<< Previous   of   Next >> Balgonie Prairie Storm  (click to enlarge) Ryan Murray scored 11 goals and had 31 assists this past season for the Balgonie Prairie Storm of the South Saskatchewan Bantam AA League.

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Silvertips pick defenseman in first round of WHL bantam draft

Herald staff

The Everett Silvertips selected defenseman Ryan Murray in the first round of Thursday's Western Hockey League bantam draft.

Murray, who was the ninth pick overall, is from White City, Saskatchewan. He played this past season for the Balgonie Prairie Storm of the South Saskatchewan Bantam AA League, scoring 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists).

"We've never had a guy like this before," Silvertips director of player personnel and head scout Scott Scoville said on the team's Web site. "He plays in all situations, but we see him as a power-play specialist and (he) should be running our power play down the road. Ryan has excellent leadership skills and has been the captain of virtually every team he has ever played for."

The Tips traded up in the second round, swapping picks with Prince Albert to move up four spots to No. 27. They picked center Tyler Giebel from Balgonie, Saskatchewan. Giebel was a bantam teammate of Murray.

In the third round, the Tips selected Joshua Winquist, a left wing from St. Albert, Alberta. In the fourth round, they picked Michael Berry, a defenseman from Edmonton, Alberta.

Everett did not have a pick in the fifth round.

The Silvertips' other picks so far include right wing Kole Harvey of Viden, Manitoba (sixth round), defenseman Evan Morden of Swan River, Manitoba (seventh), goalkeeper Ryan Cadieux of Edmonton, Alberta (eighth) and right wing Matthew Lumsden of Winnipeg, Manitoba (ninth).

Red Deer had the first selection in the draft and picked Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a center from Burnaby, British Columbia.

The draft is for players from the Western United States and Western Canada who were born in 1993. They will not be eligible to play full time in the WHL until the 2009-2010 season.

For more on the draft, read Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog.