The 2025 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League draft concluded today (File photo/BattlefordsNOW staff).

By Austin Mattes

SJHL Draft Recap

North Stars draft eight players and add new signings

Jun 10, 2025 | 5:42 PM

The Battlefords North Stars have completed a busy 2025 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) draft, making a total of eight selections to help build towards the future of the team.

2010 Selections

The North Stars began their draft by selecting Gage Cornish, a forward from Meadow Lake, with the 7th overall pick in the first round. Last season, Cornish played in 29 games for the U15 AA North West Stars, putting up 13 goals and 35 assists for 48 points.

In the second round (19th overall), the team selected Kylan Woytiuk, a forward from Martensville. Woytiuk played for the U15 AA Martensville Marauders last season and notched 15 goals and 23 assists in 29 games.

Following the new SJHL auto protection rule changes, The North Stars also selected defenceman Calder Reiter and forward Crosby Cole as the two auto protections for the 2010 age group. Reiter played for the Battleford U15 AA North West Stars where he tallied 10 goals and 17 assists in 29 games. Cole also played for the U15 AA North West Stars where he accumulated 18 goals, 20 assists for 38 points in 29 games.

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2009 Selections

For the 2009 born portion, the North Stars started with defenceman Joel Marceniuk from Saskatoon with the 7th overall pick in the first round. Marceniuk played the majority of last season with the U18 AA Saskatoon Riverkings, where he played 32 games, grabbing three goals and 11 assists.

In the second round (19th overall), Battlefords picked Cooper Sawatsky, a forward from Hague. Last season with the U16 AA Martensville Marauders, he averaged a point a game, tallying 13 goals and 20 assists in 33 games.

The third-round selection (31st overall) brought Ryder Hagel of Martensville into the fold. Hagel played alongside Sawatzky on the Marauders and put up an impressive 34 goals and 30 assists for 64 points in 34 games.

With their fourth-round pick (43rd overall), the North Stars grabbed Madden Dell out of Prince Albert. The 6’0 forward had 26 goals and 35 assists in 34 games with the U16 AA Prince Albert Renegades last season.

For the fifth-round (55th overall) pick, Battlefords selected Prince Albert product and defenceman Lennon Fetterly from the U16 AA Prince Albert Renegades.

Then with their final pick of the draft, the North Stars selected Carrot River goaltender Luke Ratzlaff in the sixth round (67th overall).

New Signings

Apart from the draft, the North Stars have also been busy with a pair of new signings to the organization.

This week the team announced the signing of 2006-born defenceman Austin Garrett from Ladysmith, BC and 2007-born forward Cole Hines from Lloydminster, AB. Garrett played for the Victoria Cougars in the VIJHL last season accumulating 16 goals, 22 assists, 38 points in 39 games. Last season, Hines played for the Lloydminster Lancers in the AEHL, where he scored 14 goals, 14 assists, and 28 points in 37 games.

Regional Representation

The Battlefords and surrounding communities also saw good representation in the draft with four players from the region being selected:

• ‘09 second round (22nd overall), the Humboldt Broncos selected Cruz Harrison from Maidstone
• ‘09 third round (36th overall), the La Ronge Ice Wolves choose Easton Bauer out of Meadow Lake
• ‘09 fourth round (47th overall), the Flin Flon Bombers drafted Noah Larre from St. Walburg
• ‘09 fifth round (54th overall), the the Humboldt Broncos selected Aiden Harman from Meadow Lake

Inaugural Draft (Warman Wolverines)

The newest SJHL franchise, Warman Wolverines also made history with their first ever draft. Their top two picks were:

• ‘09 first round (1st overall), Camryn Aebig from Rosthern
• ‘10 first round (1st overall), Rafael Ramazanov from Saskatoon

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes