Photo courtesy Kim Poole

The Virden Oil Capitals welcomed seven new members to the organization on Sunday at the annual MJHL Bantam Draft in Selkirk.

With the 8th overall pick the Oil Caps selected defenseman Logan Rands from the Central Plains AAA Bantam Capitals.

Rands, who hails from Portage put up 7 goals and 21 assists in 36 games last season.

“We are excited to select Logan,” said Assistant GM Chad Leslie.

“He is an intelligent puck mover and a great kid that loves to play!”

With the 19th overall pick, the Oil Caps went back to the defense pool selecting Patrick Comeau from the Winnipeg Warriors.

The Winnipeg native stands 5’9 and weighs in at 179 pounds. He scored 6 goals while adding 25 assists in 34 games this season.

“We’re very happy to have selected Patrick,” added Leslie.

“He is a very intelligent player, he’s very poised and can play in all scenarios.”

The Oil Caps did not have a selection in the third round, but held Waywayseecappo’s pick in the 4th round (35th Overall) and used it to select Colin Cook from Brandon, MB.

In Cook, the Caps get a hard nosed forward who scored 16 goals and added 16 assists in 34 games last season while racking up 88 penalty minutes.

“In Colin, we’re getting a kid who plays hard and with a lot of pace. He shoots the puck very well and is a physical guy that is hard to play against.”

With their own selection (41st Overall) in the 4th round, Virden headed down the Trans-Canada and selected another Bantam Wheat King in Dylan Halliday.

Halliday, a pure goal scorer lit the lamp 43 times last season while adding 46 assists for 89 points.

“Dylan has a great frame,” said Leslie.

“He has terrific puck skills and puck patience. He is already a powerplay guy.”

In the 5th round, the Oil Caps went back into Winnipeg to select forward Tristan Thompson.

Thompson, who stands at 5’10 scored 30 goals last season and added 18 assists for 48 points.

“In Tristan, we’re getting a kid who has the ability to score but plays hard and plays in traffic.”

Before the conclusion of the day, the Oil Caps acquired a second 6th round pick from the Winkler Flyer (64th Overall) for a conditional 2017 5th Round draft pick, giving Virden back to back picks to end the day.

With their first pick in the 6th round (63rd Overall) the Oil Caps took forward Blake Jacques from the Winnipeg Monarchs.

In 34 games, Jacques scored 18 times and added 16 assists.

"Blake is a good kid," said Leslie. 

"He is a guy who put up a point per game this season and can play in all situations."

With the next pick, 64th Overall the Oil Capitals selected Jesse Tkach from the Winnipeg Sharks.

With the Sharks, Tkach scored 8 goals and added 13 assists for 21 points in 32 games.

"Jesse is one of the hardest working kids in the league. He is excellent on the PK and limits opponents time and space."

As the day wound down, Leslie went on to thank his scouting staff for their efforts this winter.

“I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such hard working, passionate people.”

“The countless hours that my scouting staff spend in rinks and on the road is tremendous. I appreciate all that they do.”