, a prospect who’ll report here next August as a 17-year-old, Jones and the agreement that a Spokane player won’t go in the expansion draft.
McCabe, the all-star defenseman traded Feb. 2, is with the Brandon Wheat Kings, who open their best-of7 series with the Kamloops Blazers tonight for the WHL championship.
Spokane’s other selections:
Third round - Chad Jensen, 5-10, 150, center, Carstairs, Alberta; Regan Darby, 6-2, 170, defenseman, Swift Current, Sask.
Fourth round - Shawn Fleming, 5-11, 165, goaltender, Regina, Sask.
Fifth round - David Erickson, 5-7, 150, defenseman, Kamloops, B.C.; Marvin Foth, 6-0, 170, defenseman, Saskatoon, Sask.
Seventh round - Brent Stewart, 5-10, 170, right wing, Cut Knife, Sask.
Eighth round - Jarrett Fleming, 5-9, 150, center, Calgary.
Tenth round - Nick Szadkowski, 6-0, 200, right wing, Victoria.
Bantam players are at least a year away from playing in Spokane. Spokane’s top pick a year ago was forward Derek Schutz, who played two games with the Chiefs this season.