The next 48 hours are going to be almost unbelievably hectic for WHL executives. The expansion draft, the first round of the prospects draft, the U.S. Priority Selection, and the rest of the prospects draft are all on deck beginning Wednesday afternoon. And Chris Moulton, Director of Hockey Operations for the Brandon Wheat Kings, could be among the busiest of an exceedingly busy group of men.
First, there’s the expansion draft, not seen in the WHL for 18 years and for which Moulton and the Wheat Kings’ scouting staff have to be on top of not only the team’s roster but their list players as well. Then, there’s the first round of the prospects draft, in which the Wheat Kings, as of this writing, hold the 12th and 15th overall picks. After that, the Wheat Kings pick first overall in the U.S. draft on Thursday morning.
So yes, Moulton is doing a lot of work. But it can be, at times, a fun kind of work.
“It’s different this year,” Moulton said. “Usually we’re pretty prepared because we’ve done it all before, but this year you add in the expansion draft and having the first pick in the U.S. draft, it changes things. Our focus is on the draft, but we’ve got a lot of things on the side, a lot of moving parts, but it is exciting.”
While the team has hinted they may be looking to move picks for immediate help, Moulton and his scouting staff have two first-round picks and two second-round picks to work with in the prospects draft. That, coupled with the U.S. pick, gives them more ammunition than Moulton has had going into a draft before.
“My first year here I had three firsts, and that tore me to pieces a little bit,” he said with a chuckle. “To have the first U.S. pick, two firsts, two seconds, it’s exciting. We’re looking at every option, whether it’s selections or moving the picks, but it’s always nice to have those types of assets.”
If the Wheat Kings should use those picks, Moulton is in agreement with several other scouts on what they might find; the 2010 birth year appears to be extremely well-stocked with defensemen.
“We just had a conversation and the amount of NHL-caliber looking defensemen in this draft is a little scary,” Moulton said. “There are a lot of big bodies that can play the game and puck movers. It’s definitely, at the top, defense-heavy.”
A fairly balanced pool of prospects and young players has the Wheat Kings well-positioned to take the best player available at any position. The wrinkle in this, however, is that first overall pick in the U.S. draft.
“We look at our first U.S. pick, and that definitely influences our other picks,” Moulton explained. “Once we get the U.S. selection under control over the next couple of days, that might show some directive on what we’ll do with our first pick in the prospects draft.”
Here, again, the Wheat Kings deal with a new wrinkle but this one is more helpful. Because of the NCAA’s rule change allowing CHL players to join their ranks, the WHL becomes a far more viable option for U.S.-born players.
“It’s changed, but it’s stayed the same,” said Moulton. “There is definitely a lot more interest in the Western Hockey League for American players, they’re definitely a lot more open to it. Are they jumping up and down to commit right away or sign right away, no. There’s definitely a lot more interest, but when they still have USHL options or NTDP options it still can slow the process. That’s what we’re dealing with, we have guys that are on board right away and guys we might have to sit on. We’re lucky that some of the kids that really want to commit are really good players.”
Moulton added the progress of the 2008 and 2009 birth years gives the team a degree of freedom in who they might select as well.
