On May 4th, 230 of western North America’s young hockey prodigies were selected at this year’s WHL Bantam Draft.
Unlike the OHL and QMJHL (which joins the WHL under the CHL umbrella), WHL teams select players that have just completed their 15-year-old season as opposed to after their 16-year-old season. It’s weird to think that 15-year-old kids, who still rely on their parents for rides to the rink, are being scouted so intensely by Major Junior teams. But as every WHL team tries to gain an extra edge in the drafting and developing of their young prospects, scouts start to keep tabs on players as young as 13-years old.