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Courtesy Brandon Wheat Kings 
Brandon, Manitoba – The 2003 National Hockey League Entry Draft in Nashville has come to an end and for the first time in eight years, the Brandon Wheat Kings had three players chosen on opening day of the 2-day selection process.
Former first round bantam draft choice Eric Fehr was the first Brandon player to hear his name called when the Washington Capitals made the 6’3” 190 lb. Winkler native their first choice (18th overall).Ryan Stone didn’t have to wait long in the second round, going 32nd overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins while Norway House product Rick Kozak went in round three (95th overall) to the Philadelphia Flyers. For Fehr, who steadily climbed the draft rankings as the 2002-03 season progressed, the weekend was a dream come true. “I wasn’t considered that high at the start of the season, but I just worked hard throughout the year and just worked my way up the charts…and it was worth it,” Fehr told James Shewaga of the Brandon Sun. “Now I’m looking forward to working hard to get to the NHL.” The fifth player chosen in the 2000 WHL bantam draft, Fehr finished fifth in team scoring this past season with 26 goals and 56 points in 72 games. During the playoffs, the top Manitoban to be selected at this year’s draft, scored four goals including three game winners and eight assists in 17 games. A second round choice of the Wheat Kings in 2000, Stone scored fourteen goals and 44 points in 56 games this past season while Kozak, who was acquired from the Prince George Cougars last November had nine goals and 15 points in just 38 games. The ’93 NHL draft saw four Brandon players picked on opening day – Wade Redden (NY Islanders; 1st round), Mark Dutiaume (Buffalo Sabres; 2nd round), Mike Leclerc (Anaheim; 3rd round) and Peter Schaefer (Vancouver Canucks; 3rd round). A total of 41WHLers were chosen this weekend including six in Saturday’s opening round. Joining Fehr were Portland’s Braydon Coburn (Atlanta; 8th), Dion Phaneuf of Red Deer (Calgary; 9th), Brent Seabrook of Lethbridge (Chicao; 15th), Calgary’s Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim; 19th) and Tri-City defenceman Shawn Belle (St. Louis; 30th). Fehr and Kozak were two of eleven Manitobans to be selected. Among them were six Winnipeggers – Nigel Dawes of the Kootenay Ice (NY Rangers; 5th round), Prince Albert netminder Rejean Beauchemin (Philadelphia; 6th round), Vancouver Giants’ Adam Courchaine (Minnesota; 7th), Dirk Southern of Northern Michigan (Anaheim; 7th), Kelowna Rockets’ Mark Olafson (Washington; 9th) and Matt Hansen of the Seattle Thunderbirds (Vancouver; 9th). The other Manitobans were Kelowna Rockets’ Troy Bodie of Portage la Prairie (Edmonton; 9th), Oak Bank’s Drew Bagnell of the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars (Dallas; 6th round) and Brandon born Brady Murray, son of Los Angeles Kings’ coach Andy Murray (Los Angeles; 5th round). Entered: 10:35 AM 22/07/03 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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