Through the course of one season, blueliner Dalton Thrower represented Canada in Nagano Japan, led the back end for Zone 5 at the B.C. Winter Games and boosted his North Shore Winter Club AAA team to silver at the prestigious Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament in April.Thrower's momentum continued off the ice on Thursday (May 1) when he was chosen 30th overall by the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam draft."I'm really excited," said Thrower from Kelowna, where he's finishing off the school year at the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy. "I hear it's a great association and it's just going to be a blast."One of Thrower's coaches at the academy is David Cameron, who captained the Blades a few years ago. The ex-Blade assured Thrower that the organization treats its players very well. Executives scouted the 14-year-old for months and were surprised he was still available when the draft came back to them in the second round, said assistant general manager Jarrod Brodsky."We had him rated somewhere in the first round and we were thrilled that he was still there in the second round," he said."He's a physical kid, skates well and really competes. The other thing we really like about him is he's got some offense in him and he's just a good all-around defenceman. We feel he'll complement Duncan Siemans [first round pick] really well in the future."The young Blades are in the process of rebuilding and were one spot shy of the playoffs this season with 29 wins, 34 losses, three overtime losses and six shootout losses. Thrower's father Murray said the family will find it difficult when his son moves east for the 2009-2010 WHL season, but the developing state of the Blades should ensure Thrower gets lots of ice time to sharpen his skills."Initially when he went to Saskatoon you start feeling uneasy about the situation, you know. It's a long way from home," said Thrower."It would have been nice to see him go to Vancouver [Giants] but I don't think that he would get the opportunities he's going to get in Saskatoon. They're a young team rebuilding and three or four years down the road they could be the team to beat."Thrower will get his first taste of the organization at the end of the month when he attends the team's orientation camp in Saskatoon. Players chosen in the Bantam draft can only play five WHL league games the following season, so Thrower is trying out for the Vancouver North West Giants of the Major Midget League. The league is made up of some of the province's best hockey players 15 to 17 years old."It allows them to play with older kids, which kind of eases them in and prepares them a little bit better for Junior," said Thrower's father.All the while, Thrower will be waiting patiently for his first chance to pull a blue jersey over his gear for his first WHL game with the Blades.
