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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Two Falcons Selected In NHL Draft
June 25, 2001 | Ice Hockey
June 25, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Two Bowling Green State University hockey players were selected in the 2001 National Hockey League Entry Draft. The nine-round draft was held over the weekend (June 23-24) at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Fla.
Rising sophomore Kevin Bieksa was a fifth-round choice of the Vancouver Canucks, while incoming freshman Jordan Sigalet was taken in the seventh round by the Boston Bruins.
Bieksa saw action in 35 games for the Falcons in 2000-01, his first year with the team. A defenseman, he scored four goals and added nine assists. Two of his goals came in the final three games of the season, including a third-period goal in a 4-3 overtime win at Miami. That win gave the Falcons, the ninth seed in the CCHA Tournament, a two-game sweep of the first-round series vs. the second-seeded RedHawks. Bieksa scored the Falcons' lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Michigan State, then the top-ranked team in the nation, in the CCHA's semifinal round.
Bieksa, the 151st overall pick of the NHL draft, also scored goals against Nebraska Omaha and Princeton. He had a season-best four-game scoring streak in early November, including a two-assist contest at Ohio State.
Sigalet, an incoming freshman for the 2001-02 season, was the 209th overall selection in the draft.
Sigalet, a goaltender, has played the past two seasons for the Victoria Salsa in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League. This past season he recorded 23 wins for Victoria with a 3.03 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 48 games. According to quotes by Bruins Director of Scouting Scott Bradley (courtesy of the Boston Bruins official web site, www.bostonbruins.com), Sigalet's selection in the draft will not affect his decision to come to BGSU.
"Jordan's mechanics are good," said Bradley. "He does very well positionally and covers a lot of the net with his size. He handles the puck well and he just seems to know how to win games. He has a good catching hand and took a team far into the playoffs in the BCHL last year, and lost to the eventual Canadian champion.
"I think he can step in and be a starter at Bowling Green," added Bradley. "We'll have four years to study him, rather than him going to major juniors where we would only have two years to evaluate him."
In 1999-2000, Sigalet had a 3.28 GAA and a .901 save pct.
The Falcons went 16-19-5 overall and 8-15-5 in the CCHA last season. BGSU won five consecutive one-goal games, with three coming in the league tournament, before falling to MSU in the semifinals. Head coach Buddy Powers welcomes back 17 letterwinners from that squad.
