Bantam AAA Golden Arrow Storm forward Zackary Shantz. (photo by Shane Clausing

By Shane Clausing

WHL draft

Grande Prairie’s Zackary Shantz, Wesley Golden selected in 2020 WHL Draft

Apr 22, 2020 | 4:32 PM

Two players from Grande Prairie were selected in Wednesday’s 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.

The first Grande Prairie native on the draft board was Zackary Shantz, who was selected with the 66^th pick in the third round of the draft by the Prince George Cougars.

Shantz had a great season with the GPAC Golden Arrow Bantam AAA Storm. In 33 games played, Shantz scored 34 goals and registered 52 points as he finished fourth in league scoring. He also led the entire North Division in goals and points. He was also the recipient of the AMBHL North Division’s Outstanding Player Award.

Shantz says he is excited for the opportunity that awaits him in Prince George.

“It’s so exciting, I wanted to go there from the start. I have a few friends on that team so it is pretty cool.”

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Shantz describes himself as a 200-foot player who has good vision and can move the puck up the ice at fast speeds.

He added that he wants to work on getting stronger this off season as he gets ready for Cougars training camp in August.

Not long after Shantz was selected, his bantam teammate, defenseman Wesley Golden, was picked by the Prince Albert Raiders with the 103^rd pick in the fifth round of the draft.

The 14-year-old defenseman had a solid season on the blue line with the AAA Storm.

He had 14 points in 29 games this season and was called up and appeared in two games for the Minor Midget AAA Storm.

Golden says he thought Prince Albert was interested in him after they interviewed him twice in the lead up to the draft. He adds that he is excited to see what Prince Albert has in store and is excited to get things going.

“They kind of seemed like they had their eye on me. It’s a great town and great place. It’s a good experience to go through and it doesn’t really matter where you go to, it (the draft) is a great process and I’m excited to move on.”

Golden said that the best way to describe him as a player is as a leader on and off the ice and as someone who brings good character to the locker room.

This offseason Golden mentioned that he wants to work on his overall strength and foot speed so he can get faster and quicker.

WHL training camps are scheduled to open up in August.