The Estevan Bruins didn’t have to look far to make their first selection in the 2020 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) Bantam Draft.
Forward Carson Birnie of Arcola was chosen in the first round, seventh overall, in Friday’s draft.
Birnie spent this past season with the Regina Monarchs bantam AA program. He had 28 goals and 67 points in 29 games.
In 2018-19, he played with the Estevan TS&M bantam AA Bruins, and had eight goals and 22 points in 31 games. He also played atom and peewee hockey in Estevan.
Birnie has committed to play for the Eclipse Downhole Solutions Estevan midget AAA Bears next season.
Estevan’s next pick was defenceman Matthew Ronn from Ebenezer. Ronn had nine goals and 29 points in 30 games with the Yorkton bantam AA Terriers last season.
The Bruins dealt away their picks in the third and the fourth rounds, but they did have a selection in round 4, thanks to a previous trade with the Weyburn Red Wings.
That selection was used on Keelan Mansuy out of Regina. Mansuy had nine goals and 40 points in 31 games with the Regina Monarchs.
Their fifth round pick was goaltender Alex Garrett, who had a 2.29 goals against average and a .926 save percentage with the Saskatoon Generals last season.
Estevan’s final selection came in the sixth round. It was forward Liam Fitzpatrick of Moose Jaw. He finished with 20 goals and 44 points in 30 games last season with the Moose Jaw Warriors.
