And for a pretty good reason: when you’re ranked 223rd among North Americans by the Central Scouting Bureau -- literally the second-last skater ranked outside of limited-viewing players -- odds are pretty good you’ll be going the free-agent route if you’re going to crack an NHL line-up.
So the Estevan Minor Hockey product and Prairie Hockey Academy grad took it easy on day two of the Draft. Quite literally.
“I was actually just out on the golf course,” Wanner said in describing how things went down back on July 24. “I wasn’t really expecting much out of the draft, I was kind of just doing my thing out on the course there and checking in once in a while to see if I knew anybody.”
Then, out of the blue, something strange started happening.
“Then I got a couple texts saying ‘congratuations’, so I was like ‘oh, I better go look at the draft’ and sure enough I was on there. It was pretty funny… I definitely didn’t shoot as well the last couple of holes, that’s for sure,” Wanner said with a laugh.
Sure enough, the Edmonton Oilers had selected the 6-foot-3, 185-pound rearguard in the seventh round, 212th overall. And it wasn’t long after they made it official.
“Then I got a call saying ‘Welcome to Oil Country’, we drafted you, and I talked to some of the staff… it was all pretty surreal,” Wanner said. “The Oilers are a unique organization that has a big following here in Saskatchewan and I was really excited when they picked me.”
The selection was the latest step in what has been a whole lot of rapid progress for Wanner.
After suiting up in his final season with the Prairie Hockey Academy U16 Cougars, Wanner joined the Moose Jaw 18U AAA Warriors for the 2019-20 campaign and quickly became a key cog on the team that would reach the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League championship final.
As the ongoing pandemic raged throughout 2020, Wanner played five games with the AAAs, scoring four goals and five points, before COVID-19 once again brought his campaign to an early end.
Disappointing, for sure. But little did Wanner know, a few months later his hockey life would change in dramatic fashion.
Wanner ended up joining the Moose Jaw Warriors in the East Division Hub in Regina when the abbreviated WHL season began on Mar. 12 and promptly began to have an impact. An injury saw him play only 17 of the 24 games, but he put up four assists in that time and showed impressive responsibility in his own end, finishing as one of only four players with a plus/minus in the positive at plus-two.
That was enough for Wanner to crack the Central Scouting rankings at season’s end, and the rest is history.
Now it’s all about showing Edmonton that they made the right choice and putting together an impressive 18-year-old season.
“It’s definitely going to help with the confidence,” he said. “There will be a lot more expectations and that sort of stuff, but even though I’m excited to get drafted, I’m going to just treat it like any other season like I normally would.”
Like every player, Wanner had plenty of help along the way, and was quick to thank everyone who helped him become an NHL prospect.
“You have to say your parents (Cory and Cecilia Wanner) first and foremost, all the weekends they sacrificed and all the days off to take me to hockey tournaments and drive all those hours, I wouldn’t be there without them,” Wanner said. “Then all the coaches along the way, I’ve had so much help along the way and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.”
Wanner was one of four Warriors selected on the day, including Ryder Korczak (third round, 75th overall, New York Rangers), Cole Jordan (fifth round, 141st overall, Calgary Flames) and Martin Rysavy (seventh round, 212th overall, Columbus Blue Jackets). Including team captain Daemon Hunt, who was selected in the third round by the Minnesota Wild in the 2020 Draft, the Warriors will have five players drafted by NHL teams on their roster this season.
The Warriors return to action for their first pre-season game of the season when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Their 2020-21 season opener is Friday, Oct. 1 when they host the Saskatoon Blades at Mosaic Place.
