Riley Heidt and Brayden Yager found themselves in a starring role on WHL Bantam Draft day.

On April 21, the Regina Pats, who held the first overall selection in the draft festivities, signed North Vancouver, B.C., product and phenom forward Connor Bedard to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. With Bedard tabbed as the first player to be granted exceptional player status to play on the circuit full time as a 15-year-old, the Pats said for a number of weeks they were going to select him first overall.

With that in mind, the WHL gave the Pats leeway to sign Bedard to a player agreement before officially picking him in the draft.

Due to the fact the selection of Bedard by the Pats was a formality, attention turned to see where Heidt and Yager might go, when the draft got underway via an online format. Both forwards were projected to be selected inside of the top three picks.

The one-time Dundurn residents were selected in less than five minutes of each other.

Heidt was selected second overall by the Prince George Cougars. Yager went third overall to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Both watched the proceedings online in their respective homes with family. Heidt said he felt a rush of energy, when he was picked. “It is obviously an awesome experience,” said Heidt. “I’m really looking forward to it. Just to hear my name being called, I can’t even believe it. I’m speechless.” Yager was pretty pumped to hear his name called a short time afterwards. “It is unbelievable,” said Yager. “I was so ecstatic when I found out the news. “It has been a dream of mine to play in the WHL for such a long time now. I think being a part of the Moose Jaw Warriors will make it pretty special.”

Heidt and Yager have been playing hockey together since skating with the same spring hockey team at age eight. They played for the Martensville Marauders bantam AA team from 2017 to 2019 while living in Dundurn.

Last season, the duo played as 14-year-old underage players in the midget AAA ranks with the Saskatoon Contacts. Heidt, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 160 pounds, appeared in all of the Contacts’ 44 regular-season games, posting 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points. Yager, who stands 6-feet and weighs 163 pounds, also appeared in all of the Contacts’ 44 regular-season games, piling up 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points. The pair have been best friends for a long time, so naturally, they texted each after they were both selected.

“That was almost as good of a feeling as mine,” said Heidt of Yager’s selection by the Warriors. “I’m very happy for him.

“He’s worked very hard, and I’ve been along with him for a long time. I think we’ve pushed each other to get better, and I think it has paid off. At the end of the day, he is a very good player, and I am happy for him.” “It was pretty special,” said Yager. “We’ve been playing with each other for such a long time now. We’ve been best friends for a long time. I feel really happy for him. I am sure he is excited. “We both texted each other as soon as we heard that both of us got drafted. We kind of just sent texts to each other congratulating each other, so that was pretty special.”

It was special for Marc Chartier to see both Heidt and Yager go as early as they did in the draft. Chartier coached both with the Contacts last year. “They are good kids to coach,” said Chartier, who was behind the Contacts bench for 13 seasons before announcing he was leaving the team. “They are highly motivated boys. “They are the ‘first ones on and the last ones off the ice’ kind of mentality. They were in the league that they were supposed to be playing in as far as we were concerned. Two bantam players doing what they did, they had very good years with us.”

The Contacts kept Heidt and Yager together on the ice, and Chartier said their chemistry was obvious. “They were very comfortable playing with each other,” said Chartier. “Both of them are very skilled, and still I don’t think their ceiling has been reached. “They still have a little bit more to go. The next challenge is going to the Western Hockey League after playing one more year as a midget AAA. They will do very well.” Both were candidates for the exceptional status to play in the WHL, but were not granted that tag.

“Since me and Riley (Heidt) got denied of it, it was a little disappointing,” said Yager. “I think we are both just going to take it as motivation and just work our hardest to get better and one day play in the WHL. “Obviously, Connor Bedard is a pretty unbelievable player, and he deserves it. I think we’re just going to take it as motivation here and try and make it to the WHL.”

In the WHL, they won’t be playing together on the same team either. Heidt believes both will be able to branch out on their own, when that time comes. “We’ve talked about it a little bit,” said Heidt. “I don’t think we mind. “We are both very good players. I feel like that sometimes we are thought that we need to lean on each other, but we are both good players and we can play independent. We’re happy for each other, and it is a great opportunity for both of us.”

The WHL Bantam Draft was originally slated to be held on May 7 in Red Deer, Alta., but that event was cancelled and the draft was moved to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 53 players were selected from Saskatchewan, which was the second most from the four Western Canada provinces. There was buzz around the first three selections in the draft as Bedard, Heidt and Yager were deemed as the players to watch this past season.

Bedard played for West Vancouver Academy’s under-18 team this past season in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, piling up 43 goals and 41 assists for 84 points in 36 games. The Pats and the WHL held a big online media conference featuring Bedard on April 21 after he signed with the Regina side. “Obviously, it is a dream come true,” said Bedard, who will turn 15-years-old in July.

“When I was a young guy growing up watching the WHL, I always had dreams of playing there. “Getting the chance to be with the oldest organization in the league and such a great organization, I’m obviously couldn’t be happier, and I am very excited to get started.”

-Darren Steinke