Portage’s Logan Rands was thrilled to be the first pick of the Virden Oil Capitals in the 2016 Manitoba Junior Hockey League Draft.
“I was very excited and honoured to be selected to such a great organization,” the standout defenceman wrote in an email interview. “I have heard lots of great things about Virden and when I attended their spring camp I knew I wanted to be an Oil Capital!”
The Oil Capitals grabbed Rands, who played for the Central Plains AAA Midget team, with the eighth overall pick of the draft on Sunday in Selkirk. In the second round, the squad then scooped up fellow blue liner Patrick Comeau of the Winnipeg Warriors with the 19th overall pick. After that the Oil Capitals – who selected four defencemen last year – pick five forwards in total in rounds four through six. Among the forwards selected were Brandon Bantam AAA Wheat Kings Colin Cook and Dylan Halliday.
“This year we kind of wanted to bolster our forward group a bit,” said Oil Capitals head coach and general manager Troy Leslie, whose team did not have a third round pick.
He praised the work done by Chad Leslie, the team’s director of player personnel and assistant general manager, and his scouting staff. A key for the Oil Capitals, Troy Leslie said, has been holding two spring camps the last couple of years. One is for older players and one is just for bantams. This has provided the team an opportunity to focus on the potential draft picks, see them up close, and get a sense of their hockey sense, character, and other abilities.
The past couple years the Virden has targeted puck-moving defencemen. Leslie said that fits in with the way the team wants to play and emphasized the importance of having someone to quarterback the power play. He said they were pleased to be able to get another good one in Rands. The youngster had seven goals and 21 assists in 36 games last season.
“The thing that impresses me the most about Logan Rands is his ability to read pressure and make that first good pass to exit the defensive zone,” Central Plains head coach Mike Neill wrote in an email interview. “He also has the ability to make great choices offensively to set up plays or get the puck to the net to create good scoring opportunities.”
Comeau recorded six goals and 31 points in 34 games last winter.
“He is a very intelligent player, he’s very poised and can play in all scenarios,” Chad Leslie stated on the Oil Capitals website. Using a fourth-round pick obtained from Waywayseecappo, the Oil Capitals choose Cook 35th overall. Described as “a hard-nosed forward,” he had 16 goals, 32 points, and 88 penalty minutes last season.
“In Colin, we’re getting a kid who plays hard and with a lot of pace,” Chad Leslie said on the team’s website. “He shoots the puck very well and is a physical guy that is hard to play against.”
The Oil Capitals nabbed his teammate Halliday, 41st overall, with their own fourth-round selection. Halliday racked up 43 goals and 89 points in just 34 games for the Brandon Bantam AAA Wheat Kings. He was picked by his hometown Wheat Kings in the 12th round of the 2016 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft, but Troy Leslie said the staff felt he was too good to pass up on.
Virden used its next two picks on another pair of teammates. This time they were from the Winnipeg Monarchs. The Oil Capitals grabbed forward Tristan Thompson (30 goals, 48 points) in the fifth round, 52nd overall, and Blake Jacques (18 goals, 34 points) in the sixth (63rd overall).
“In Tristan, we’re getting a kid who has the ability to score but plays hard and plays in traffic,” Chad Leslie said on the Oil Caps’ website. In regards to Jacques, he stated: “He is a guy who put up a point per game this season and can play in all situations.”
Virden traded a 2017 fifth-round selection to Winkler for the Flyers’ 64th overall pick. The Oil Caps ended their day by picking Jesse Tkach of the Winnipeg Sharks. Tkach had eight goals and 21 points in 32 games.
“Jesse is one of the hardest working kids in the league,” Chad Leslie stated. “He is excellent on the PK and limits opponents time and space.”
