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Draft week is officially here, and the Victoria Royals have their eyes set on the U.S. Import Draft taking place Wednesday, May 8th, and the WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday, May 9th.
Victoria enters the WHL Prospects Draft with plenty of draft capital, holding 2 first-round picks (8th and 18th overall) and 7 picks in the first 4 rounds.
With draft day approaching, we caught up with Royals’ Head Scout, Tanner McCall to break down the upcoming week and what the build up looks like for the scouting staff as they prepare to help forge the future of the Royals.
“We’re putting our eyes on the future of the franchise and we’re looking forward to getting some guys in the Royals’ system who can hopefully come in and make big impacts for the team.”
Eligible players for the upcoming drafts are 2009-born, who will be entering their 15-year-old seasons in 2024-25, not eligible to play full-time on WHL rosters until 2025-26. With the young age of the players, the scouting staff focuses on projecting the potential of a player and where they may be slated in the future lineup.
“The whole thing is making sure we’re finding players that we project to be pieces in the lineup for years to come. So you have to begin with the end in mind.” explained McCall.
Thursday morning will prove to be busy for Victoria as the Royals are slated to pick seven times in the first 79 selections of the WHL Prospects Draft.
“It’ll make for a busy morning once we get things rolling” stated McCall.
When talking about draft strategy, McCall indicated the importance of balancing the option of selecting the best player available while also keeping in mind the needs of the organizational depth chart. This serves as one of many checkboxes that the Royals will navigate through the draft.
“You’re taking the best players available when it comes time for you to select, but at the same time in the back of your mind you’re making sure that you’re checking off all those boxes.” stated McCall.
The scouting staff have been putting their work in throughout the season, with the schedule picking up even more in February. Events started taking place across Western Canada stretching from Winnipeg, MB, to Salmon Arm, B.C. where McCall and crew continued their work.
With the work of the scouting staff being imperative, McCall noted the nature of a draft and it being out of the team’s control when a particular player is on or off the board when it comes time for the Royals to select.
“It’s been a lot of work and a lot of travel, but now that all of the year end cups have been wrapped up,” said McCall. “Other than that, it’s outside of our control, we’re just going to pick where we pick and make sure we’re finding the best guys for the future of the team.”
While travel is the norm for scouts, this year provided an extra week of breathing room as the schedule was different from year’s past.
“We’re piecing it all together now, but this year has been a little different with the week off in between the end of Alberta Cup and the draft,” said McCall. “With the added weekend in between, it has been nice to breathe some air.”
The U.S. Import Draft will take place at 9:00AM PST on Wednesday, May 8th, while the WHL Prospects Draft will occur at 9:00AM PST on Thursday, May 9th.
Make sure to stay tuned to the WHL Draft Tracker and our social media pages for all of the information about Royals draft picks.
