Edmonton Oilers Prospect Ethan Bear Receives WHL Honors

Edmonton Oilers prospect Ethan Bear may have been a fifth-round pick, but that’s not how he’s been playing.

In fact, he has been going above and beyond his expectations and is making his mark in the WHL. After an outstanding 2015-16 campaign with the Seattle Thunderbirds following his draft selection, Bear has shined once again this season.

Edmonton Oilers

The 19-year-old blueliner has 28 goals and 70 points in 67 games this season and is third in scoring among all WHL defencemen. About a month ago, Bear broke a Thunderbirds record and became the franchise’s highest scoring defenceman with 63 goals in his career. And Wednesday, the WHL named Bear the Western Conference Defenceman of the Year.

It is hard to believe from his statistics that Bear was a late draft pick in 2015. The Oilers either have a great eye for up-and-coming prospects or became very fortunate int heir selection. Either way, it appears they have a right-handed, puck-moving defenceman flourishing as he works his way into the organization.

Bear signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team last year, and attended training camp this past October. There, he impressed with the Oilers during the preseason but eventually made his way back to the WHL.

Now, his eyes are set on helping Seattle make another deep run in the WHL playoffs. Despite making it far in the playoffs last year, they fell just short of the championship. A lot of the Thunderbirds’ success in the postseason came from Bear, who had eight goals and 22 points in just 28 playoff games in 2016.

As the Oilers are preparing to continue to build their team in the right direction, it is great to see Bear thriving. He will surely be an important part of the team in the coming years, and perhaps a staple on the defence corps.