'Hopefully, I hear my name called': Calgary Canucks defenceman makes final NHL Draft ranking
Calgary Canucks defenceman Easton Hewson made the National Hockey League’s final draft ranking list for 2024 – but at the moment, his priority is winning the National Junior A Hockey Championship
The 18 year old and his teammates leave for Oakville, Ont. next Tuesday to play for the Centennial Cup.
It’s been nearly two weeks since the Canucks beat the Whitecourt Wolverines to win the AJHL Championship.
To make sure they’re ready, the Canucks have kind of gone back to training camp with two-a-day practices.
Hewson says it’s all worth it because they want to be their best in the national tournament.
“I think our group, we’ve done a really good job of staying dialled in,” Hewson said.
“We’re really happy and grateful for the AJHL title but the job is not finished for us and we all know that. We’re all pushing the pace every day and we’re hoping to bring home a national title.”
The lone Canuck ranked
After the Centennial Cup is over, Hewson can turn his attention to the NHL entry draft at the end of June.
Hewson is ranked 183rd on Central Scouting’s final list of North American skaters.
“Hopefully, I hear my name called,” said Hewson.
“We’ll see how it goes. I think it’s a testament to this whole program and how we’ve turned it around this year. I’m not the only guy that could’ve been on that list. I think we have a really good team and lots of guys' names could’ve been there and I’m glad to see mine for sure.”
Hewson registered two goals and nine assists over the Canucks’ 15-game playoff run.
Adam Leitch is his defence partner and he says it’s easy to play with the big blue liner.
“He’s a great skater and he uses his feet to get out of sticky situations. He’s very assertive in the way he plays and he likes to lead the rush and play with a lot of pace on offense,” he said.
“It helps that he’s 6’4” (193 centimetres) and you know, usually taller guys aren’t the best skaters but he’s figured it out.”
Put the work in
Canucks head coach Brad Moran says Hewson has put the work in to improve his game. The difference from last season to this season has been noticeable.
“To his own admission last year he needed to work on his decision-making as the rest of his game evolved,” said Moran.
“Physically he has and he’s learned to know when to take the risk and when to make the simple plays which really allows him to control the game and manage the clock and who he’s on the ice with or against to play the best of his ability.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's inflation cools to 3-year low of 2.7%, in boost for rate cut bets
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
'Documents are fraudulent': Graceland is not for sale, Elvis Presley's granddaughter says in lawsuit
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
Independent stores and grocery alternatives see sales boost amid Loblaw boycott
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.