With no picks until the third round Friday, the Battlefords North Stars had a simple approach to things during the 2017 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League bantam draft in Nipawin.
“We took a look at the list that (head coach and general manager) Nate (Bedford), the other scouts and I complied and we tried to pick the best possible player with each pick that we had,” North Stars scout Wylie Riendeau said.
“It’s always tough when you are drafting bantam aged kids each year, but I think we did a pretty good job, especially with our first pick in the third round.”
With the 32nd overall pick, which was acquired from the Humboldt Broncos at the trade deadline in January along with prospect Mathew Fletcher and a player development fee in exchange for forward Brett Horn, the North Stars selected forward Steven Kesslering.
The Viceroy native was the captain for the Weyburn Bantam AA Red Wings and had 40 points in 30 regular season contests.
He was also drafted in the ninth round of the Western Hockey League’s bantam draft in May by the Kelowna Rockets.
“His older brother (Matthew) plays for Estevan, so we thought that the Bruins might have taken him in the first two rounds,” Riendeau said.
“He’s a big power forward that competes really well and he was a dominant force in the playoffs for Weyburn, especially in the first round against Moose Jaw, as he was the biggest reason they were able to pull off the upset.”
With their second pick in the third round, the North Stars became the first team to select a goaltender during the draft, as they chose Saskatoon native Carter Serhyenko with the 36th overall selection.
He played for the Saskatoon Stallions last season and had a 7-8-2 record with a 4.05 goals against average.
“Carter’s a very big goalie,” Riendeau said. “He’s 6’2” and he moves very well. He faced a lot of shots this year with the Stallions, but he had a very good SaskFirst tournament (in April in Regina) and he’s been added to the top 40 camp this summer for a chance to make the provincial Under-16 team.
“He’s also going to be playing for the Battlefords AAA Stars this coming season, which works out pretty nicely for us. If we have an injury or we need a guy to come in for a practice, he’ll be right there.”
The North Stars selected a defenceman in the fourth round, as they picked Saskatoon’s Walter Somers with the 48th overall selection.
With his hometown Generals, Somers had nine points in 29 games last season.
“I really like him,” Riendeau said. “He’s tough in front of the net and plays with an edge, which is the type of guy that Nate likes.
“I know he only had nine points this year, but I think he has a lot more offensive upside than those numbers indicate.”
With the 60th overall pick in the fifth round, the North Stars drafted Regina forward Adam Kydd, who put up 41 points in 30 games as the captain for the Regina Pat Blues.
“Adam skates pretty well and has good hands, but his biggest asset is his intelligence, as he sees the ice really well,” Riendeau said.
“He’s a bit more of a play maker compared to Kesslering, who is more of a goal scorer.”
The North Stars rounded out the draft by taking Pierceland’s Kaleb Brunet with the 72nd and final pick of the day in the sixth round.
Brunet spent last season in the Midget AA ranks with the Meadow Lake Stampeders, where he had 15 points in 27 games.
“It’s a similar route that our second round pick from last year Dylan Esau took,” Riendeau said. “I’m not sure that very many teams saw him play this year.
“There’s a lot of potential there as he’s a very physical player who skates extremely well. The best comparison that I can give for him if everything turns out well and he continues to improve, is that he could be like a Troy Gerein.”
A total of 71 players were selected by the 12 SJHL teams Friday, in what was the third bantam draft that the league has held.
“I think this year’s group of players was a pretty strong one,” Riendeau said. “I think you’ll see a number of these picks making an impact in the SJHL or in other junior leagues around the country in the future.”
The La Ronge Ice Wolves had the first overall pick in the draft and selected Prince Albert defenceman Alex Ozar, who had 35 points with the Prince Albert Bantam AA Raiders this past season and was a fifth round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL Bantam Draft.
The North Stars had dealt away their first two picks in the draft in trades.
Their first round pick (12th overall) was dealt to the La Ronge Ice Wolves at the trade deadline in January along with prospects Austin Shumanski, MacKenzie Donovan, Shane Hounsell and a player development fee.
The North Stars acquired Jared Blaquiere and Zach Nedelec as they strengthened up the roster on their way to the Canalta Cup championship.
The Ice Wolves would go on to select Meadow Lake forward Skylar Olson, who had 15 points this past season with the Rink Hockey Academy in Winnipeg.
The North Stars second round pick (24th overall) was dealt to the Weyburn Red Wings, who drafted Warman forward Jesse Nash, who had 38 points for the Sask Valley Vipers.
That deal took place at last year’s draft, which saw the North Stars pick up a third round pick in 2016 that originally belonged to the Melfort Mustangs.
Weyburn had originally acquired that pick in a trade for forward Colton Adam, who has spent the last two seasons with the Assiniboia Southern Rebels in the Prairie Junior Hockey League and has yet to play a SJHL game.
With that third round pick, which ended up being the 31st overall selection last year, the North Stars drafted forward Aaron Toews.
The Swift Current product had 18 points in 18 games last season for the Swift Current Midget AA Hurricanes.
