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Steenbergen taken in first round of WHL draft, six local players selected overall

It wasn’t like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.Tyler Steenbergen, after all, only missed morning classes Thursday, opting out of school to watch the first round of the WHL bantam draft via the league’s webcast. And unlike Matthew Broderick’s character in the coming-of-age comedy film, the Sylvan Lake resident enjoyed a productive and exciting morning and actually had his teachers’ permission to stay home.

It wasn’t like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Tyler Steenbergen, after all, only missed morning classes Thursday, opting out of school to watch the first round of the WHL bantam draft via the league’s webcast. And unlike Matthew Broderick’s character in the coming-of-age comedy film, the Sylvan Lake resident enjoyed a productive and exciting morning and actually had his teachers’ permission to stay home.

The outstanding centre with the major bantam Red Deer Rebels White watched on his computer as he was selected 12th overall by the Swift Current Broncos Thursday morning, allowing him to head to school after lunch.

“I’m excited. Swift Current is a smaller place but I guess the fan base is really good there,” said the five-foot-10, 160-pound forward, who sniped 39 goals and amassed 67 points in 32 regular-season games with the Rebels White in 2012-13.

Steenbergen had a hunch it would be the Broncos who snared his WHL rights.

“I had an idea, but I wasn’t totally sure it would be Swift Current,” he said. “The Broncos did call me before the draft and we talked a bit. They actually showed the most interest of any of the teams.”

Steenbergen talked to Broncos director of player personnel Jamie Porter later in the day.

“He just told me that a couple more people will call me and said that he’ll come out to Sylvan Lake and we’ll go for supper some night,” said the future Bronco, who described himself as a player with speed and good vision.

“Plus I work hard in the defensive zone and work hard every shift,” he added.

Steenbergen dressed with the Red Deer Optimist Rebels Chiefs as an affiliate late in the season and will almost certainly be with the club next fall.

A year later, he’ll start his WHL career with the Broncos.

Steenbergen was one of five Red Deer major bantam players to be selected in this year’s WHL bantam lottery. Parker Smyth was the next to go, taken at the end of the second round — 44th overall — by the Saskatoon Blades.

“I took most of the morning off. Most of my teachers knew the situation and were all right with it,” said the six-foot, 158-pound left winger, a Grade 9 student at Hunting Hills who last season had 32 points (16g,16a) and 90 penalty minutes in 31 games with the Red Deer Rebels Black.

That the Blades were the team that came calling Thursday didn’t come as a shock to Smyth.

“I talked to them many times at the rink before and after games. I didn’t have a ‘for sure’ feeling, but I knew that they were really looking at me and were one of the teams in the mix. I was really hoping I could be part of their organization and it came through.”

Smyth, a self-described ‘two-way power forward’, feels that a strong performance at the recent Alberta Cup — a provincial zone tournament for the top second-year bantams — boosted his grades for the draft.

“I was ranked much lower for the draft by Central Scouting, but that was before the Alberta Cup, which brought me up” he said. “I was thinking second to third round. It’s been a great day.”

The other Red Deer minor hockey products drafted Thursday are five-foot-10, 160-pound defenceman and Lacombe native T.J. Brown of the Rebels Black, (fourth round, 69th overall, Brandon Wheat Kings), six-foot, 193-pound winger Luke Coleman of Red Deer and the Rebels Black (fifth round, 104th overall, Prince Albert Raiders) and six-foot, 160-pound rearguard Matt Krawiec of Red Deer and the Rebels White (sixth round, 119th overall, Kootenay Ice).

l Goaltender Kyle Dumba, the brother of Red Deer Rebels defenceman Mathew Dumba, was selected in the fourth round by the Calgary Hitmen. Dumba stopped shots for the Calgary Flames last season.