Oil Kings experience draft-lottery disappointment

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After Tuesday night’s playoff defeat with Prince Albert, the Edmonton Oil Kings are hoping for a huge victory in the Western Conference Hockey League draft lottery in 48 hours, but instead, Thursday is another gut.

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The Oil Kings are selected for the Moose Jaw Warriors after the 2024 trade deadline agreement. With the WHL champion Warriors who dominate this season in the league’s worst record (15 wins and 38 points), this makes the Oil Kings the best draft lottery odds at 57%. But they didn’t have the right bingo ball to choose from after 48 hours in Calgary’s WHL headquarters.

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Instead, Regina Pats (40 regular season points) won the lottery with a 23% chance, while the Oil Kings will be second in the May 7 draft. So Pats, who received Connor Bedard in 2020, will now welcome the newly mature, hometown center Maddox Schultz, the 15-year-old who just turned around, played the Brandt Center next door to WHL PATS Calling Home.

“The tough week is the hockey gods when you lose in Game 7,” said GM Kirt Hill of Oil King. He was obviously figuring out what Schultz scored after 44 games in Saskatchewan in 44 games next season, he played the U18 in Saskatchewan and was able to use his 34 games in 68 games next season, as he could play the U14 season in 68 games next season, as he was able to play the U14 season in 68 games next season.

“Of course everything he did in a difficult Saskatchewan league in Saskatchewan is definitely a drop thing,” Hill said. “We are certainly thinking about it, but you never put the car on the right track. We will wait before taking any action (draft lottery).

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“We also finished the eighth pick this year, so maybe two elite players in the top ten of the WHL drafts. In the U.S. First Draft, we just finished third. We chose Blake Fiddler in the year in the U.S. Draft. Last year we selected (former NHLER) Jan Hejda in the U.S. draft, and we signed him,” we said. ”

“With the new NCAA rules that allow players to leave American schools, we get a lot of American kids who want to come here,” Hill said. “It almost feels like you can have three top 10 picks right now.”

But Schultz is the highest player in the draft pool for scouts everywhere. When he first entered PATS in 2020, he was probably center Bedard of the same age. Ironically, Schultz’s praise for the Oilers shines, as he dresses up in the hall at Junior Oil Kings in Rogers Place, talking 20 minutes before the lottery results.

But this is the last time we use these Edmonton quotes.

“I’m a big fan of McDavid (Connor) and Draisaitl,” Schultz said. “But I’m probably more similar to Brayden Point or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.”

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Schultz is a great skater – his father David and Mum Vicki are personalized coaches – he scores and sets goals tightly and doesn’t cheat on defense, which will be a dazzling award. He is the leader of the U18 team and his kids are much older. “The overall consensus is usually just an offensive player in general, but Maddox is a complete player,” Hill said.

“These players have completely different dynamics for them when you choose first. They have an Alpha role that will be the leader in your junior team and the toolbox they bring is excellent.”

The last time the Oil Kings chose was in 2018, when they led winger Dylan Guenther, who helped them win the 2022 WHL championship and is now the top six wingers in Utah.

Looking back at Dylan, he has a great talent, he can shoot hockey like he doesn’t have many people, and he now does the same thing in the National Hockey League. But what impressed me the most was that we chose Dylan from Edmonton. This brought about a completely different area of ​​stress, but never affected him. ”

Hill’s trade plot before the lottery in this draft seems to fall on Regina’s path like a bingo game. He moved older forwards Rilen Kovacevic and Defenseman Voytech Port to Moose Jaw for the 2024 trade deadline, which gave him legal shots on his first choice next year. He knew the Warriors went all out to win the league title, and they did. But maybe they might collapse and burn like his Oil Kings after entering the Memorial Cup in 2022. The Oil Kings won 10 games in 2023 and started their road reconstruction with respect.

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