Branden Klatt with the Notre Dame Bantam Hounds last season.

The sixth round of Thursday's WHL Bantam Draft is when the one and only Moose Jaw-born player went off the board.  Forward Branden Klatt went to the Edmonton Oil Kings with 130th overall pick.

“It was a great feeling, I'm pretty excited,” Klatt told DiscoverMooseJaw.com after being selected by the Oil Kings.  “It was a pretty high moment and I couldn't be more happy.”

The Oil Kings had been in contact with the Moose Jaw native prior to the draft and Klatt was hoping that would be his destination.  “They were talking to us a little bit before the draft, they gave me a call and asked what I thought about going there,” said Klatt.  “It's a great organization and it's going to be fun.”

The 14-year-old left winger played with the Notre Dame Bantam Hounds in the South Saskatchewan Midget AA Hockey League last season.  He posted 22 goals and 40 points in 31 games, while picking up 28 penalty minutes playing against players a couple of years older.

“It definitely helped me develop,” he said.  “Guys were bigger and stronger and you have to give 110 all the time, you can't take a shift off otherwise someone will take advantage of you.”

That Hounds team was all over the draft board on Thursday with 11 players in total going over 11 rounds, including three in the first round.  “All my teammates were very excited too and we were all giving each other props for getting drafted,” Klatt explained.

Klatt also got a taste of Midget AAA hockey, playing one game with the Notre Dame Argos last season.  He plays a power forward game and will be hoping to translate that over to junior hockey in two years.

“I can skate decently fast for a guy my size and I have decent size for my age, so I can control the boards and I'm decently strong on the puck,” described Klatt.  “I'm really responsible in my own end and I can chip in offensively too.”

He added that there are areas he will be working on as well before making the jump to the WHL, “I definitely need to get my feet quicker and just make decisions quicker and playing a little more confident with the puck.”

Klatt will have at least a season to work on that and it may be at home as he's leaning towards playing with the Moose Jaw Generals next year.  “It's more like 80 percent that I'll be playing in Moose Jaw, so hopefully play here,” said Klatt.

The Oil Kings are still playing as they will meet the Portland Winterhawks in their second straight Ed Chynoweth Cup Final.  Game 1 of the series goes on Friday in Portland.