The Kamloops Blazers picked a pair of players who were born in California during Wednesday morning’s U.S. Prospects Draft.
The Blazers took forward Eli Tverdovsky – son of former NHL defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky – with the sixth pick in the draft.
The 14-year-old Tverdovsky – who was born in Los Angeles – put up 36 points (20 goals and 16 assists) in 27 games with the Okanagan Hockey Academy’s U15 Prep Team, and a goal and an assist in six games with the U17 Team.
The Blazers select Eli Tverdovsky with the 6th pick in the 2024 U.S. Priority Draft! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Vm7ndWqmC7
— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) May 8, 2024
The Blazers also took goaltender Kaeden Tate with the 23rd pick of Wednesday’s draft.
The five-foot-11, 152-pound Huntington Beach native spent this past season with the Anaheim Ducks 14U AAA program, where he had a .911 save percentage in 34 games.
Blazers choose a goaltender 23rd overall. Kaedan Tate. Next step is to hopefully see these two players – Tate & Tverdovsky at Prospects Camp. https://t.co/kY7Cf1c8TI
— Jon Keen (@JonKeenNLSports) May 8, 2024
The Blazers have yet to sign a player from the US Priority Draft, which has been held since 2020.
They’ll now turn their attention to the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, and currently have seven picks in the first three rounds.