The North Stars have seen a number of their drafted prospects evolve into dynamic players in the SJHL since 2015. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Championship Formula

North Stars’ drafting key to sustained success

May 23, 2024 | 8:48 AM

Since the implementation of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Bantam Draft back in the summer of 2015, no team has won more games (332) or championships (three: 2017, 2019, 2023) than the Battlefords North Stars.

Spearheaded by head scout and assistant general manager, Wylie Riendeau, the North Stars have been at the cutting edge of drafting and development since, with past draft selections having littered the team’s last two championship rosters.

Headlining the team’s inaugural draft was forward Kaden Boser, a second-round selection by the North Stars back in 2015, 19th overall. Boser would go on to establish himself as a playoff hero just four years later, scoring three game-winners for the North Stars on their playoff run to the 2019 championship, including two in OT.

Dylan Esau, who was the youngest player on that 2019 team, and would lead the North Stars in scoring three years later with 58 points in 57 games during the 2021-22 season, was a second-round selection, 24th overall the following year, in 2016.

That value of drafting well has become even more apparent in recent years, with six players from the North Stars’ 2023 championship roster drafted by the club between 2017 and 2020.

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Steven Kesslering, who followed up a 40-goal regular season with 2023 playoff MVP honours in the North Stars’ championship win, is one Riendeau said stands out right away as a third-round selection of the team, 32nd overall back in 2017.

“I remember we didn’t have a first or a second-round pick in that draft, and he ended up dropping to us in the third round and that was pretty unbelievable,” Riendeau recalled with a smile.

“I had watched him that whole year and I didn’t think he was going to be available to us – being a southern kid especially, I thought one of the southern teams was going to take him – and obviously, he turned out to be one heck of a player and just a great person and character guy for our group, so that was one that I’ll definitely not forget.”

Another is the following year, when the North Stars would double-dip on the home run picks in 2018. After snagging future 100-point scorer Holden Doell late in the first round, 11th overall; the Stars also got assistant captain Riley Girod in the sixth-round, with the 71st selection.

Selecting Doell just two picks ahead of La Ronge, who had drafted Holden’s older brother Nolan just a couple of years prior (as a fourth-round selection in 2016), Riendeau said a bit of an injury his final year of U15 AA may have contributed to Holden even still being available for the team to select with the second-final pick of the opening round.

“[Doell] was injured his U15 year for a little bit of the season, so a lot of guys didn’t get to see him, but he just came back from injury and grew into a really nice player for us and did a lot of good things and was another good kid too,” Riendeau recalled.

“Girod was kind of the same thing, getting into the sixth-round,” he continued. “He was a smaller guy but had a really good shot and just his heavy play and being a team-first player, I knew his brother [Brodie] had ties with Nipawin, so that was a good draft where we were able to grab some guys before other teams could.”

In 2019, the North Stars again secured a pair of future 2023 champions in Jackson Allan and Easton Rask. Allan was a third-rounder, 35th overall, just after ringing in Rask with the 23rd selection.

With both players set to embrace expanded leadership roles, as key pieces of the team’s 20-year-old contingent heading into the fall, the Stars’ ability to consistently secure talent through the draft has also ensured they will remain competitive for years to come.

Carson Olsen, who this past season became the first defenceman to win SJHL Rookie of the Year in 20 years, was a third-round pick, 31st overall in 2022. Gavin Granger, who will also easily step into a top-four role with the team this fall, was a fourth-round selection, 45th overall back in 2020.

“A kid like Olsen [in the third round], that was wild I think,” Riendeau said of his reaction to snagging Olsen, even at the time. “We were not expecting him to drop that far at all, and with [head coach/GM] Brayden [Klimosko] having a really good connection with the family and teaching Carson power skating when he was little, the stars just aligned for that one. We were both ecstatic when we were able to get him with that pick, that was something special for sure.”

Also among the next generation of impact players for the North Stars look to be forward Jace Rask and defenceman Linken Fisher. Each were selected in the first-round of the 2007-born 2022 draft, as Rask marked the 1st overall selection and Fisher was the 9th.

Both having made their debuts donning the black and silver as “Affiliated Player” call-ups this past season, the pair look to be the latest in a quickly-growing list of North Stars’ draft selections that establish themselves as impact players in the SJHL.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1