Spencer Hunter was sitting through an English class lecture at Prince of Wales secondary in early May, his eyes narrowed on his iPhone, when he started getting texts from friends: "Atta boy!" "Congratulations!"
He madly scrolled the Twitter feed of the Western Hockey League but the page was slow to refresh. Nonetheless, he said with a smile, "I knew what the messages were about."
Hunter, 15, was selected in the seventh round of the WHL bantam draft by the Seattle Thunderbirds. Picked halfway through the pack at 147th overall, he leapt out of his desk chair and cheered, surprising his teacher at the front of the classroom.
Not too far away at St. George's, Jordan Deyrmenjian was writing a science exam. He didn't have time to put pen to paper before friends threw open the class door to tell him he was drafted in the 10th round by the Kamloops Blazers.
"They opened the door and all yelled, right in the middle of class," he said. "It's a pretty cool feeling. I was too out of it, so I actually had to write the test later."
Vancouverite Jake Kryski, who skates for the Burnaby Winter Club, was also selected in the WHL bantam draft. Picked 13th overall, he was drafted in the opening round by the Prince Albert Raiders after he was named the 2012 minor hockey player of the year and last season netted 59 goals and 59 assists in 58 games.
Over the next two years, the teams that drafted Hunter, Deyrmenjian, Kryski and more than 200 other bantam players, will watch closely to see how their abilities develop and will want to see the prospects continue to progress, said Burnaby Winter Club general manager Len McNeely.
"It's always very uncertain for kids and parents to go through this period of time," he said. "You've got choices."
Both Hunter and Deyrmenjian played Bantam A1 with the Vancouver Thunderbirds Hockey Association and won the B.C. Cup. Neither will stay with their minor club next year and both face important decisions regarding their future. Bantam players drafted at this point of their hockey careers are protected by the WHL team that picks them, but the teens can't sign until they are 17. In the meantime, the players attend summer camp, play on elite regional teams or attend hockey academies, and strive to establish their value when they do become eligible for a WHL roster spot. They may get other offers, such as a post-secondary athletic scholarship.
Hunter, the tallest on his T-birds bantam team who led all players with 37 goals, has already decided to enroll in a new hockey academy at Burnaby Central secondary, a program that will partner with the Burnaby Winter Club and play in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League against other school academies in B.C. and Alberta. His focus on the ice will be hockey skills development, but away from the rink he'll also establish skills to support an athletic lifestyle. And he won't compete against bigger boys in major midget who can drive themselves to games, he said.
Deyrmenjian, 15, is still undecided but said he will try out for a spot on the Greater Vancouver Canadians, a major midget team that draws players from Vancouver, Richmond and Delta.
Compared to an age-specific U16 team, major midget heaps 15-, 16- and 17-year-old players on the ice together, a style of play that appeals to Deyrmenjian.
"It's more of a competitive game, plying against older players. You're fighting to play and it's more of a junior atmosphere," said the five-foot-11, 175-pound power forward.
McNeely said one of the most significant choices has yet to be presented to these young prospects.
"The biggest decision is whether they want to go the NCAA route or the WHL route. The WHL draft sort of targets them and gets them hooked earlier, but as soon as they play a game, the rules make them ineligible for NCAA."
Still three years from high school graduation, bantam players drafted to the WHL may have options but only if they continue to develop their skills and as long as their ambitions remain in hockey.
Deyrmenjian, who started skating at the Arbutus Club, said he'll make each decision as it comes, and will being by training this summer in preparation for the Blazers camp in August.
"Currently I really want to enjoy myself, go to camp and make everything out of it."
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