Provorov, Merkley benefit from winning season
Thursday July 9, 2015
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
The 2014-15 season was not a short one for either Ivan Provorov or Nick Merkley. The two first round selections in last month’s NHL Draft both played well into the month of May, with Provorov seeing action with his native Russia in the SUBWAY Super Series as well as a tour of duty at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Merkley saw additional action as well, suiting up for the Canadian Under-18 team back in August to win gold at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
The two highly touted prospects played out of opposing conferences in the WHL, but their clubs seemed to be on a collision course for a meeting in the WHL Finals for most of the season.
Provorov and the Brandon Wheat Kings finished the year with the WHL’s best record during the regular season, going 53-11-4-4 to win the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy. The smooth-skating blueliner finished fourth among WHL defencemen in scoring while leading all rookies with 15 goals, 46 assists and 61 points in 60 games.
Moving west to Kelowna, Nick Merkley led the Kelowna Rockets in scoring with 20 goals, 70 assists and 90 points in 72 contests. The Rockets finished with a conference-leading 53-13-5-1 record, surrendering a league-low 183 goals.
Both clubs cruised through the WHL Playoffs and into the finals, with Kelowna eliminating Tri-City, Victoria and Portland while Brandon outlasted Edmonton, Regina and Calgary for a date in the Championship.
Merkley’s Rockets would prevail, taking a 4-0 series victory as the draft eligible forward tallied three goals, four assists and seven points in the series.
Despite the crushing loss, Provorov, who was selected seventh overall by the Philadelphia Flyers and recently signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract, says the season was a success.
“I felt I was getting better every month,” Provorov told the Brandon Sun’s Perry Bergson. “The coaching staff helped me grow through a constant evaluation process. My teammates helped me a lot both in training and in the game. You never want to let them down.”
Provorov follows fellow Wheat Kings John Quenneville (New Jersey, 2014) and Ryan Pulock (NY Islanders, 2013) as the third straight Brandon player to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft.
“It’s just a great organization,” Provorov said shortly after hearing his name called on draft day. “I have to thank the coaches and my teammates for making my time there so enjoyable.”
23 picks later Merkley would close out the first round by being selected by the Arizona Coyotes at 30th overall. The Calgary native, whose Kelowna Rockets claimed the WHL crown before falling in overtime to the Oshawa Generals in the MasterCard Memorial Cup Final, tried to see the good in what was a tough way to end the season.
“You take away what you can from that experience,” he told the Calgary Sun’s Scott Fisher. “It was tough to lose like that, but there’s always something to learn and I think we’re going to have a good team again next year.”
“Going deep into the playoffs creates a lot of opportunities for yourself,” he added. “Playing in a winning culture like Kelowna is huge, and lots of teams like that, so I think it helped me for sure.”
Merkley becomes the fifth player in Rockets franchise history to be selected in the first round, joining Luke Schenn (Toronto, 2008), Tyler Myers (Buffalo, 2008), Scott Parker (Colorado, 1998) and Scott Hannan (San Jose, 1997).
“It went to the last pick, and both my parents were kind of nervous for me,” said Merkley with a laugh following the announcement. “We kind of thought I might go a little earlier and that didn’t happen, but I’m super excited to get things started with the Coyotes.”
Provorov and Merkley were two of 34 WHL players selected in the NHL Draft among 95 taken from across the Canadian Hockey League. They join Jake DeBrusk (Swift Current Broncos), Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds) and Noah Juulsen (Everett Silvertips) as first round selections.
The Regina Pats set a modern franchise record, leading the WHL with five players selected while the Seattle Thunderbirds and Prince George Cougars followed close behind with four each.
WHL Players Selected in the 2015 NHL Draft:
(Click on a player to watch post-draft interview)
First round (5 WHL players):
7. Ivan Provorov (Brandon Wheat Kings) – Philadelphia Flyers
14. Jake DeBrusk (Swift Current Broncos) – Boston Bruins
16. Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds) – New York Islanders
23. Noah Juulsen (Everett Silvertips) – Montreal Canadiens
30. Nick Merkley (Kelowna Rockets) – Arizona Coyotes
Second Round (5 WHL players):
37. Brandon Carlo (Tri-City Americans) – Boston Bruins
38. Paul Bittner (Portland Winterhawks) – Columbus Blue Jackets
41. Ryan Gropp (Seattle Thunderbirds) – New York Rangers
47. Jansen Harkins (Prince George Cougars) – Winnipeg Jets
51. Brendan Guhle (Prince Albert Raiders) – Buffalo Sabre
Third Round (5 WHL players):
65. Andrew Nielsen (Lethbridge Hurricanes) – Toronto Maple Leafs
69. Keegan Kolesar (Seattle Thunderbirds) – Columbus Blue Jackets
76. Adin Hill (Portland Winterhawks) – Arizona Coyotes
79. Sergey Zborovskiy (Regina Pats) – New York Rangers
84. Deven Sideroff (Kamloops Blazers) – Anaheim Ducks
Fourth Round (8 WHL players):
94. Adam Musil (Red Deer Rebels) – St. Louis Blues
99. Austin Wagner (Regina Pats) – Los Angeles Kings
105. Jesse Gabrielle (Regina Pats) – Boston Bruins
106. Adam Helewka (Spokane Chiefs) – San Jose Sharks
112. Parker Wotherspoon (Tri-City Americans) – New York Islanders
113. Brad Morrison (Prince George Cougars) – New York Rangers
115. Alexandre Carrier (Gatineau Olympiques) – Nashville Predators
116. Glenn Gawdin (Swift Current Broncos) – St. Louis Blues
Fifth Round (7 WHL players):
122. Devante Stephens (Kelowna Rockets) – Buffalo Sabres
124. Ethan Bear (Seattle Thunderbirds) – Edmonton Oilers
129. Sam Ruopp (Prince George Cougars) – Columbus Blue Jackets
131. Matt Bradley (Medicine Hat Tigers) – Montreal Canadiens
136. Pavel Karnaukhov (Calgary Hitmen) – Calgary Flames
143. Connor Hobbs (Regina Pats) – Washington Capitals
147. Ryan Pilon (Brandon Wheat Kings) – New York Islanders
Sixth Round (1 WHL player):
152. Giorgio Estephan (Lethbridge Hurricanes) – Buffalo Sabres
Seventh Round (3 WHL players):
187. Chaz Redekopp (Victoria Royals) – Los Angeles Kings
203. Matteo Gennaro (Prince Albert Raiders) – Winnipeg Jets
210. Tate Olson (Prince George Cougars) – Vancouver Canucks