EAST CENTRAL — Tisdale’s Nicholas Andrusiak was surprised to be the second overall pick in last week’s Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Bantam Draft.
After the La Ronge Ice Wolves took Saskatoon’s Mason Bueckert first, the Melville Millionaires grabbed the 15-year-old son of Chastity and Daryl Andrusiak. He was one of several area players taken in the May 31 event in Nipawin.
“Being selected second overall is something I totally wasn’t expecting, and I was very excited when it happened,” the defenceman said. “I am very thankful that the Melville Millionaires used their first pick to select me and have confidence in me to one day make their roster. I am going to try my hardest to fulfill the role that they see in me and one day hopefully make their roster.”
Millionaires head coach and general manager Kyle said the biggest quality that attracted them to Andrusiak is that he is a good character kid.
“When doing our homework on him, everyone was high on him about how good of a person he is,” Adams said. “He is a great teammate and a good person to have around in the dressing room. He is a very respectful person within the community of Tisdale and is also good in school with his teachers and his grades.”
Last season Andrusiak had six goals, 30 points, and 68 penalty minutes in 31 games for the North East Wolfpack bantam AA team. Adams praised his hockey IQ.
“As a defenceman, he is poised and makes great decisions while being under pressure. He makes a great first pass in the defensive zone and has offensive ability with being almost a point per game in an extremely tough bantam AA league in Saskatchewan.”
With Andrusiak at No. 2 and the Melfort Mustangs grabbing fellow Tisdale product Connor Hvidston at No. 9, the Wolfpack had two players picked in the first round. In addition, Carrot River’s Caden Drury was tabbed by the Battlefords North Stars in round four, 37th overall. The Melfort Mustangs auto-protected hometown product Zackery Somers.
“With the 2004-born players, we were fortunate to have a lot of high-end talent on the team this year and getting two players in the first round shows the strength in our program and the commitment of the players,” Wolfpack head coach Rob Misskey said. “All three players and the auto protect played a large role with the team and all stepped up on and off the ice as leaders and that’s one of the reasons why they got chosen. I believe their hockey speaks for itself and they will all be very strong players for the teams that drafted them.”
Hvidston, a forward, had 57 points, including 27 goals, in 31 games last season. His talent attracted the Swift Current Broncos, who picked him in the seventh round, 133rd overall in the Western Hockey League draft earlier this year.
Fellow forward Drury posted 19 goals and 34 points in 31 games last season. Somers, another Wolfpack forward, was second on the team last season with 24 goals and 43 points to Hvidston.
