When Karter Prosofsky was drafted into the WHL by the Kootenay Ice on May 3, he was where he’s spent the majority of his young life — on the ice.
Training at a practice with Pacific Coast Hockey Academy in Victoria, the 14-year-old defenceman was told after he stepped away from the rink last Thursday that he had been selected by Kootenay in the second round of the 2018 Bantam Draft.
With the 26th selection, the ICE have selected defenceman Karter Prosofsky.#WHLBantamDraft#ICEcountry
— Kootenay ICE (@WHLKootenayICE) May 3, 2018
“It was really, really exciting for me,” Prosofsky told the Townsman over the phone. “I’m [thrilled] to be with a great organization.”
Born and raised in Saskatoon, Prosofsky has a strong hockey lineage with his father Tyler having played four seasons in the WHL between the Tacoma and Kelowna Rockets between 1992 and 1996, before playing professionally until 2003. Tyler was also drafted into the NHL twice, by the Chicago Blackhawks when he was 18 and the Vancouver Canucks when he was 20.
Karter began skating when he was three and after excelling in AA hockey in Saskatoon, moved for the first time in his life to play with the PCHA bantam prep team this past season.
“I got an offer from the head scout of [PCHA] and then we went out there to try it out and I loved it,” he said. “It [was] a big step up from the Bantam AA [and] was a lot more physical and a lot faster hockey.”
Despite still being relatively small in stature at 5’9”, Prosofsky is a player who makes his presence known and said he plays defence because he “loves hitting”. Contributing in all areas of the ice, he had 8 goals and 10 assists in 24 games last season and was also his team’s captain.
“[I’d say that I’m an] offensive defenceman,” he said. “I love being in the offensive zone [and] I’m physical.”
While Prosofsky admitted that he didn’t know much about the Kootenay Ice yet, he’s heard they have a lot of young talent and is planning to work as hard as he can to eventually make the team.
“I think it’s going to be tough for me to play up at that level, but I’m going to try and do it,” he said of training camp this fall. “I’m just going to train as hard as I can all summer and skate as hard as I can with my training guy. I’m [just] going to work as hard as I can to be on that team.”
While he will only be eligible to play five games next season in the WHL and Prosofsky knows that his journey is just beginning, there are a lot of people he already has to thank for getting him this far.
“Both my parents, my dad especially [have] pushed me hard,” he said. “My coach [at PCHA also deserves a lot of credit] for giving me all the ice time [that he did] and making me the captain. He’s done [so much] for me this year, treating me like my dad would, because my dad is back home in Saskatoon.”
Kootenay Ice training camp is expected to begin in late August with the 2018-19 season kicking off in September. Prosofsky was one of nine players that were drafted by the organization on Thursday, a group that included four forwards, four defencemen and a goalie.