WCLH Expansion Draft
As the WCLH added the Red Deer Bucks, a lot of teams feared that their top players could be picked to be part of the Bucks. There is a rule that you can trade picks to an expansion team, but the first and second-round picks are off-limits; however, if a team trades first and/or second-draft picks, that team will face a fine of $5000.00 and loses a draft pick next year, double it if both first and second draft picks were made. The higher-ups of the Lethbridge Cougars talked about it, and with an agreement between the owner and GM, the Cougars took a gamble and traded their first-round pick to the Red Deer Bucks to protect their top player from the expansion draft. The Bucks's picks mainly were players who got drafted in the second round; the best pick the Bucks made was Kurt Lscroix from the Moose Jaw Wings.
1. Kurt Lscroix, D (Moose Jaw Wings)
2. Donald Queen, F (Abbotsford Forest Kings)
3. Nick Yoke, G (Saskatoon Cats)
4. Frank Littlewood, F (Kenora Pioneers)
5. Leon Jakins, G (Kenora Pioneers)
AQHL Draft
With so many draft picks, the first-round picks remain intact as many up-and-comers are hoping to be picked and part of the desired team. The Firebirds made a strong pick with forward Zack Knox from Montreal, who made an impressive run with the Terrebonne Jr. B club, scoring 20 goals and 68 assists. It is just the Firebirds need to up the team’s playmaker style to move up the ranks and maybe have a chance to make it to the playoffs. Another Montreal local drafted its defenceman Matthew Daoust by the Greens need to boost their defence up after a poor 1983-84 season performance. The disaster was painful for the Volts, but drafting forward Rick Daley from Quebec City can turn it around if they don’t tamper with the roster like the 83-84 season. The big surprise is the rise of well-developed players from the town of Plattsburgh, Vermont, as both forward Oscar Chapman (drafted by Manchester) and defence Mike Giffin (drafted by Trois-Rivieres) were many good players that caught many scouts' eyes to keep a watch out for more good players that could have a chance to have a player or two to be in the top ten.
1. Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds – Zack Knox, F (Montreal, QC)
2. Charlottetown Greens – Matthew Daoust, D (Montreal, QC)
3. Shawinigan Voltages – Rick Daley, F (Quebec City, QC)
4. New Glasgow Highlanders – Conner Draper, G (Sussex, NB)
5. Val-d’Or Monarchs – Bruce McDonald, F (Summerside, PEI)
6. Verdun Knights – Ryan Valiquette, F (Shawinigan, QC)
7. Drummondville Les Rouges – Trent McKenny, D (Burlington, Vermont)
8. Laval Tigers – Shawn Montpelier, D (Lewiston, NH)
9. Cape Breton Warriors – Paul Fredericton, F (Bangor, Maine)
10. Sherbrooke Loups – Pat Skinner, F (Campbellton, NB)
11. Fredericton Vikings – Bill Boyle, F (North Sydney, NS)
12. Portland Clippers – Nick Cassels, D (Brunswick, Maine)
13. Manchester Americans – Oscar Chapman, F (Plattsburgh, Vermont)
14. Trois-Rivieres Titans – Mike Giffin, D (Plattsburgh, Vermont)
15. Moncton Bears – Ryan Handzus, G (Bilovec, Czechoslovakia)
OMJHA Draft
The Orilla Lakers folded, giving many teams a better chance at the right pick to help them get a better result. Unfortunately, many top prospects in the Toronto area are being picked and given better opportunities from the SWOHL as they have been the top Junior league for the fourth year in a row and show no slowing down, even pairing up the Pro Junior Hockey Players Association (PJHPA) a brother union with the National Ice Hockey Association Players Union (NIHAPU) were the players are getting a guaranteed pay that they deserved, many believed that the CIHA could join in the union, but the CIHA has their own program that helps players to hit the pros and/or great education opportunities, and joining the union would not sit well with the OMJHA to share union revenues with their rival SWOHL. The draft wasn’t as strong as last season, the Kitchener Generals picked Markham, Ontario forward Ryan Cheevers who is the only the best as many others from that city got picked up by SWOHL. Questions are up in the air about the future of the Orangeville O’s office, mainly the GM, but however, the team needs to beef up their defence, and Kingston, Ontario’s Dany Toth can be what they need. The Oshawa Gems took hometown forward Andrew Saddy to give them better-scoring depth. The Buffalo Bees came in this year's draft without Ryan Byron Jr., and it shows as they selected forward Steven Plank, who was predicted to be in the 4th to 6th round. As the now former Milton Micmacs, the new owner Leon Littlestone official, came on to the stage and announced the name of his team, they are called the “Newmarket Express.” After that, he drafted a forward named Louis Lansdowne. As the 1983-84 season came to an end, the Arrowbirds made a significant change to their office by naming Walter Eagle as the team’s new GM. He used to play for that team; in fact, he was one of the original players who played in the team’s first season in the OMJHA. His goal was to bring locals on the rosters, and he did just that by taking a hometown hero forward, Lucas Goldclaw; he’s played a big role for the Owen Sound major AAA hockey team with 42 goals and 95 points within two years.
1. Kitchener Generals – Ryan Cheevers, F (Markham, ON)
2. Orangeville O’s – Dany Toth, D (Kingston, ON)
3. Oshawa Gems - Andrew Saddy, F (Oshawa, ON)
4. Peterborough Bolts – Roger Duplacey, G (Sudbury, ON)
5. Newmarket Express – Louis Lansdowne, F (Buffalo, NY)
6. Brantford Skyflyers – Duke Regency, D (St. Catharines, ON)
7. Barrie Admirals – Will York, D (Collingwood, ON)
8. Waterloo Maroons – Quinn Keller, F (New Tecumseth, ON)
9. Owen Sound Arrowbirds – Lucas Goldclaw, F (Owen Sound, ON)
10. Buffalo Bees – Steven Plank, F (Rochester, NY)
11. Toronto Hornets – John Warren, G (Niagara Falls, ON)
12. Oakville Oaks – Leonard Ellsworth, F (Hamilton, ON)
13. Toronto Neon – Ben Topeka, D (Toronto, ON)
WCLH Draft
This year draft was more defence focus than offence, the Kenora Pioneers took Adam Harrison from Brandon, MA, Adam may never be a high scorer but he a great enforcer and for bonus he is also a playmaker as well a rare thing to see in hockey. After missing the playoffs for the third year in a row, the Brandon Buffalos are still stuck in rebuild mode as they try to beef up their offence with forward Luke Conway from Mosse Jaw with him. The Buffalos are hoping that the 1984-85 season will be the season they will go deep into the playoffs. After four years since the 1980 Valor Cup tournament, the Nanaimo Sharks had missed the playoffs, so the team made some tough decisions and naming a new GM is one of them as they named Edward Osward as their new GM, Edward was once part of the Saskatoon Cats dynasty in the late 60s, He may not have a successful pro career with playing only 2 seasons with the rest of his 6 years in the minors; however, he got the knowledge of putting together a good team during his time as GM for the Sault Ste. Marie Northmen of the SWOHL, when that team got relocated to Marquette, Edward was looking for a new job until the Sharks took him in as GM, His first pick as the GM is defence James Emmelot, the best defenceman in B.C. With him, the Sharks could make a comeback very soon.
1. Kenora Pioneers – Adam Harrison, D (Brandon, MA)
2. Brandon Buffalos – Luke Conway, F (Moose Jaw, SK)
3. Nanaimo Sharks - James Emmelot, D (Cranbrook, BC)
4. Surrey River Dogs – Frank Famer, G (Kelowna, BC)
5. Moose Jaw Wings – Jason West, D (Prince George, BC)
6. Chilliwack Alpines – Nick Whitebear, G (Anchorage, AK)
7. Medicine Hat Hawks – Tony Greenbird, F (Grande Prairie, AB)
8. Swift Current Battalion – Howard Bulk, F (Winnipeg, MB)
9. Billings Trains – Anthony Bostwick, F (Spokane, WA)
10. Red Deer Bucks (from Lethbridge Cougars) – Sam Ottawa, D (Calgary, AB)
11. Portage la Prairie Magic – John Ketter, D (Edmonton, AB)
12. Abbotsford Forest Kings – Terry Sabon, F (Saskatoon, SK)
13. Fargo Owls – Steven Yak, D (Winnipeg, MB)
14. Saskatoon Cats – Waylen Hook, D (Regina, SK)
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