There's a solid chance that Brayden Pachal won't remember much of his Thursday morning health class.
The local hockey player's attention was understandably divided as he was waiting to find out which Western Hockey League team would take him in the annual bantam draft.
Pachal wasn't forced to wait long as he went late in the second round - 40th overall - to the Victoria Royals.
A defenceman on the TS&M Bantam AA Bruins this past season, Pachal was allowed to watch the results of the draft unfold during class and said he was thrilled to see his name pop up.
"Victoria is a great organization to be drafted by and I am excited for my future with them," said Pachal, 14. "It's just an honour to be drafted by Victoria."
Entering Thursday's draft Pachal said he was hoping to see his name called in the third round and was excited to exceed those expectations.
"Second round was a huge surprise. I was also pretty shocked that it was Victoria. I heard from a couple of other teams quite a bit more and Victoria only talked to me once."
Pachal has been a standout player on Estevan minor hockey teams for a number of years and enjoyed a strong 2013-2014 season with 27 points in 31 games before adding another eight points in seven playoff games. He was also chosen for the Zone 1 entry at the annual SaskFirst bantam tournament in Regina and according to many reports was among the best players at the competition.
Asked to assess his strengths as a player, the 5'11 Pachal said his skating has long been one of his best assets. However he feels his overall hockey sense improved over the course of the season to give him a more well rounded game.
"It just started to click here and it's starting to work at a faster pace so I can make quicker decisions," said Pachal, who noted he will need to get stronger over the summer as he makes the jump to the midget AAA ranks with the Moose Jaw Generals.
"Because I am going to be (a 15-year-old) playing against (16 and 17-year-olds) I am probably going to have to get a lot stronger than what I am now and get bigger and faster."
Since Thurday's draft Pachal said he had received a number of calls from the Royals' scouts and coaching staff. He said Victoria is his focus at the moment but he did not rule out other options.
"I am still keeping my options open because you never know what can happen in the future but the WHL right now would probably be my No. 1 choice but there is always that backup plan of going the SJHL route and maybe playing for the Estevan Bruins."
Pachal is the first Estevan product to be drafted since 2009 when Austin Daae was picked by the Calgary Hitmen.
He was also the lone bantam AA Bruin drafted this year. The club had two players selected in the 2013 draft as Carlyle's Kyle Sargent and Carnduff's Carter Phair saw their names called in the ninth and 10th rounds respectively.
