An absolutely amazing season came to the perfect end for Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Tracey on Friday night.
The 18-year-old Calgary product was in the stands in Vancouver to hear his name called 29th overall in the first round of the National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks.
Tracey became one of the fastest-rising players to watch throughout the Western Hockey League season, eventually moving from 73rd in the final Central Scouting rankings to 21st among North American skaters -- and making a first-round selection a very real probability.
Based on past NHL Draft results, a first round selection from Tracey’s final ranking position would require some moving up the board, but early second round was also realistic -- the 21st ranked skater in 2018, Mattias Samuelsson, ended up going to the Buffalo Sabres as the first pick in the second round, 32nd overall.
The Western Hockey League rookie of the year scored 36 goals and 81 points to lead all rookies and finish 16th overall in WHL scoring.
