While there are still uncertainties when it comes to the GMHL’s 2020-21 season, the draft went forward as scheduled over the weekend.
It was announced in May that locals Jamie and Nanda Eastman bought the Rockhounds from the league. This draft marked their first with the team, but also the pair’s first time being involved in a draft at any level. Jamie Eastman says they were joined the Rockhounds’ General Manager Alex Magi whose been involved with “three or four” others.
Eastman says they were picking from three “pools” of players. The aforementioned players they’ve had contact with, players that signed up with the Rockhounds prior to the draft and players that signed up with the league before the draft.
“We tried to draft kids we already had conversations with,” Eastman explains, nothing that Magi has travelled throughout Europe on scouting trips. Eastman says the goal was to build depth, specifically mentioning how they wanted to give a boost to their already talented crop of goalies.
Ondrej Vaculik was the team’s first-round pick. The 20-year-old winger from the Czech Republic played with the San Diego Sabres in the Western States Hockey League last year. He had the most goals on the team with 29 goals and tied for the team lead with 53 points. Eastman says they’re excited about their fifth-round pick goalie Igor Kulakov. “He’s a highly touted Russian prospect,” he says. The Russian spent last year with Ladia Togliatti in Russia’s Junior Hockey League. It serves as a feeder league for the KHL, which is Russia’s top hockey league.
The Rockhounds picked up 12 players during the draft, but Eastman explains that not all of them will join the team right away. “Some players we’re hoping to catch them when they’re 21 finishing up with the league we’re drafting them from,” he says. He adds that there are also players that were drafted during the 2019 draft that may be interested in joining the team. “You still could connect with those players three or four years down the road,” Eastman points out.
A list of the players drafted by the Rockhounds is available on their Facebook page.
With the start date for the upcoming season still uncertain, Eastman says he hopes to have the team on the ice for training camp on September 21st. “We do hope to get the season in like everybody else does,” he says.