Moose Jaw Minor Hockey product Reece Newkirk will likely get his shot at playing in the National Hockey League.
Newkirk, currently a forward with the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League's U.S. Division, is ranked 66th overall in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's mid-term rankings of North America-based skaters.
Considering how things went for 65th-ranked Cole Fonstad of the Prince Albert Raiders last season, that could translate into a fifth or sixth round selection when it comes to the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which place June 21-22 in Vancouver. Fonstad was drafted in the fifth round, 128th overall by the Montreal Canadiens – one spot ahead of the Moose Jaw Warriors' Justin Almeida, who was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Newkirk is having an outstanding sophomore season with the Winterhawks, having scored 18 goals and 45 points in 45 games this season. He scored the first goal of the game and added an assist in Portland's 6-0 win over Moose Jaw on Jan. 5.
Forward Brayden Tracey is the lone Moose Jaw Warrior ranked by the CSB, sitting in the 73rd spot.. Tracey is currently the top-scoring rookie and 40th-ranked scorer overall in the WHL with 17 goals and 43 points in 43 games. A former first-round pick in the WHL Draft, Tracey had a middling start to the season but took off at the beginning of November, putting together a 13-game point streak that saw him score six goals and 20 points while picking up at least a point in every game that month. He had the first hat trick of his career on Dec. 31 against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Former Warriors forward and current Wheat Kings scoring leader Luka Burzan is ranked 122nd in North America as a second-year draft eligible player. Burzan – who played a season and a half in Moose Jaw and put up 20 goals and 46 points in 108 games – was part of the deadline deal last season that brought standout defenceman Kale Clague to the Tribe.
With Brandon this season, Burzan has 26 goals and 51 points in 43 games and is 17th in WHL scoring.
