By Lorne Starko /
The Red Deer Rebels were offensively challenged during the past season and club officials sought to correct that during the 2008 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft on May 1 in Calgary.
For only the second time in franchise history, the Rebels had the first overall pick and they went back to Burnaby, B.C. for the third year in a row.
The team’s last two first bantam picks, Connor Redmond in 2007 and Landon Ferraro in 2006, are also from Burnaby.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who stands 5-10 and weighs 145 lb., was the Rebels first choice this year.
He played with the Burnaby Winter Club during the past season.
“I’m excited. It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Nugent-Hopkins on being selected first overall in the draft. “The Rebels definitely seemed interested. I recently sat down with (Rebels vice-president of hockey operations) Randy Peterson for a couple of hours. I know it’s a great organization and they treat their players very well.”
Nugent-Hopkins knows Connor Redmond quite well and says they are good friends. The pair played together in Burnaby during the 2006-2007 season.
Nugent-Hopkins says he welcomes being put in a pressure situation from Rebels fans who are passionate about the club and expect the club to win.
“I have pretty good speed and I’m just an offensive player and I get about as many assists as goals, maybe a little bit more goals. So I guess I’m more of a goal scorer.”
Nugent-Hopkins says he has always dreamed of being draft by a WHL club but never thought it would be as high as number one overall.
“Now I have more drive to train harder and get better,” says Nugent-Hopkins, who won’t eligible to play fulltime for the Rebels until the 2009-10 season. “I’m just going to work on everything and train as hard as I can all the time.”
The Rebels were gushing over Nugent-Hopkins and Peterson says he is a dynamic, explosive player who they have coveted for a while.
“We wanted to make sure we got our guy,” said Peterson. “Certainly there were some very good players in the draft, but we’re really excited about getting this kid. He’s so dynamic and he’s going to put up some numbers. We addressed our needs at this time and that was very important.”
Peterson says Nugent-Hopkins is talented and smart with good skating ability and flat out speed. He says everything they look for in today’s game, the kid brings it.
With their second pick, the Rebels chose centre Daulton Siwak of nearby Olds and he is expected to play midget triple A hockey in Red Deer next season.
“Daulton is a combination power-skill guy,” Peterson says. “He can skate and was one of the top scorers in the South Saskatchewan Bantam Hockey League. The puck is like a magnet on his stick at times. He’s going to have some real good size.”
With the rest of their picks, the Rebels went with three more centres, one left-winger and three defencemen.
The forwards are Chad Robinson of Minnedosa, Manitoba, Tyson Ness of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Colten Meaver of Edmonton and Paul Lamoureux of Sherwood Park, Alberta.
The blueliners chosen are Matthew Pufahl of Saskatoon, Channing Bresciani of Winnipeg and Colton Robak of Gilbert Plains, Manitoba.
Peterson says the focus for the Rebels was on skill, speed and hockey sense.
“We came away with four Alberta kids which is always important for us,” said Peterson. “You take the best players that are available from wherever they are. We have a pretty good read on them. We sure felt like we did our homework and found some pretty good kids that were available.”
The Rebels will get their first long look at their new prospects during rookie camp in June.
“We will orientate them to our organization, our city and our school and what it’s going to be like to be a junior hockey player and what a WHL practice is all about,” explains Peterson. “We spend a lot of time with the kids and the families. It’s really a good eye opener for the parents. We give them a look at our community, a real good hockey town.”
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