Sunday, May. 03, 2009

There's something to be said for size

When scouts and GMs sit down and plan their strategy for the WHL bantam draft, I find it hard to believe that they can honestly put the future of their team in the hands of a 5-foot-6, 130-pound kid who looks more like a jockey than a hockey player.

So it was nice to see Americans GM Bob Tory draft Connor Rankin on Thursday. The kid from Vancouver is 6-foot, 185 pounds, his coach gives him two thumbs up and his stats are impressive.

Talking to Connor, he seems to have his act together. Well spoken, smart and ready to play. He's skated two years with the Americans' 2008 draft pick Zach Yuen, who joined the Americans in progress during the playoffs. Zach got considerable and valuable ice time for a 15-year-old. Zach and his dad Charles apparently spread the good word about the Tri-Cities to their friends. Connor appears to be on board when he comes of age.

The smallest of the draftees was Marcus Messier, the 5-9, 140-pounds (I have a feeling that's being generous) brother of Tri-City forward Jordan Messier. Half the size of his brother, Marcus can set up the play or score. Hard to stop what you can't see.

Don Nachbaur can teach players just about anything (if they are willing to learn), but what he can't teach is size. Hopefully some of last year's and this year's players drafted players will hit a growth spurt before camp starts in August. If not, someone is going to have to hem the sleeves of a lot of jerseys.

And for the first time in a couple of years, Bob didn't stock the pantry with players from Winnipeg. Not that Winnipeg doesn't have talented players (Chet Pickard comes to mind), but there's something to be said for a hard-working boy from Saskatchewan (Taylor Procyshen is a fine example).

Bob took just three Winnipeg boys -- one being a 6-2 goalie -- and let's hope he puts some meat on that 160-pound frame. In comparison, my 16-year-old son is 6-foot, 235 pounds.