The Nipawin Hawks welcomed eight prospects into their organization during the SJHL Draft on June 1. (File photo)

By Clark Stork

Draft Day

Hawks focus on forwards during 2023 SJHL Draft

Jun 2, 2023 | 11:34 AM

The Nipawin Hawks selected five forwards, a goaltender, and a pair of defensemen during Thursday’s Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) Draft.

The selection process consisted of six rounds of picks for players born in the year 2007, teams also had two chances to choose prospects from the 2008 birth year.

In the first round with the sixth overall choice, Nipawin took Prince Albert product Will Whitter from the U18 AAA Mintos. Associate General Manager Dana Dirks said the team has watched Whitter’s development in the U18 AAA ranks last year and expects him to be a top-end Junior ‘A’ player.

“He played midget AAA as a 15-year-old, put up some points,” Dirks explained. “The Mintos are looking for him to play a much bigger role as a 16-year-old and that will get him ready for us.”

Whitter scored five goals and added five assists last year.

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With the Hawks’ second-round pick, they selected forward Sean Shiels from the Saskatoon Riverkings. In 33 games Shiels scored 18 goals and added 20 assists. Dirks said Shiels was a big part of the Riverkings winning the Saskatchewan Centre Four AA U18 Hockey League and he’s excited to welcome him to the organization.

“We really like that selection. He’s going to play for the Contacts in Saskatoon and have a chance to develop into a high-end Junior ‘A guy as well,” Dirks added.

Nipawin went to the net with their first of two selections in the third round, 30^th overall the Hawks selected Martensville-born goaltender Corben Schnurr from the Warman Wildcats and with the next pick, the team chose Connor Rieger out of Regina.

Dirks said Schnurr is a marquee netminder that could set the club up in goal for the foreseeable future.

“He was a big part of Warman’s success in midget AAA,” Dirks said. “He was their starter in the championship game in Warman when they hosted the Telus Regionals. Great goaltender, he’s the kind of guy you can build your franchise around as a goalie and we’re really happy to land Corben.”

Rieger is a centreman who captained the Regina Rangers AA program in the Queen City putting up 30 points along with 12 goals in 24 games this past season. Dirks said the Hawks’ staff has watched Rieger all year and is happy to get him in the third round.

“Real character kid, we communicated quite a lot and actually up until 10 p.m. Wednesday we were still communicating so the fact he was there for us in the third round was a good selection for us,” Dirks said.

Without a fourth-round pick, the Hawks went to the blueline with their next choice taking Mortlach’s Ryland Molde at 54^th overall. Currently attending Prairie Hockey Academy in Caronport, Dirks feels Molde has taken strides to become a quality SJHL defenseman.

“Six-foot-one guy, put up quite a few points, really improved his skating over the course of the year,” he said. “We’re well aware of the program he’s on for the summer and next year to keep working away. He’s a guy that has a pretty high ceiling for us.”

In the sixth round with the 66^th choice, and the Hawk’s last for 2007-born players, Nipawin took Prince Albert forward Nash Curniski from the U18 AAA Battlefords Stars. Dirks, a Prince Albert native himself said Curniski brings a style to his game that will fit in with the blue-collar Hawks franchise.

“Big, strong, physical guy had a real good showing at our spring camp. He showed he likes to play hockey the way a lot of the fans in Nipawin enjoy. Really good kid, good family, happy to have Nash on board,” he said.

In the 2008 draft, Nipawin chose defenseman Barret Berger and forward Davey Fisher, both highly skilled players from Saskatoon. Berger put up 35 points in 22 games last year from the blueline while Fisher scored 28 goals in 30 games. Dirks said you can gamble a little more with younger picks and hope they find their way into a Nipawin jersey down the road.

“For us now as a program is to sell them on our program and the NCAA route and see what we can do there,” he added.

The team also announced a trade prior to the draft sending Tisdale product and a draft pick from 2022, Lucas Hvidston, to Weyburn for forward Logan Pickford along with draft picks and future considerations. Pickford led the Mintos in scoring last year and is expected to be a star in the SJHL.

“He’s going to be a high-end Junior ‘A’ player and we’re really looking forward to having him a part of the Hawks organization for sure,” he said.

Pickford scored versus Humboldt last year in one of his three SJHL games.

Overall Dirks said the 2023 draft was a success and if the club’s plans fall into place, he thinks the day was a great one for the organization.

“If we can land them all in Nipawin I would definitely give us a solid ‘A’ on this one for sure,” he said.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ClarkStork