SJHL president Bill Chow announced January 1 the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League will host a bantam draft each summer.
The draft will be commencing with the league’s annual general meeting in the first week of June.
The six-round draft will go in reverse order from the final standings of the previous regular season and teams are required to have an open spot on their 50-man list in order to draft a player.
Eligible players must be of Saskatchewan residency, and completed their bantam season the previous year.
Currently, players who live within the legal boundaries of an SJHL team are protected by that team until they reach their seventeenth birthday.
Players who go undrafted can be listed by their local SJHL team upon their fifteenth birthday.
Draft eligible players can attend the spring camps of as many SJHL teams as they like.
Draft picks can be traded at any time during the season.
“One of the main reasns for the SJHL to embark on using the draft system is to ensure that it’s member teams have equal opportunity to recruit players into their franchise,” Chow said in a release.
The Battlefords North Stars are currently in position for the sixth overall pick.
