OLDS — Two Olds and area hockey players are thrilled to have been chosen in the Western Hockey League (WHL) prospects draft.
Jaxon Jaffray was taken by the Portland Winter Hawks in the fifth round, 104th overall, and Noah Ulry was drafted in the 11th round, 246th overall, by the Prince Albert Raiders.
The draft was held May 7-8.
This past season, Ulry and Jaffray played for the U15AAA Red Deer Rebels, who won gold in provincials on home ice in late March.
Both play left wing and both are team leaders. Jaffray was the team captain and Ulry was an assistant captain.
They’re each hoping to make it at the U18AAA level now and both were interviewed by the Albertan.
Jaxon Jaffray
Jaffray was asked how he reacted to getting drafted.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Our whole family jumped up in excitement when, when my name popped up and everybody was just celebrating.”
Jaffray said he wasn’t really concerned when his name wasn’t called until the fifth round.
“Some of the teams reached out and said that they're thinking about me in that range. So once it got to that range, I was getting excited and then saw my name pop up,” he said.
The Winterhawks’ 2024-25 season ended May 1 after they were beaten 6-4 by the Spokane Chiefs in Game 4 of the WHL’s Western Conference Championship.
They’ve not only made it into the WHL playoffs for 14 straight seasons but have battled in back-to-back Western Conference Championship series.
“I looked it up, and I followed that team a little bit. It looks awesome,” Jaffray said. “They’ve never had a down year. They're always good, and the city looks awesome.
“The team's always been good, and they're good at developing those players and their prospects.”
Jaffray spoke with Winterhawks staff. They gave him a list of things to work on.
“Just getting bigger and stronger in the gym, and working on my first couple strides on the ice,” he said. “Just getting faster, being able to get to the puck faster, quicker than everybody else.”
At 5’7, 185 pounds, Jaffray isn’t an imposing presence on the ice – at least yet.
But he’s got time. He’s only 14 and players seldom make the WHL at 16, usually not until 17.
Ulry’s a bit bigger than Jaffray. He’s 5’10” and weighs 157 pounds.
Noah Ulry
Ulry is excited to have been chosen by the Raiders.
“I think it's going to be really good,” he said.
He admitted it was a long wait until his name was called.
“It was definitely a bit of waiting. But yeah, I was nervous. I'm definitely just excited that I did get drafted,” he said.
Ulry said Raiders staff told him to keep training.
“They said work on my skating and just be training lots.”
Unlike Jaffray, when interviewed, Ulry didn’t know much about Prince Albert.
“I know that it's in Saskatchewan,” he said.
It’s a city of about 38,000 people in north central Saskatchewan.
In the playoffs this season, the Raiders made it to round 2 before being bounced in four straight games by the Medicine Hat Tigers.
