Bantam AA Bruins' Teammates Winter; McMillen Selected In WHL Draft

It was quite the morning for two members of the Bantam AA Estevan TS&M Bruins.

During Thursday's Western Hockey League Bantam Draft, goaltender Zane Winter of Carlyle was selected 160th overall in the 8th round by the Red Deer Rebels, while his teammate from Carievale Turner McMillen saw the Kelowna Rockets nab him in the 9th round, 191st overall.

Winter has spent the past two seasons in net for the Bantam AA Bruins, totalling 44 regular season starts, which just happens to be a Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League record.

"Zane projects quite well, teams like to see the big frame on a goaltender, he's worked hard and stays square to the puck," Bantam AA Bruins Head Coach, Tom Copeland said of the 6-foot-3 goaltender. "Zane's still got a lot of work to do, but the nice part of getting involved with a Western League club is they've got goalie coaches that can get him refined and move him in the right direction.

Despite playing the majority of his regular season with an injury, McMillen led the Bantam AA Bruins in scoring, adding 13 goals and 12 assists in 31 games.

"I talked to a lot of these clubs and made them understand that he played through injury all season long," Copeland said of the 15-year-old from Carievale. "That kid has played more games in our league than anybody else and I think that matters to people. Even his showing in Bruins spring camp last weekend, people hear about that stuff, hockey's a small world. Turner is a very versatile player and there's also a thought that he will grow a bit based on family genetics and how his brother has grown."

"They're both good draft picks, both teams will do well with both of those players, and hopefully they can get some breaks and get there if that's where they want to be."

Copeland also expects 6-7 others from the Bantam AA Bruins to recieve invites to WHL camps. 42 players from Saskatchewan were selected in Thursday's Bantam Draft.