From sitting as an unsigned WHL prospect in early January to landing in the Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings for the 2021 National Hockey League Entry Draft, it’s been a heck of a ride for the Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman.
Peters -- who turned 18 on April 22 -- only signed with the Oil Kings for what was then an unknown season on Jan. 4. A couple months later, the league announced that it would be playing some semblance of a schedule regardless of how many games, with one goal being just to get players a chance to play in front of scouts.
For Peters, that couldn’t have turned out better.
The 6-foot-2, 172-pound rearguard turned plenty of heads in his rookie campaign with the powerhouse Oil Kings, and by the time the season was over -- and Edmonton had finished with the best record in the WHL -- he’d put up a goal and five points while playing all 23 of his club’s games. He even cracked the team awards, winning the team’s Scholastic Award for his work in the classroom.
With that, the NHL took notice. And when the Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings were released on Thursday, there was Peters cracking the list at 198th overall among North American skaters.
He’ll be a longshot to be selected when things kick off on the second day of the Draft July 24 -- a total of 217 players were selected last season, including Europeans and goaltenders -- but the recognition alone, along with the stature of becoming one of Edmonton’s defensive leaders for the remainder of his WHL career, will almost certainly be worth it.
The NHL Entry Draft will take place in the virtual arena a month later than usual, with the first round taking place on July 23 and the remaining six rounds going on July 24.
