The Victoria Royals goaltending situation for the 2015-16 Western Hockey League season suddenly got a lot more intriguing.
Six-foot-six Evan Smith, who was sent down to the North American Hockey League after appearing in only four games for the Royals last season, was selected 205th overall in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL draft Saturday by Nashville as the Predators saw upside in that ample frame.
Also drafted from the Royals was six-foot-four defenceman Chaz Reddekopp, who went 187th overall in the seventh round to the Los Angeles Kings.
Smith had a glaring 4.20 goals-against average and only an .864 save percentage in going 1-1 in his four appearances for Victoria. The native of Parker, Colorado, then missed a large swath of playing time due to a knee injury and broken finger before being sent to the Austin Bruins in Minnesota of the NAHL for seasoning.
Remaining property of the Royals, he appeared in 15 regular-season games for the Bruins with a stellar 12-1-2 record and downright stingy 1.73 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. In six playoff appearances, he went 4-1 and posted a 2.10 goals- against average and .914 save percentage as the Bruins made the NAHL final.
“It [the draft] put a smile on my face and I went downstairs and hugged my parents. It was a great feeling,” said Smith on the phone from Colorado.
While disappointed to be demoted from the Royals last season, Smith turned the situation upside down: “Austin turned into a great experience. It was a tremendous group of guys to play behind and it filled me up with a winning mentality to bring back to Victoria.”
Royals general manager Cam Hope talked about the rationale of moving Smith last season while retaining his WHL rights.
“We wanted what was best for Evan, which was not to be sitting on our bench, but to be getting playing time. And he made the most of it. The decision was made to get Evan more playing time [in the NAHL], and that probably contributed to him getting drafted,” Hope said.
Reddekopp went into the draft ranked 82nd among North American skaters. But as the seventh and final round rolled around, he admitted to “getting a little nervous” not hearing his name called. “It was a big relief. My mom and sisters were in tears. It was a great reaction among my family,” Reddekopp said from his home in the Okanagan.
“But this is just the first step. Obviously, there is a lot of work to do to stay with stronger and faster pro players. This is the start of the learning curve. It’s exciting to go to a team like the Kings, which is a first-class organization.”
The native of West Kelowna had an ironman season, appearing in all 72 regular season games for Victoria and all 10 playoff games with a combined five goals and 23 points with 65 penalty minutes.
“Once we traded [strapping defenceman and 2013 Calgary Flames third-round draft pick] Keegan Kanzig, Chaz had to take on a bigger role and he embraced it,” Hope said.
Reddekopp and Smith will attend the respective Kings and Predators rookie camps next week before beginning preparations in late August for the 2015-16 Royals WHL season.
Royals forward Tyler Soy was the 78th-ranked North American skater for the 2015 NHL draft but was bypassed. “It was pretty hard . . . difficult to go through,” Soy said. “But it’s not the end-all or be-all.”
If any organization knows that, it’s the Royals. Defenceman Joe Hicketts was overlooked in the 2014 NHL draft but went on to sign pro with the Detroit Red Wings and win a gold medal for Canada at the world junior championships. “I just have to look at what Joe Hicketts did . . . and do that,” said Soy, who had 28 goals and 63 points for Victoria in 69 regular-season games and two goals and seven points in 10 playoff games.
Soy, from Cloverdale, took the first step toward that, receiving a free-agent invite to Edmonton Oilers’ rookie camp opening Tuesday.
“Every team has different needs,” and the draft never goes completely the way the rankings indicate, Hope said. “There are a lot of non-drafted players in the NHL, including quite a few on the two Stanley Cup finalists this year.”
There were 35 WHL players selected in the 2015 NHL draft, including five in the first round.
