The Kamloops Blazers made 12 selections in Thursday’s WHL Prospects Draft, including an 18-year-old Kamloops native who could make the roster next season.
They took 2005-born forward Nolan Viesner – who has three years of WHL eligibility left – in the 13th round, 284th overall. Viesner was briefly with the Lethbridge Hurricanes but was cut from the roster last fall as he recovered from an unspecified injury.
“He’s a player I’m pretty familiar with going back to his days at [Yale Hockey Academy]. It’s a really good program. They’ve developed a lot of players,” Blazers’ Director of Player Personnel Robbie Sandland told NL Sports. “We got a lot of views on him. He’s had a tough track record with injuries, but he’s a player we believe in.”
“He’s a local guy and comes from a good family with high character so when that option became available we were excited to select him.”
In all, the Blazers took seven forwards, four defensemen, and a goaltender in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.
The 2023 Memorial Cup hosts did not have a pick in the first or second round this year, having traded those picks to the Everett Silvertips as part of the trade that brought Olen Zellweger and Ryan Hofer to Kamloops.
With their first pick in the third round, 64th overall, the Blazers took six-foot-one defenceman Dryden Deobald from Regina.
“I’d say I’m a two way defenceman,” Deobald told NL Sports. “I create offense and turnovers.”
Added Ken Fox, the Blazers’ Saskatchewan and Manitoba scout, “he’s a good sized player, skates well with good skills and a high hockey IQ. He scored 22 goals in the regular season.”
The Blazers had to wait until the sixth round to make their next two selections. They took six-foot-three defenceman Kaden Meyer from Delta with the 124th pick, and Richmond forward Ty Bonkowski with the 130th pick.
“Two-way puck moving defenceman that moves well and has good mobility,” BC Scout Scott Blakeney said of Meyer. “Has shown great improvement in his game since the start of the year and we feel there is tremendous upside with Kaden. Excited to be able to add a player of his calibre to the Blazers.”
“Very skilled player that has great hockey sense and skillset,” Blakeney said of Bonkowski. “He can make plays in the offensive zone and drives the play. Really excited to be able to add a player of this calibre where we did.”
The Blazers traded a fifth round pick in 2024 to the Prince Albert Raiders for the 124th pick – used to select Meyer – and the 137th pick in this year’s draft as well as an eighth round pick in 2025.
Sandland, who is also Blazers’ Assistant General Manager, said he feels the team got “good value” with their first three picks – Deobald, Meyer, and Bonkowski – as they had all of those players ranked higher on their draft board.
“We had a lot of views of them,” Sandland said. “The biggest thing you’re going to see is players with really good hockey sense and a lot of upside.”
They used that seventh round, 137th overall pick to select Edmonton defenceman Noah Chadi, before taking Cloverdale forward Lucas Benn – Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn’s cousin – in the seventh round, 152nd overall. Calgary forward Ryker Swanson was the Blazers’ eighth round pick, 174th overall.
With two picks in the ninth round, Kamloops took Winnipeg forward Crosby Harrison 187th overall and Saskatoon goaltender Madex Kabrud 196th overall. They then took Calgary forward Theo Salikov in the tenth round, 218th overall.
Fellow Calgary forward Rory Frew was the Blazers 11th round pick, 240th overall. They then took Sherwood Park, Alta. defenceman Damien Wiebe in the 12th round, 262nd overall; and finally Viesner who was the final player drafted Thursday.
Blazers draft Texas teammates in US Prospects Draft
The Blazers also used their two picks in Wednesday’s US Priority Draft to select a pair of teammates in Dallas.
They took forwards JP Hurlbert in the first round, 20th overall; and Dennis Emesibe in the second round, 42nd overall. Both are members of the Dallas Stars Elite 14U AAA program.
Hurlbert, a native of Allen, Texas, scored 112 goals in 75 games last season. He also added 83 assists to finish the season with 195 points.
“Yeah, we have goalies, but its always picking the corners with those guys down south,” he said on Episode 33 of The Blaze.
Hurlbert could be one of the top 2008-born forwards in the entire United States, and Sandland says the Blazers will do what they can to bring him to Kamloops.
“We had a really good conversation with JP and his father yesterday,” Sandman said. “Very high-end skillset, very good vision, very good hockey sense. He’s a high-end player and when we had the opportunity to take him, it was an absolute no brainer. We’ve had a really good track record of developing players and getting them drafted and signed to NHL contracts.”
“He’ll have plenty of options to chose from but we believe in our program, we believe he’s a great option for him and at the end of the day, kids that are motivated and want to be pros, we believe we provide a very good opportunity for them up here in Kamloops.”
Emesibe, a Dallas native who was born in Calgary, played in four games this past season, but put up six points. He did finish with 25 points (14 goals and 11 assists) while a member of the Dallas Stars Elite 13U AAA team.
The Blazers have yet to sign a player from the US Priority Draft, which has been held since 2020.
– With files from Jon Keen