What an NCAA rule change might mean for junior hockey in Sask.
12h ago
Previously, WHL players were declared ineligible to play NCAA hockey in the U.S.
The Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades each added two players to their organizations Wednesday, when the WHL held its second annual U.S. priority draft.
The Pats selected 15-year-old forward Carson McGinley with their first pick (12th overall) and 15-year-old goalie Justin Bayers with their second pick (33rd overall).
McGinley, a 5-foot-8, 134-pounder, has three goals and four assists in eight games this season with the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes 15U AAA program.
Bayers is 6-1-0 with a 2.64 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage with the Mount St. Charles Academy 15U AAA program this season. The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder hails from Westlake Village, Calif.
The Blades selected a pair of Los Angeles Jr. Kings teammates, taking defenceman Ethan Weber fifth overall and forward Samuel Houston with the 40th pick.
The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Weber has 15 goals and 13 assists in 33 games with the Jr. Kings this season. Weber, who turns 15 next Thursday, is a resident of Manhattan Beach, Calif.
The 6-foot-0, 148-pound Houston, 15, has recorded 10 goals and seven assists in 34 games with the Jr. Kings this season.
Weber and Houston come from an organization that produced current Blades defencemen Spencer Shugrue and Pasha Bocharov as well as Blades prospect Brenden Fields.
The WHL bantam draft is set for Thursday.