Albeit a springtime tournament, Kael Scott was playing hockey — fittingly enough — on the May morning that the Calgary Hitmen selected the
Lloydminster forward in the WHL prospects draft.
Scott was in Saskatoon, driving back to his lodge with his Métis teammates after a practice, when the Hitmen called his name in the third round with the 64th-overall pick.
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“It sounds great,” said Scott, who played U15 prep with OHA Edmonton this past season.
“I saw my name pop up and I didn’t know what to say after that. I was super excited. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Calgary.
“I was happy for myself when I got drafted, but it’s another thing making the team. There’s a lot of work to be done to actually make it.”
Scott, 15, played in Indigenous tournaments on back-to-back weekends before and after the May 8 draft. The six-foot, 190-pound centre had already made his case in front of WHL scouts, powering his way to a 22-goal, 51-point season in 36 games with OHA Edmonton.
“Kael has good size, he can skate and he has a really good release on his shot,” said Gary Michalick, the Hitmen’s director of scouting. “When you watch him, he can be (effective) in tight. Like, he doesn’t score his goals from dipsy-doodling and going around guys. He goes to the dirty areas, like in the front of the net. And when he gets the puck, he can snap it. He can really shoot it.”
REDDEN HISTORY
The Winnipeg-based Michalick has decades of experience as a junior hockey scout. He worked with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 1990s when they brought in Hillmond defenceman Wade
Redden, who went on to become an NHL all-star.
Michalick estimated that he saw Scott and his prep team play 30 times this past season.
“Plus, with our northern Alberta scouts watching OHA Edmonton quite a bit, we really liked Kael,” he said. “He fits what we’re looking for, certainly with the size and his ability to score. And he can skate, too. We’re excited about him.”
Michalick and his Hitmen scouting staff contrasted Scott’s robust style of play with his relatively mild-mannered personality away from the rink.
“He’s got a different demeanour on the ice,” Michalick said. “When you talk to him off the ice, he’s very quiet, very reserved, but when you watch him play, he certainly plays with some emotion and plays hard. He plays both centre and wing, which we really like as well.”
Scott tries to emulate powerful and skilled NHL forwards like Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton
Oilers, who happen to be Scott’s favourite team.
“MacKinnon plays more of a physical game,” he said. “He’s a big guy. I think we kind of play a similar game, as well as Draisaitl.”
Growing up, Scott has “always been one of the bigger kids, which has definitely helped me,” he said.
“My strongest suit, playing with my body is a big one. Whether that’s laying hits or using it to protect the puck, or separate the puck from other people, I think I do a great job at that.
“I’d say I have a really good shot and my playmaking is pretty good. So, I think that’ll definitely help on the future teams that I play on.”
Scott’s well-rounded game made him a force with an OHA Edmonton team that had six
players drafted this year. That group included Macklin defenceman Anderson Reschny (second round, Prince George), Lloydminster forward Josh Frazer (sixth round, Spokane) and Edmonton forward Brayden Tucker, the Hitmen’s seventh-round choice.
Scott was the second of 11 picks for Calgary, which didn’t have a first-round selection. The Hitmen chose St. Albert U15 AAA forward Walker Flewich in the second round, 35th overall. Flewich scored 45 goals and 85 points in 34 regular-season games, plus 18 points in nine playoff games.
The Hitmen believe that Flewich and Scott are poised to become a solid one-two punch when they reach the WHL.
“We like the two of them together,” Michalick said. “We think we got two players that’ll complement each other and be really good Hitmen one day.
“Kael, playing in a deeper league (than the provincial U15 AAA circuit in which Flewich played), was productive as well. Not afraid to get involved physically. We just think the sky is the limit for Kael as far as development is concerned.”
Scott spent most of his childhood in Bonnyville. His family moved to Lloydminster a couple of years ago, just as he was going into Grade 8 and suiting up with the Junior Prospects Hockey League’s Lloyd Athletics for the 2023-24 season.
A year later, he was on the road again, moving in with Edmonton billets last fall to play with OHA for his WHL draft year.
“A little different, but I adapted to it and really enjoyed it,” said Scott, speaking with a maturity that exceeds his youth.
He had his own room downstairs as he resided with the family of OHA teammate Owen Amyotte, a goaltender.
This coming season, Scott is returning home to play with the Lancers in the Alberta Elite Hockey League, most likely at the U18 AAA level. He won’t be eligible to play with the Hitmen full-time until he’s 16. While with the Lancers during the 2025-26 season, he could be called up to Calgary for as many as 10 WHL games.
Regardless of the timelines, the Hitmen clearly see him as a prospect who can step up to the WHL within a few years.
“We’re looking forward to seeing him at (training) camp,” Michalick said. “I know he’s going back to Lloyd to play U18, which I think is a great idea.
“He got great coaching last year at OHA Edmonton. You could see Kael get better and better throughout the year.”
He’ll try to continue to improve this summer with a mix of workouts that begins with his home gym and a shooting pad in his garage.
Just last week, Scott ran home from his high school — Lloydminster Comprehensive — with a knapsack on his back, running about 2.5
kilometres.
Although he figures he doesn’t necessarily come from a traditional hockey family, Scott’s early adaptation to the game was almost magical.
“No one in my family really played hockey — maybe my uncle — so my parents put me in hockey and the first moment I touched the ice, I loved it,” he said. “I’ve wanted to be the best player I can, and it’s brought me here so far.”
For the coming hockey season, he’s looking forward to playing in Lloyd again, likely with fellow 2025 WHL draft choices and U16 Team Alberta candidates Tripp Fischer (third round, Prince Albert), Brody Sunderland (fourth round, Spokane) and Frazer (sixth round, Spokane).
“It’ll be good, just to get back together,” Scott said. “We’ve built great friendships between the four of us, and everybody else who’s on the team with us. I’m really excited to see what happens (with the Lancers). I think we’ll have a pretty good team. And being at home will be nice.”
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