It was an exciting day for Nolan Speiss and Quintin Lisoway on Thursday April 29, as the two Neepawa teenagers were taken by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL entry draft.

 

Speiss, a defenceman, was drafted in the sixth round 109th overall; Lisoway, a centreman, was drafted 180th overall in the ninth round.

 

Both players attended, and were exceptional at, The Neepawa Natives' camp in mid April.

 

Both players will eligible for The MJHL's Draft on May 30th, in Winnipeg.

 

Natives' Coach Bryant Perrier was pleased for the hometown players and their families.

 

"Obviously, this is a big time of year for a player finishing up his fourteen year old season in Manitoba," said Perrier. "Within one month, they have a clear direction in where they could be playing their careers."

 

The Natives, according to Perrier, are thrilled with Speiss and Lisoway's abilities on the ice, and believes it is a fair bet that the team will be looking to bring each player into the team's fold during the upcoming MJHL draft.

 

"I am not much for betting, but I would say unless Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky show up at the draft with a 1995 birth certificate, these players are a safe bet to be drafted by our club."

 

Fortunately for The Natives, the organization is able to protect the two players because of their hometown status.

 

However, Perrier is clear that each player has earned their way to the upper portions of the club's player rankings.

 

"They are both great young players," he said. "It is quite a thing to have two players of this calibre in a town the size of Neepawa."