'I don't care what people think': Undersized Blades prospect looks forward to proving people wrong
The Blades drafted Benjamin Bowtell in the sixth round of the 2023 Bantam Draft back in April.
“We were just sitting in math class watching the draft up on the screen. Then all of a sudden, my name popped up and I got really excited,” Bowtell said. “Really surreal experience.”
He is listed at five foot four inches and 110 pounds, tying him for the smallest prospect taken in the draft. In a picture the Blades posted, many people on social media were quick to point out Bowtell’s physical immaturity, questioning the pick.
“That picture is actually from two years ago, and I changed a lot from them. I'm just going to try and work hard and get better. I don't care what people think I'm just going to go out there, have fun work and work my butt off,” Bowtell said.
On social media, he drew comparisons to the TV character Young Sheldon – a nine-year-old boy. Bowtell is 14 years old, and has a much later birthday than many in his draft class being born in December.
“He's competitive, he's intelligent, he's skilled. He puts a ton of work into the game,” said Saskatoon Blades Director of Scouting Dan Tencer. “He’s a wonderful hockey player,”
Tencer says part of the process for the WHL Bantam Draft is projecting what players are going to look like at 17, 18 and 19-years-old. It’s at that time – Tencer says Bowtell could really contribute to the Blades.
“We think that once that physical maturity catches up, he's got the skill and the determination and the hockey sense to surpass many of the peers that were drafted ahead of him."
The Yorkton product played this past season for Rink Academy’s U15 team in Kelowna where he put up 27 points in 28 games. Tencer says he is a player who doesn’t get out-competed.
“It's the classic dog in the fight or fight in the dog and we're looking for, guys that have fight in them regardless of their size,” said Tencer.
Bowtell looks forward to when his opportunity with the Blades will come to show off his “fight.”
“Really looking forward to playing with the Blades, looking forward to playing in front of the fan base. Looking forward, hopefully, to win a lot of games, score a lot of goals and have a lot of fun in Saskatoon."
Bowtell will be one of 30 prospects to hit this ice this weekend for the Blades spring camp.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.