The Burnaby Winter Club drew plenty of attention and talk at last week’s Western Hockey League bantam draft.
The BWC tier 1 Bruins saw eight of 12 players eligible for this year’s 15-year-old selection process picked by WHL teams, with a pair going in the first round.
Right winger Sasha Mutala and centre Massimo Rizzo were chosen sixth and 15th overall, giving the program two first rounders and its best showing since 2013.
Not surprising, since the Bruins copped the 2016 Western Canadian title.
“I’m extremely happy,” said Rizzo, a North Burnaby native. “I was watching it online, both nervous and excited.
“It’s great to be chosen by a great program like (Kamloops) and I feel very lucky.”
Mutala, a Vancouver native, was selected by the Tri-City Americans. During the Western Canadian championships, the 6-foot-tall right winger contributed four goals and three assists over five games en route to being awarded the MVP award.
In 64 games, he led the league with 97 goals and 100 assists.
“Sasha is a highly skilled, dynamic forward with good size,” said Tri-City general manager Bob Tory in a press release. “He is an explosive offensive player that has a very high compete level.”
Rizzo, who skated on a line with Josh O’Keefe and Ryan Denney, led all point getters during the tournament with three goals and eight assists, after compliling 60 goals and 77 assists during the 61-game season.
“This was the first year we played together, although I played against (O’Keefe) before,” said Rizzo. “My focus was just to get better on the ice through the year and win a title.”
At 5-foot-10, Rizzo worked diligently to get stronger, having lost much of the 2014-15 season when he broke his left wrist, then suffered a dislocated shoulder soon after returning.
While he’ll attend Kamloops’ camp in June, as a soon-to-be 15 year old Rizzo’s next step is likely going to see him skate with the BWC’s under-18 academy program.
“(Rizzo) is creative with the puck and exciting to watch, as he plays at a high tempo,” remarked Blazers director of player personnel Matt Recchi.
Going in the second round, 34th overall, was forward and Burnaby resident Henrik Rybinski to Medicine Hat, while O’Keefe was chosen 106th overall, in the fifth round, by the Moose Jaw Warriors. Moose Jaw also took defenceman Alex Sukunda in the sixth round, while Victoria grabbed two players -- centre Elan Bar-Lev-Wise at 132nd overall, and BWC tier 2 winger Isaac Alvarado, with the 154th pick. Saskatoon drafted Denney with the 135th selection, while Calgary chose blueliner Juliano Santalucia, at 144th overall.
BWC bantam head coach John Batchelor wasn’t surprised that so many of his players were chosen, having seen past teams fill the draft board. In fact, as he attended the event in Calgary and his players’ names kept getting called out, Batchelor took some gracious ribbing.
“I was getting ribbed all day, like ‘What is this, the Burnaby Winter Club draft?’
“This group was so good this year, there was no ‘I’ guys on this team,” he added. “We had as many high profile players on this team as in the past who are going to have futures in hockey.”
Batchelor said that for those drafted and those disappointed at not getting selected, last week’s event was just one day. The opportunities ahead remain open for those who want it most.
“For some, getting drafted is a great carrot at the end of the stick,” the coach noted. “They’ve all accomplished something but it’s just one step. You get one day of feeling pretty good about yourself.”
He described Mutala as “a goal scorer. He can score from anywhere, he’s got that good of a shot, with a quick release. He may be the best goal scorer I have ever had.”
Rizzo, meanwhile, was a workhorse who really applied himself to getting better all-around.
“He was on a line with Denney and O’Keefe and they became better players halfway through the year when they realized there was more to learn,” said Batchelor. “Ninety per cent of the game is possession, but for these three it was maybe like 97 per cent.”
For those that didn’t get selected, the BWC coach, who also scouts for the Medicine Hat Tigers, said there are still opportunities to move upward.
“I feel sad for the guys who didn’t get drafted… This was just one day and none of these players are guaranteed anything,” Batchelor said. “Something like 30 per cent of the (players in the) league went undrafted, including some of the better players. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
