You can add another name to the list of NHL prospects and players with local connections.
Estevan’s Maximus Wanner was picked in the seventh round, 212th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in Saturday’s portion of the NHL Entry Draft.
Wanner, 18, played his developmental hockey in Estevan through the 2015-16 season.
He was optimistic but not overly confident he would be drafted. In fact, he was playing golf in Moose Jaw on Saturday when he was contacted by Tyler Wright, the Oilers director of amateur scouting, and informed he had been drafted.
“(It was) halfway through the round, and obviously I didn’t shoot as well after I got the call,” Wanner said with a laugh. “It was hard to focus.”
Then the congratulatory text messages started to roll in.
“I was pretty pumped. It’s every kid’s dream to get drafted into the NHL,” said Wanner.
He had a couple of conversations with the Oilers prior to the draft that were fairly promising, but he was trying not to get his hopes up. Wright also spoke with two or three other teams before the draft.
During the sixth and seventh rounds, he started following the draft more closely to see the results.
He said the Oilers like his size at 6’3” and 185 pounds, and they’re impressed with his skating ability for a big defenceman.
His status as a drafted player, and the compliments he has received, will provide a boost in confidence. He’s also looking forward to playing for a Western Canadian team.
“They’re a really nice organization, and I always liked watching them growing up,” said Wanner.
Wanner is grateful to his parents, Cory and Cecilia, for their contributions to his career.
“They sacrificed all of their weekends, all of their vacation days, to take me to hockey and book hotels. It was tremendous the sacrifices they made for me.”
He’s also had excellent support from the Estevan Minor Hockey Association.
“I had good coaches all growing up, and very good programs. It was really nice being able to grow up in Estevan and learn to play hockey.”
He has made friends for life through local minor hockey circles.
After leaving Estevan in 2016-17, he joined the Prairie Hockey Academy for his second season of U15 hockey and his first year of U18 hockey.
Wanner split the past two seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors U18 AAA hockey team and the Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He also played two games for the Estevan Bruins in the 2019-20 season.
Last season he had four goals and an assist in five games with the U18 Warriors, and four assists in 18 games for the WHL Warriors.
He was ranked 223rd overall among North American skaters for this year’s draft.
In recent years, other southeast products have joined NHL organizations. Estevan’s Cole Fonstad was selected in the fifth round by the Montreal Canadiens in 2018. Another Estevan product, Brayden Pachal, has been part of the Vegas Golden Knights organization the past two seasons.
Both Fonstad and Pachal won a Western Hockey League title with the Prince Albert Raiders in 2019.
Oxbow’s Tanner Jeannot spent much of the past NHL season with the Nashville Predators, recording five goals and two assists in 15 games.
And brothers Haydn and Cale Fleury, both defencemen, of Carlyle were selected by the newest NHL team, the Seattle Kraken, in last week’s expansion draft. Haydn played last season with the Carolina Hurricanes and Anaheim Ducks, while Cale was with the Canadiens organization.
