Edmonton native John Lintz was selected by his hometown team, the
Edmonton Rush, in the third round, 34th overall. The 6' 3", 190 lbs defender
had 15 points and 42 penalty minutes in 21 games, all while shutting down some
of the best offensive players on the opposition teams.
The Colorado Mammoth came calling next, picking Adanac captain Matt Wilson also
in the third round, 40th overall. A bruising 6' 1", 210 lbs defender known
for dishing out punishing hits, Wilson had 10 points and 37 penalty minutes
in 20 games.
The San Jose Stealth used the 46th pick in the draft that they got from Buffalo to select Adanac star goalie Tyler
Richards. The 6' 1", 190 lbs goalie had his best season this year in an
Adanac uniform, and made many highlight reel saves. Richards played in 18 games
in the regular season, putting up impressive numbers. With a goal against of
5.22, and a save percentage of 86.8%, Richards was a big reason the Adanacs
finished second in the regular season.
The final Adanac selected was forward Calvin Craig. The Edmonton Rush website
called Craig a "steal" in the 5th round, 69th overall. Calvin is known
for his great hands around the net and disciplined play (0 penalty minutes).
At 6' 1" and 185 lbs, Calvin Craig had a team high 35 goals and finished
second to Joel Burges in scoring with 62 points in 21 games.
Overall, the BC Junior A league enjoyed success at the draft, with three players
picked in the first round. Burnaby's Dane Dobbie went 4th overall to
the Calgary Roughnecks, PoCo's Tyler Codron went 6th to the Portland Lumberjax
and Burnaby defender Peter McFedridge went 10th
to Calgary.
In all, 15 BCJLL players were chosen by NLL teams. Despite
the losses to NLL teams, the Adanacs future look bright for next year, thanks
to many key returning vets and the success of the Junior 'B' Adanacs.
Congratulations to John, Matt, Tyler and Calvin on being chosen.
I look forward to seeing more Adanacs picked at next year's draft.