No. 1 pick isn’t ruling out Spokane

The Spokane Chiefs used the first overall pick in the Western Hockey League bantam draft Thursday to pick heralded defenseman Jared Cowen of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Now the team must wait to see if Cowen is willing to actually play in Spokane. The 15-year-old and his family want Cowen to play for an Eastern Conference team and asked that Spokane not select him.

Cowen, however, was the consensus No. 1 prospect among league scouts and Spokane held that pick. To the Chiefs, it was a no-brainer.

“It wasn’t a situation for us where there were a group of (equal) players – he separated himself from the rest,” said Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz.

Speltz said the team didn’t try to trade the pick but was approached by other teams about it because of the situation. None of the offers was adequate, so Spokane selected the 6-foot-5, 190-pounder.

Now the real work begins.

“We see this as a two-step process,” Speltz said. “The first part is to identify the player, the second part is to recruit him.”

Cowen said after his selection that he’s keeping an open mind about the situation, having talked with former Chiefs player Steven Gillen and Chiefs prospect Darcy Kuemper.

“I would say it’s not a totally bad thing, but it’s something I need to think about some more,” Cowen said. “It’s not like it’s a totally negative thing.”

Cowen said he plans on reporting to Chiefs training camp in late August – at least to see the city and assess the organization. The family’s advisor – agent Rick Valette of Octagon Sports in Edmonton, Alberta – said later in the day that Cowen won’t play any games for Spokane.

“The organization is fine. The city is great. It’s important for the fans to understand that it’s not about Spokane,” said Valette, a former general manager with Prince Albert of the WHL. “The issue is that this is a close-knit family. Mom and Dad work 8 to 5, Monday through Friday, and they want the opportunity to see him play more than a handful of times over the course of his junior career.”

Cowen played up a level on a midget-age team this season and will play there next season. In the WHL, players aren’t eligible to play a full regular season until their 16-year-old season – the fall of 2007 for Cowen.

“We’ve got a year and a half to try and resolve this,” said Valette.

The Chiefs agree, to a point, that decisions don’t have to be made quickly.

“We’re in no hurry with this process,” Speltz said. “At the end of the day, the kid and his family have to be comfortable with it. We just want to make sure he makes an educated decision.”

In the second round, the Chiefs selected Burke Gallimore, a high-scoring right wing from Edmonton, Alberta, who was projected by many scouts to be a first-round pick. Gallimore, 5-11, 165 pounds, had 57 goals and 51 assists – a whopping 108 points – playing at the Bantam AAA level this season.

The Chiefs made 10 total picks over eight rounds, filling out their 50-player protected list.