Big Ten

FRISCO, TX – The Bismarck Bobcats used just one of their 10 picks in the 2012 North American Hockey League Entry Draft on a 20 year-old player, going largely with younger players as they filled out their 30-man protected list Thursday afternoon.

With their first-round selection—24^th overall—the Bobcats picked up former Aberdeen Wings forward Kevin Becker, setting the tone on an offense-heavy draft that saw the four-time defending Central Division champs select seven forwards in nine rounds.

Here is a quick overview of the Bobcats’ 10 selections:

Giordano, who was sixth in the EJHL scoring in 2011-12 with 69 points, was the only 1992-born selected by the Bobcats. Every other draft pick has two or three years remaining of junior eligibility.

“We are extremely pleased, as a staff, at how our draft turned out,” explained Bobcats assistant coach Garrett Roth, participating in his first draft as a member of the Bobcats’ coaching staff. “If you look at the players we targeted, we got the top three ‘D’ on our board and seven forwards that we have very high regard for.”

The pick that yielded Blom came by way of the Bobcats’ September trade with Alexandria (now Brookings) in which they also acquired forward Adam Knochenmus. All other selections were the Cats’ original picks.

While the 2011 Draft for the Bobcats was more regionally focused—three North Dakota players and one Minnesota players&mda
sh;the Bobcats selected players who had played in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and California.

Unlike the last three drafts, the Bobcats did not select any North Dakota natives in the 2012 Entry Draft.

The next step in the Bobcats’ roster evaluation for the 2012-13 season will be the team’s Main Tryout Camp at the VFW Sports Center July 27-29.

Season tickets for the 2012-13 season are now on sale—and going fast! Call the box office at (701) 222-3300 to reserve your seats and be a part of another Bobcat Hockey run for the title today!