The SJHL bantam draft is done and the picks are in for the Battlefords North Stars.
The North Stars made six selections in the draft that took place over six rounds in Nipawin on Friday. The North Stars ended up selecting a mix of offensive and defensive talent who they hope will join the North Stars roster once they hit the junior ranks.
With their first pick, and the 11th overall selection of the draft, the North Stars selected Matthew Henry, out of Prince Albert.
According to the listing at Elite Prospects, Henry is a 2004-born forward who has played the last two years with the Prince Albert Pirates Bantam AA team in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League.
In 2017-18 Henry scored nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points, with 42 penalty minutes. Last season in 29 games for the club, Henry was the leading scorer with 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points; he also had 84 penalty minutes. Henry also played one game for the Prince Albert Mintos midget team.
In round two with the 22nd overall pick, the North Stars selected Easton Rask of Saskatoon. He is a defenceman who played bantam the last two seasons with the Saskatoon Maniacs, also of the Sask. Bantam AA Hockey League. Last year Rask scored four goals and 16 assists for 20 points.
In round three with the 35th overall selection, the North Stars picked Jackson Allan, a forward from Davidson. Last season he was with the bantam AA Humboldt Broncos and scored 13 goals with 16 assists, with 18 penalty minutes.
In round four the North Stars had two selections. With the 37th pick they chose forward Caden Drury of Carrot River. He played last season for the Northeast Wolfpack and had 19 goals and 15 assists.
With the 47th pick the North Stars picked Jacob Ziegler, a defenceman from White City who scored one goal and had nine assists with the Prairie Storm last season.
In round five with the 59th overall selection, the North Stars made their final selection of the draft as they chose Beau Helmeczi of Esterhazy. He played for the bantam AA Melville Millionaires last season and scored 17 goals with 12 assists, with 24 penalty minutes.
