Tomas Vincour is the first in what the Edmonton Oil Kings hope will be a very long line.
The Czech winger is projected to go somewhere in the third or fourth rounds of the NHL entry draft, which will make him the first Oil King to be picked since the franchise was relaunched two years ago.
"Some of our good young kids are going to start coming through our system and will get an opportunity to play in the NHL," said Oil Kings general manager Bob Green, adding it's always a feather in an organization's cap when one of their players is picked.
"It always is, it puts you in the spotlight a little bit. It's nice for people with kids who are coming to your program, or perspectively coming to your program, to know that you do a good job of developing young hockey players and moving them on.
"Those things are all assets when it comes to recruiting.
"We were excited for Brent (Raedeke) last year, when he got signed by Detroit. We felt he should have been drafted and didn't, but it ended up working out pretty good for him in the end."
Vincour is ranked 42nd among North American players by Central Scouting on the strength of 17 goals and 19 assists in 49 games.
Many had him as a first-rounder last fall, but the fact he only played 49 games while wrestling a series of injuries dropped him down the pecking order.
"They were tough on him," said Green of the ranking. "The World Junior Tournament wears you down a little bit, too. It's a tough grind for the elite-level players in junior hockey."
Green sees Vincour becoming a good pro one day.
"He's got some things to work on. He has to get more consistent in his play, and part of that has to do with his fitness.
"Some of that stems from coming over from Europe and playing a longer schedule with the travel and intensity of the Western Hockey league --it's an adjustment that a lot of kids have to make."
