Mike Wirll - NHL draft prospect

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Aboriginal forward Mike Wirll of the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings is expected to go fairly early in this summer's National Hockey League draft, but he probably won't be selected as early as he could have been.

"I think that he's a very hard player to evaluate based on his season," stated Wheat Kings' general manager Kelly McCrimmon.

After a solid rookie season with the Wheat Kings in 1998-99, the 18-year-old suffered what some might call a sophomore jinx when it came to the injury bug.

"It was really rough for me, being bad luck for injuries and that kind of thing," Wirll said of his recently completed season. "It didn't start off that great, missing the under-18 team with a (pre-season) back injury. Then, just getting off that, I played three games at the start of the (WHL) season, and then I broke my wrist, so I was out for a couple of months with that."

After Wirll recovered from his wrist injury, he then suffered a head injury that put him out of commission for the remainder of the season.

"He didn't play a full 72 game schedule, so because of that, he's likely a guy who's going to show up higher on some lists than others, and I think that any team that's drafting based on skill and upside is going to have Mike held in high regard," said McCrimmon.

Bob Lowes, head coach of the Wheat Kings, agrees.

"I think his injuries have really held him back. But he has the ability to score lots of points and make great plays. His skating ability is one of the biggest things scouts look at, he's a tremendous skater," Lowes said. "I think the game's kind of going that way. I think the speed and the skill level of the players is improving, and I think that's what makes Mike very enticing to (National Hockey League) teams."

Wirll felt the pressure of not being able to show his best stuff to the scouts.

"Really frustrating," said Wirll. "Some of the stuff I used to be able to do I couldn't really do as good, for some reason. Maybe because I was off my game. I was playing most of the time when I came back with a cracked wrist. It wasn't fully healed, so I just wore this kind of a little cast thing to protect it. So it was kind of rough with shooting and all that stuff."

Coach Lowes could see what Wirll was going through, both physically and emotionally. Still, in Lowes' eyes, Wirll did well, considering everything.

"It was tough," said Lowes. "He'd get back from one injury where he'd just get playing and he was just starting to really get going when he had his last injury. I think Mike would say that was probably the most disappointing part of his year, but there were definitely some games and some situations where he was really good and I think he just wants to try to put that behind him. I think somebody will draft him based on what they've seen in a lot of the games."

Despite only playing 37 games this season, he is ranked 80th overall in North American by the Central Scouting Bureau. In those 37 games, he managed to score 9 goals and 18 assists.

"Well, I think (the ranking) is pretty good, regarding how my season went. If I would have played even half a season, I probably would have been able to show a little more, I would have probably been ranked higher."

Many would see this as an accomplishment as a result of years of hard work, which Wirll would agree with.

"(The ranking) probably (came) from previous years they saw me - because they watch, I think, from when you're 15 - and they see how you develop," he said.

Wirll's rookie campaign saw him play 43 games, scoring 16 goals, 21 assists, and a mere 10 penalty minutes.

Although Wirll spent much of his early regular-season hockey career with what most would call "mainstream" hockey teams, he has also spent time in Aboriginal summer hockey programs, from Novice right up to Bantam.