The 2022 MJHL Draft was held Saturday June 4th, 2022. It was a busy and exciting day for Flyers staff and fans!
Justin Falk gave his thoughts on his first MJHL draft as Head Coach and General Manager “A special thanks to our Hockey Ops team and our Scouting Staff, led by Riley and his group of passionate hockey minds for the tireless amount of work put in the last 9 months. Putting together a list of players that fit our organizations criteria and now being able to select these players this past draft was an exciting moment for our club, Flyers fans and the City of Winkler. We look forward to the progression and development of these prospects and their journey to one day dawning a Flyers jersey.”
The Flyers made a late trade to acquire the 1st overall pick, and also had two 2nd round picks, two 3rd round picks, two 4th round picks, a 5th rounder and an 8th round selection.
The Flyers would like to congratulate and welcome all of the 2022 draftees and their families to the organization, and we look forward to seeing them at our upcoming Rookie Camp in the fall.
“Overall we are very happy with the players we were able to draft into our organization. It was a lot of time and hard work that all came down to one day and a couple hours to make some important decisions. We drafted players and goaltenders who fit our criteria and were excited to be a Winkler Flyers. We were very fortunate that we were able to draft players in the rounds we did as we had them high on our list for players we wanted, and we were able to get them” Director of Player Personnel Riley Dudar said about the 2022 MJHL Draft.
With Director of Player Personnel Riley Dudar’s comments below, here is the complete list of Winkler’s selections:
1st Round – 1st Overall: F Marek Miller (La Salle, MB)
Height: 5’7″ Weight: 146lbs
Marek spent the 2021-22 season with the Pembina Valley Hawks in the MB U18 AAA League where he scored 6 goals and 25 assists for 31 points in 41 games. Marek was at the top of his class at our Pre-Draft Development Camp and has the skill set to be a top MJHL player.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: We had a lot of options to choose from by picking first overall and it was a difficult decision, but the more we talked with Marek and the people who know him well it became an obvious choice for us. His mix of Hockey sense, elite skill and playmaking ability is something we value and we feel he was top of the class at our development camp a few weeks ago. We feel he will be a very good MJHL player for years to come, with plenty of potential to pursue post secondary education through hockey if he wants to put in the work.
2nd Round – 14th Overall: D Dylan Miko (Onanole, MB)
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 185lbs
Dylan spent the 2021-22 season with the Yellowhead Chiefs in the MB U18 AAA League where he played 43 games and had 3 goals and 3 assists. Dylan is a tall, strong defenseman that will be a presence on the blue line in the MJHL.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: Dylan had a very impressive showing at our development camp, where his character, work ethic and on ice ability separated him from many of the other defensemen. He is someone determined to get better and with our staff, we are really looking forward to helping him grow his game to further his hockey career and help us win.
2nd Round – 26th Overall: F Sebastian Stone (Boissevain, MB)
Height: 5’9″ Weight: 154lbs
Sebastian spent the 2021-22 season with the RINK Hockey Academy U16 team in the CSSHL where he put up 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 28 games played. Sebastian is a talented scorer, but also a reliable two way forward that has the tools and skills to excel in the MJHL.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: Sebastian has a high hockey sense and is a reliable two way forward who will be a valuable player in the MJHL. He had a strong showing at our development camp with all the little details in his game that caught the attention from our scouts and Hockey Operations team. The more we watched him, the more we appreciated what he brings to the team. He has a strong desire to improve, does really well in school and is excited to be a Winkler Flyer.
3rd Round – 27th Overall: F Kobey Edwards (Winnipeg, MB)
Kobey spent the 2021-22 season with the Winnipeg Bruins playing in the Winnipeg U17 AAA League. He played 30 games, scoring 7 goals, and 10 assists for 17 points. He also racked up 72 PIM’s which has the Flyers staff excited about the style of game he plays.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: Kobey is someone you notice every time he is on the ice. His feet are always moving and often times he goes right through opponents with huge hits. We liked his style of play, his mindset and his desire to grow his game. The Winkler fans are going to love him.
3rd Round – 37th Overall: F Zachary Einarsson (Winnipeg, MB)
Height: 5’9″ Weight: 160lbs
Zachary played the 2021-22 season with the Winnipeg Wild in the Winnipeg U17 AAA League where he scored 9 goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 34 games played. He, like Kobey plays a hard style of hockey that will be a lot of fun to watch for Flyers fans.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: Zach plays a similar style to Kobey and having the two of them, combined with some of the players already on our roster is going to make us miserable to play against. Zach’s game continues to grow, and will continue to grow offensively, while getting under the other players skin. His willingness to get better will give him opportunity to play up and down the lineup.
4th Round – 51st Overall: F Mario Gagnon (La Broquerie, MB)
Height: 5’11” Weight: 155
Mario played the 2021-22 season with the Eastman Selects in the Winnipeg U17 AAA League where he scored 11 goals, and 24 assists for 35 points in 34 games played. With over a point per game he is a highly skilled offensive forward who we are excited to see make the jump to the MJHL.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: Mario had a strong showing at our development camp. One of those sneaky good offensive players who has high 1 V 1 skills and can make plays. All season he was the most noticeable forward on his team and we think he makes his teammates better.
4th Round – 54th Overall: D Shane Fetterly (Lockport, MB)
Height: 6’0″ Weight: 185lbs
Shane spent the 2021-22 season with the Winnipeg Thrashers in the MB U18 AAA league where he played 42 games with 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points. Shane is a tough defenseman to play against and will be a hard guy to play against in the MJHL.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: Shane is a mean defensemen who compliments our back end. He sticks up for his teammates and will be miserable to play against. He plays a simple game that we really like, and are excited to help him develop his game for junior Hockey.
5th Round – 58th Overall: G Jacob Armstrong (Winnipeg, MB)
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 158lbs
Jacob played the 2021-22 season with the Winnipeg Wild in the Winnipeg U17 AAA league where he posted a 3.74 GAA and .882 save percentage. He is a tall goaltender that our staff thinks has the potential to be a great MJHL goalie.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: Jacob is a great person with good size and potential to be a quality MJHL goalie. We like the path he is on, and notice that he is committed to working his way to junior Hockey. We were very excited to be able to draft him into our organization.
8th Round – 100th Overall: F Cole Patenaude (Holland, MB)
Cole spent the 2021-22 season with the Pembina Tigers in the Zone 4 High School Hockey league where he put up 15 goals and 25 assists for 40 points in 31 games played. Not only can Cole put the puck in the net, but he is a strong hockey player with a lot of upside.
Director of Player Personnel’s comments: Cole is a big, strong reliable Hockey player with big upside. We were all very excited we were able to draft a person and player like Cole. He has good Hockey sense, a nose for the net and plays the game the right way. We think he has the tools to play junior Hockey and our staff is really looking forward to helping him develop.
Autoprotect: F Kam Thomas (Winkler, MB)
Height: 5’8″ Weight: 150lbs
Kam spent the 2021-22 season with the Pembina Valley Hawks in the Manitoba U18 AAA League where he played 41 games and put up 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points. Kam is a player that plays the game the right way, and we look forward to continuing to watch him develop into a top two way forward.
Head Coach and General Manager’s comments: We are excited to announce the auto-protect selection of Kam Thomas. With a foundation of work ethic and detail, Kam’s growth throughout the second half of the season was very similar to his play throughout our recent Pre-Draft Development Camp. As competition rose, so did Kam’s compete and tenacity. We look forward to watching Kam’s development as he understands the work ahead of him to become a Winkler Flyer.