Weinrich, three other Bears NHL draftees

Gardiner’s Jason Weinrich could find himself playing in the same National Hockey League division as older brother Eric.

That’s because the University of Maine-bound Weinrich was selected in the sixth round of the NHL draft by the New York Rangers of the Patrick Division.

Eric Weinrich, a former All-American at Maine and 1988 U.S. Olympian, was named the American Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year for his play with the Utica Devils this past season and went on to shine for the parent New Jersey Devils in the NHL playoffs.

Eric was a second round pick of New Jersey in 1985.

The draft was held Saturday in Vancouver.

Besides Weinrich, three other players affiliated with the University of Maine – incoming freshmen Mike Dunham and Patrice Tardif, along with Steve Widmeyer – were selected in the draft’s regular phase while Martin Robitaille was picked in the supplemental draft.

Widmeyer and Robitaille will be juniors in the fall.

Goalie Dunham and center Tardif were chosen back-to-back in the third round by the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues, respectively, and right winger Widmeyer was picked by St. Louis in the 10th round.

Dunham was the 53rd overall choice and the first American goalie picked. He was the fourth goalie chosen overall. Tardif was the 54th overall pick, Weinrich was No. 118, and Widmeyer was the 201st player selected.

Robitaille was selected by Toronto in the second round of the supplemental draft, which is for players who meet a certain age requirement and haven’t been previously drafted. Robitaille, who is 21, was the 15th player taken in the supplemental draft.

None of the players are expected to sign pro contracts at this time. The fact they were drafted means that their particular NHL team owns their rights and will negotiate with them when they decide to become professionals.

“I feel really good about it,” said the younger Weinrich, a defenseman who had 7 goals and 35 assists in 35 games for the Springfield Olympics this past season after spending three years at North Yarmouth Academy. “I’ve heard it’s a real good organization. Eric was excited and I was really happy. It would be something to play against my brother some day.”

Weinrich said playing for the Springfield Olympics was a great experience because “I had a great coach in Gary Dineen and I had the chance to play better competition. Everybody you played was at least as good as you were and I thought I improved dramatically.”

He is excited about playing at Maine and feels it is a perfect place to improve himself.

“When it comes to the development of players, Maine is one of the top college programs around,” said Weinrich, who stands 6-foot-2 1/2 and weighs 189 pounds. He also said the fact his brother was an All-American at Maine shouldn’t bother him.

“The pressure has always been there,” said Jason, who is playing in a pro-am league in Hingham, Mass., this summer and following the training program sent to him by the Maine coaching staff. “I take it in stride. I’m just going to play my hardest and do the best that I can.”

Maine Coach Shawn Walsh attended the draft and said there weren’t any real surprises in draft position involving his players.

“I was really happy for Martin,” said Walsh. “There’s a guy who has become a pro prospect through his sheer tenacity and determination. When he came to Maine, the scouts thought he was too small.”

Walsh said besides Toronto, three other NHL teams talked to him about Robitaille.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Robitaille, a native of St. Romuald, Quebec, had 24 goals and 28 assists in 46 games for the Black Bears this past season. He was a plus-12 and led the team in power-play goals with 13. He now has 41 goals and 59 assists in 91 career games.

Widmeyer, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder out of Bedford, Nova Scotia, had five goals and an assist in 25 games this past season and was a plus-4. Widmeyer had to sit out his freshman season at Maine as a result of an NCAA suspension imposed for his dealings with the Kingston Canadiens of the Ontario (Major Junior A) Hockey League.

Maine will have 17 NHL draft choices in training camp in September: three third-round picks (Dunham, Tardif and Scott Pellerin); three fourth-rounders (Keith Carney, Matt DelGuidice and Matt Martin); two fifth-rounders (Dan Murphy and Dave LaCouture); four sixth-rounders (Tony Link, Mike Barkley, Garth Snow and Weinrich); one seventh-rounder (Steve Tepper); three 10th-rounders (Eric Fenton, Justin Tomberlin and Widmeyer) and supplemental choice Robitaille.