The annual league meetings for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) will look very different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meetings, scheduled for June 4th-6th in Nipawin, have either been postponed, pushed back, or moved to a virtual setting. As of May 28th, the only item on the agenda with a date publicly set is the annual SJHL Bantam Draft scheduled for Saturday, June 5th. It will be the first SJHL activity since March 12th, when the 2020 playoffs were officially postponed and subsequently cancelled.
The Estevan Bruins currently hold six picks entering the draft, including the 7th overall pick in Round 1 as the 12 SJHL teams will select in reverse-order of the 2019/20 final regular season standings. The management staff, including Jason Tatarnic (Head Coach/GM), Todd Ripplinger (Head Scout), and Dustin Wlaz (Director of Player Personnel) will be tasked with making the selections.
The Bruins have six picks in total:
Round 1 – (1)
Round 2 – (1)
Round 3 – (0)
Round 4 – (2)
Round 5 – (1)
Round 6 – (1)
The 2020 SJHL Draft will be done virtually from each team’s home town on June 5th beginning at 1:00pm. However, for the first time, the SJHL Draft will be broadcast on SaskTel maxTV on Live Local channels 48 & 348 (HD). More details on how to watch will be released before June 5th.
The SJHL Draft began in 2015. The Bruins have had four players from the draft suit up for the team, including Austin King-Cunningham (11th) and Devan Harrison (39th) who were selected in the inaugural draft and are each entering their final season of Junior A eligibility.
Listed below are all the past selections by the Estevan Bruins in the SJHL Bantam Draft since 2015.
2019 (2004-born)
McKale Paul – D (Round 1, 10th overall)
Parker Lalonde – F (Round 2, 18th overall)
Carter Dereniwsky – F (Round 4, 38th overall)
Seth Dragan – F (Round 4, 41st overall)
Ben Schmidt – F (Round 5, 51st overall)
Nolan Flamand – F (Round 6, 62nd overall)
James Venne – G (Round 6, 63rd overall)
Brady Bye – D (Round 6, 66th overall)
2018 (2003-born)
Turner McMillen – F (Round 1, 10th overall)
Blake Heward – D (Round 4, 45th overall)
Drayden Ramage – G (Round 5, 57th overall)
Cole Sillinger – F (Round 6, 69th overall)
2017 (2002-born)
Cal Caragata – F (Round 1, 3rd overall)
Johnny Carmichael – F (Round 1, 9th overall)
Lucius Schmidt – D (Round 4, 47th overall)
Nicholas Steciuk – F (Round 5, 57th overall)
Robert Pizzey – F (Round 5, 58th overall)
Damion Lindskog – G (Round 6, 66th overall)
*Cody Davis – F (Round 6, 69th overall)
2016 (2001-born)
Dylan Hull – D (Round 1, 8th overall)
Eric Houk – F (Round 2, 20th overall)
**Jack Michell – D (Round 4, 44th overall)
2015 (2000-born)
Kyler Douglas – D (Round 1, 3rd overall)
*Austin King-Cunningham – D (Round 1, 11th overall)
Connor Hayward – D (Round 2, 15th overall)
Kade Eger – F (Round 3, 27th overall)
*Devan Harrison – D (Round 4, 39th overall)
Tyler Brazeau – F (Round 5, 51st overall)
* currently playing with the Bruins
**played with the Bruins, traded to Flin Flon on January 10th, 2019