Chiefs tab Wahl in draft

The Spokane Chiefs selected forward Mitch Wahl with the fourth overall selection in the first round of Thursday’s Western Hockey League Bantam Draft in Calgary, Alberta.

Wahl, 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, played with the Los Angeles-based California Wave Bantam AAA team.

“I’m very excited to be picked by Spokane,” Wahl told the Chiefs from his home in Seal Beach, Calif. “I have looked at every option out there and feel that this route is the best choice for me.”

Through the end of March, Wahl had scored 42 goals and 69 points in 42 games of regular-season play. In four games at the Tier I National Championships in Bensenville, Ill., Wahl led the tournament in scoring with four goals and 14 points.

Wahl’s selection is the second year in a row that Spokane has turned to an American-born player with its first-round pick. Drayson Bowman, the eighth overall selection in 2004, is originally from Denver.

In the second round, the Chiefs picked defenseman Mike Reddington of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. He was named MVP of the Western Canadian Bantam AAA Championships after scoring three goals and eight points in five games.

“We were very excited to get the chance to pick our first two players,” Ray Dudra, Chiefs director of player personnel, said in a team press release. “We thought Wahl was the best player in the draft and we had Reddington rated very highly and were ecstatic that he was available when we selected in the second round.”

In the third round, Spokane selected goaltender Darcy Kuemper of the Saskatoon Bobcats. Kuemper, who posted a goals-against average of 2.91 and save percentage of .912 in 13 games this past season, was the fourth goaltender taken in the draft.The Chiefs picked center Rylan Schwartz of Wilcox, Saskatchewan, in the fourth round.

In the fifth round, the Chiefs had two picks: Andrew Maguire, a forward from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Evan Renwick, a defenseman from Calgary.

The Chiefs drafted a local player in the 11th round, Tyler Johnson, who played last season with the Spokane Bantam AA Braves.

“Tyler is a player with great upside skill,” said Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz. “He understands the game and is very responsible. He is a small player right now, but we’re confident that he will get bigger.”

Dudra was pleased with the players selected during the day.

“It was a long day, but there sure is a consensus amongst our scouts that we had a very good draft,” Dudra said. “We started the day with two guys that we had rated very highly and we were able to address a number of issues, including size and skill.”