After snagging defenseman Cruz Jim in the first round of yesterday’s WHL Prospects Draft, the Brandon Wheat Kings turned their attention to the forward group with the first overall pick in the U.S. Priority Selection.
Levi Ellingsen, a 2010-born forward from STAR Hockey Academy, was the team’s first pick. The 5-foot-11 forward was second on his team in scoring in the CSSHL ranks with 54 points in 34 games and second in 14U AAA play in the United States with 27 points in 10 games.
“We watched him all year, and winning the lottery was huge for us,” said Wheat Kings Director of Hockey Operations Chris Moulton. “We thought he was a great player but probably not available where we’re going to be. When we won that lottery, it opened up a bunch of doors and Levi just happened to be one of the guys that would fit, partly because of how competitive he is.”
Ellingsen played in 47 combined games this season (compiling 86 points) which gives him a longer resume than most of his Canadian counterparts. Crucially, for evaluation purposes, he played 34 of those games against heavily scouted CSSHL competition.
“To see Levi go head-to-head with the guys from St. George’s and Delta and NAX, that gave us a true read on where we thought he fit,” said Moulton. “We’re a lot more comfortable with the Western Canadian kids because we see them so much, and to see him go head-to-head with the bigger name players and do very well, he was an all-star in the CSSHL, the comfort with him made this a really easy selection for us.”
With their second pick of the U.S. Priority Selection, 46th overall due to the snake draft order, the Wheat Kings chose defenseman Ayven Hontvet. The Warroad, Minnesota native stands 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, and posted 26 points in 22 games in the 14U AAA ranks last season.
“He’s a big man and a very good player,” Moulton said. “Sometimes you draft a guy on size and you hope that the game comes, well, with this young man the game is there. He’s a heck of a player. He’s a competitor, he takes up space and makes plays.”
