Four local hockey players were selected in the 2023 WHL Draft last week.
Among them was one Fort Saskatchewan player in Keaton Verhoeff, who went fourth overall to the Victoria Royals, but there was also a trio of Sherwood Park kids who went in the later rounds as well.
The top pick from Sherwood Park was Knox Bendera, who was selected 95th overall by the Brandon Wheat Kings. Bendera spent last season playing with the Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 prep where he put up 41 points in just 26 games.
After him, Emile Plourde was taken by the Prince George Cougars at the 140th overall position. Plourde was among the top players for the U15 Sherwood Park Flyers last season, coming in second on the team with 53 points in 31 games and an additional nine points in four playoff games.
The Kamloops Blazers then selected Damien Wiebe 262nd overall to close things out for the local players. Wiebe was a teammate of Plourde on the Flyers last season and finished third in team scoring with 31 points in 33 games.
Due to the WHL's minimum full-time player age of 16 all of these local players will go back to their respective teams or programs with the aim of improving over the next few years before pushing for a spot.
You can see the full WHL draft results here.