Entering the day, the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings only had five draft picks between the 2007 and 2008 born drafts. Thanks to some trades on the day of the draft, the Red Wings acquired two more picks, two players that will bolster the lineup heading into the 2023-24 season, and a 2007 prospect.

Starting with the trades, the Red Wings traded away the 17th overall pick along with a player development fee to the La Ronge Ice Wolves in exchange for the 32nd overall pick and 20-year-old forward Jacob Visentini. Last year with the Ice Wolves, Visentini played 52 games with 10G-20A-30P along with 5 points in 6 games in the playoffs.

Visentini is heading into his third year of Jr. A hockey so far, originally playing 6 games with the Grande Prairie Storm of the AJHL before being traded to La Ronge. He brings great vision on the ice, and while he stands at 5’9, he isn’t afraid to mix things up in front of the net and take a bit of a beating to score goals that will earn him a spot in the top 6 forwards. He’s also a volunteer firefighter.

Also to start the day, the Red Wings acquired 18-year-old defenceman Isaiah Arnold from the Kindersley Klippers in exchange for future considerations. Drafted fourth overall in the 2020 draft by the Klippers, Arnold had a 6G-21A-27P in 44 games from the blue line with the Warman Wildcats AAA U18 program.

Although he hasn’t played a game of Jr. A hockey yet, he will be a major asset for the Red Wings next season. As an offensive defenceman, Arnold shoots the puck well and skates even better, and with him being an 18-year-old, Arnold has the potential to be a premier defenceman in the league in a few short years.

The Red Wings also made a trade that won’t see results in the immediate future, the Red Wings traded 06 born forward Logan Pickford to the Nipawin Hawks along with a player development fee in exchange for 07 born forward Lucas Hvidston as well as a 4th round pick in the 2023 draft and a 4th round pick in the 2024 draft.

As a 16 year old, Hvidston put up 7G-4A-11P in 24 games last season playing with the Yorkton Maulers AAA U18 program, the same team as the Red Wings first overall pick in the 2022 draft Rhett Vedress. Hvidston is known for his leadership skills even at a young age, and his determination to become a better player will make him an asset to the Red Wings once he comes of age.

As for Pickford, he played 3 games with the Red Wings last year as a 17 year old, and had 41 points in 43 games with the Prince Albert Mintos U18 AAA team.

In the final trade of the day for the Red Wings, they acquired a 2nd round pick in the 2008 born draft from the Notre Dame Hounds in exchange for a player development fee.

2007 Born Draft

After trading away the 2nd round 14th overall pick in the Visentini trade, the Red Wings first pick of the draft came at the 32nd overall in the 3rd round. With that pick the Red Wings took forward Carter Bergen from Saskatoon.

For Bergen, he’s already a big kid standing at 5’11 along with some decent speed. He also knows how to score, putting up 23G-18A-41P in 32 games last year with the Warman Wildcats U18 AA program during the regular season, an additional 8G-12A-20P in 12 games in the playoffs.

The Red Wings next pick came in the 4th round at 42nd overall thanks to the Hvidston trade with Nipawin earlier in the day. The Wings used the pick on forward Roan Burgess from Regina.

Last season with the Regina Vics U18 AA program, his 31 goals on the season tied for fifth in league scoring as a first year,  along with 13assists and 44 points during the regular season and another 5G-8A-13P in 10 playoff games. Another kid standing at 5’11, he has a knack for going into the dirty areas of the ice to score goals.

With the 53rd overall pick in the 5th round, and the first pick the Red Wings had going into the day, the Red Wings selected forward Noah Thul from Moose Jaw.

A gritty players, Thul played last year with the Prairie Hockey Academy U17 Prep team and put up 9G-11A-20P in the 26 games that he played last season. Thul is known for his offensive play and his ability to cause turnovers, particularly in the corners of the offensive zone.

The Red Wings also had picks in the 65th and 68th overall spots in the draft, but the team chose to pass on those two picks.

2008 Born Draft

 

With the 2nd round 14th overall pick in the 2008 born draft, the Red Wings selected Sutton Verot from Regina.

Last year he played U15 AA hockey with the Regina Pat Blues where he scored 32G-25A-57P in just 27 games last season. He also played in the Brick Invitational Tournament (now Circle K Classic) in 2017-18 playing against some of the best teams in North America where he put up 4 assists in 6 games.

His dad, Darcy Verot, played with the Red Wings from 94-97 and won two SJHL Championships before moving on to the pro leagues, including a year with the Washington Capitals of the NHL.

Next was the 2nd round 16th overall pick, which the Red Wings traded for earlier in the day with the Notre Dame Hounds. With that pick, the Wings selected forward Ryan Gibbs from Moose Jaw.

Gibbs is a talented scorer, posting up 37G-26A-63P in 29 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors AA U15 program last season. With a high hockey IQ, Gibbs is a promising young prospect that has the ability to crack a Jr. A lineup as an underage player down the line.

With their final pick in the draft, the 17th overall second round pick, the Red Wings selected forward William Nicholson from Regina.

Last season he posted 19G-35A-54P in 29 games with the Regina Monarchs AA U15 program. A very coachable player, his coaches tout him as a highly skilled forward who does the little things right.