Pistons hold No. 1 pick in Bantam Draft

Press Release

Having the first pick in the MJHL Bantam Draft is a good news, bad news situation. The good news: you have the No. 1 pick overall.


The bad news: your team came in last place during the regular season.

This year’s No. 1 overall selection will be made by Steinbach Pistons; a team which made significant improvement on the ice last year. Building a winner can be a slow, methodical process. Building through the draft is one step of the process says Pistons’ Head Coach Rich Gosselin.

“Obviously the draft is important because we get to select the best player out there,” Gosselin says of Sunday’s (June 5) Bantam Draft, “you have to make sure that you follow up year after year and add to the organization.”

Picking the right player now could set the Pistons up for a successful team a few years down the road, and it’s those kinds of players that Gosselin is looking to add to his roster.

“They won’t be playing this year, but in the next couple of years they will. We need to look at where we’re at, the depth of the club, and the positions we need to get stronger at,” he says of the factors that affect his decision, “we want a player that is very good…a franchise player that will play for us for the next three to four years.”

But choosing one of these players doesn’t come without a risk. With the chance of losing a highly skilled player to the WHL, Gosselin, along with the other coaches has to decide whether or not the risk is worth the possible payout, or if choosing a less developed player is better for the organization in the long run.

“The initial pick is very important. We can often be the second place as far as where the player has the possibility of playing….the WHL is also an option for the player,” explains Gosselin.

“Depending on the player, there’s a chance he might not be able to play for you at all, so it’s a bit of a risk. So you might choose to pick one of the not top rated players for the chance that he might get to play for your team in the next few years.

“In this business we want to pick players that can hopefully play for the franchise for the next few years.”

Even with all of the risks, Gosselin knows what he is looking for and which kind of players will help bring the Pistons game to the next level.

“This is what our scouting staff is for,” he says, “They have seen them play this year and last year, so we have a real chance to follow up on these guys. In hockey you want to bring on the players that will give your team the best chance to elevate and improve their game.”

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)