This year’s MJHL Bantam Draft is almost here. All 11 MJHL organizations are meeting in Neepawa this weekend for planning sessions on Saturday and then to draft the future of the league 9AM Sunday morning.
This year will be a little different for the Steinbach Pistons who won’t have the luxury of three 1st round draft picks which was the case last season. This year the Pistons hold the 10th overall pick along with picks in every round following, including an additional two picks in the third round.
“This year it is somewhat of a waiting game for us because our first pick is later then what we have been use to,” said Pistons Head Coach Paul Dyck. “In years past we have always had a high pick, this year that has changed. Now we need to sit and wait to see if the players we are watching will be available.”
Last year the Pistons selected a physical defenseman in Riley Bruce with their 2ndoverall pick, local Ste Anne product Vaughn Dupre from the Eastman Selects with their 4th overall pick and then a well-rounded blueliner in Mason Martin with the 10th pick of the first round.
Dyck says that there are no glaring holes in his 50 man list going into Sunday’s draft. He adds that they have their guys that they will be watching for, but that doesn’t mean they would be willing to select the best available if that opportunity is presented to them.
For those that want to see what every MJHL team is doing in real time on the draft day, they’re in luck because this year fans will get that unique privilege. The league has arranged to have the event televised for the first time.
The Entire event will be on NAC-TV, which is currently available in over 1.2 million homes across Canada through MTS and Bell TV services. For those without MTS or Bell TV, the draft will also be streamed live on nactv.ca
Here are the Pistons 1st overall selections dating back to their arrival in Steinbach in 2009: Riley Bruce (2014) Adam Touchette (2013), James Shearer (2012), Justin Baudry (2011), Denis Bosc (2010) and Nikolas Kobelka (2009).
(Picture Above: Pistons 2012 1st Round Pick James Shearer)