10 Saskatoon minor hockey players chosen in 2025 WHL Draft
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Their hope is screen time will someday lead to playing time.
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Indeed, a number of Saskatoon hockey players were glued to their phone or computer screens even more than usual Thursday.
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In the end, 10 of them were selected in the 2025 Western Hockey League Prospects Draft.
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You can count Dilin Coulter-Suttie among those monitoring the draft proceedings.
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As it turns out, he was the very first player to be plucked out of Saskatoon.
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'It's exciting — it was stressful going through them all (draft picks) but, once I heard my name, it was exciting,' said Coulter-Suttie, a 5-foot-9, 130-pound centre from the Saskatoon Bandits under-15 AA squad.
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Coulter-Suttie got picked by the Kamloops Blazers in the third round, 53rd overall in the Prospects Draft.
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'I actually just saw that, that I was the first one picked out of Saskatoon,' said Coulter-Suttie, admitting that it's a 'pretty good feeling.'
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He wasn't sure which team would select him, but it was a relief once Kamloops did.
'We got a questionnaire (from the Blazers) but that was really it,' he said, adding that he stayed home from school Thursday. 'My school had a half-day so there was really (not much school to miss).
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'I was just hoping to be picked by anybody.'
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Coulter-Suttie amassed 42 goals and 45 assists for 87 points in 29 games this past season with the Bandits.
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He said the Blazers see him as a 'two-way centre — they expect me to keep working, keep training and keep getting better like I did this year.'
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Next up was lanky 6-foot-1, 165-pound forward Linden Abercrombie from the Saskatoon Stallions U15 AA team.
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Abercrombie was selected in the fourth round, 90th overall, by the Moose Jaw Warriors.
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'It feels unreal — I feel like I'll fit there pretty good,' said Abercrombie, who had 25 goals and 20 assists for 45 points in 28 games this past season.
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He was the second Saskatchewan-born player to be selected by the Warriors this year.
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'I had no idea. I just saw my name and got super-excited. I stayed home from school, just waited to see my name up there. It was (a big relief to see it).'
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Abercrombie says he was surprised that other Saskatoon players hadn't been picked yet when he was.
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