Chiefs’ draft strategy: “best available player”

When it comes to the selection process in today’s Western Hockey League bantam draft, the Spokane Chiefs are keeping it simple.

The annual draft, held in Calgary, Alberta, will give the Chiefs a glimpse at future impact players and team depth and will determine which teams have rights to players born in 1992 on the protected player list. Players selected in this year’s draft are eligible to play in five games next season.

The Chiefs will have the 12th overall pick in the first round and general manager Tim Speltz said the team is sticking with the general strategy.

“We are going to pick the best available player to us at the time,” Speltz said. “For us, we feel confident we can get one of the top guys on our list and we feel like we will be getting a really good player in the first round.”

Factors in their decisions could be the need to replace scoring power. Though they lose three key players on defense, they will gain two impact players.

The Chiefs are losing three players who turned 20 years old this season, including leading scorer Derek Ryan and defensemen Stephane Lenoski and Evan Haw.

Forward Michael Grabner (19), who has signed with the Vancouver Canucks organization, is not expected back and team captain Adam Hobson (19) was drafted by Chicago and has until June 1 to sign with the Blackhawks. Defenseman Sean Zimmerman, who has signed with the New Jersey Devils, is also not likely to return.

To help fill in the holes on defense will be 2006 top draft pick Jared Cowen and the return of oft-injured Jared Spurgeon.

After making the playoffs this year, Chiefs director of scouting and player personnel Chris Moulton said the team will do what they can to fill the holes.

“If we think we lack in a certain area – whether it be a forward or on defense – we’ll start to look for specific things,” Moulton said. “The first few rounds we try to take the best player available, and after that we may look at speed, or size, those kinds of things.”

Portland, Kelowna and the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings will have the respective first three picks in the draft. Speltz said there are five players that could potentially go first, but forward Luke Moffatt from Phoenix will likely be the top pick.