Royal’s score nine players in 2019 WHL Bantam Draft

The Victoria Royals scored more than goals on Thursday at the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft in Red Deer, Alta., selecting nine players for the next season.

Scoring four players from British Columbia, two of whom are from Victoria, three players from Saskatchewan and one from Alberta and one from Minnesota — five forwards and four defencemen.

B.C. native, Jason Spizawka, was the Royals first round pick, 19th overall. Hailing from the Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep team of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL), the defencemen played in 28 games for Yale earning 25 points (two goals and 23 assists), along with 26 penalty minutes.

Royal’s round two pick, 32nd overall, was defenceman Kalem Parker from the Saskatchewan Banta AA Hockey League’s (SBAAHL) Martensville Marauders. During the 2018-19 season, Parker recorded 36 points ( six goals and 30 assists) and 52 minutes in penalties over 30 games.

READ ALSO: ‘Driving force in Canucks coverage:’ Hockey world remembers Jason Botchford

For the second selection of the round, 39th overall, the Royals took forward Carter Dereniwsky, of Canora, Sask., who tallied 25 points (eight goals and 17 assists) and 36 penalty minutes over 41 contests, as an under-age player with Yorkton Maulers of the Saskatchewan Midget Hockey League.

For the third round pick, 48th overall, Victoria selected Tanner Scot from the OHA Edmonton Bantam Prep Team of the CSSHL. The Sherwood Park, Alta. native played in 29 games for OHA last season where he accumulated 43 points (18 goals and 25 assists) and eight minutes in penalties.

The Royals used their 69th overall pick to draft centre Brayden Schuurman from the Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Team of the CSSHL. As caption of his team this past year, Schuurman played in 29 regular season games where he recorded 17 goals and 20 assists with 26 minutes of penalties.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: Former B.C. hockey player charged in alleged Kelowna baby snatching

The Royal’s round 5, 102nd overall, pick was Carter Briltz from Regina Sask., who played forward for the Regina AA Aces of the SBAAHL where he finished with 51 points (27 goals and 24 assists) with 42 penalty minutes in 30 games.

Victoria’s sixth round selection, 112th overall, was used to draft Powell River, B.C.’s Lukas Shipley of the Vancouver Island Hockey Association’s Powell River Kings Bantam Tier 3 Team. The defencemen has collected 17 points in 16 games with one goal and 16 assists.

The seventh round or 137th overall draft pick, Royal’s selected defenceman Ryan Spizawka from the Yale Hockey Acadamey Bantam Prep team of the CSSHL. In 28 games played for Yale, Spizawka — who is originally from Victoria — collected 20 points (eight goals and 12 assists).

Finally, for the tenth round or 208th overall pick, Victoria selected forward Charlie Stramel from Rosemount, Minn. who played parts of last season for the Rosemount Irish Under-14 AA Team and the Minnesota Bantam Elite Great Plains Team of the Minnesota Bantam League. Over the campaign, Stramel collected 22 points (10 goals and 12 assists) in 19 games.