The spotlight shifts to Warren, MB's Karson King for the fourth of five features on Swift Current Broncos bantam draft picks.

King was selected 111th overall in the sixth round, after a strong season with the Interlake Bantam AAA Lightning.

"You're just proud to see one of your players actually get to realize the dream, and now has an opportunity to potentially showcase his skills at the next level," said Chad Balmer, head coach of the Lightning.

King posted 21 goals and 41 points in 35 games in his second year of Bantam.

"I've coached him the last two years, so I've been able to fortunately see his growth over the past two years," Balmer said. "His maturity level - he's a hard-working kid, he's a good leader, and he comes with a good attitude."

When King's name flashed on the screen on WHL.ca during the early-May bantam draft, it listed the 5-foot-9, 162-pound prospect as a right defenceman.

However, he logged plenty of time as a forward, showcasing the versatility that came with a good sixth-round value pick.

"He's one of those players that is smart enough to play every position," Balmer raved. "He knows the game well enough that he can be put in different situations. For us, we had a bit of a depth problem, so we were able to use Karson in different ways throughout the season - sometimes in different ways in an individual game as well."

As King heads into the Midget ranks and beyond, of course the token 'bigger, faster, stronger' approach looms on the horizon. As well, his bantam coach noted a few areas to iron out and build on moving forward.

"I think he's going to work on his stride, and some of the smaller details of his game," Balmer said. "As a hockey player, he sees the ice well, he's a competitive guy, and like every other hockey player at 14, they have some details of certain parts of their game that they need to work on and continue to work on."

Though, with the growth still to come, it's that aforementioned leadership quality that King's former head coach said will be very beneficial to him moving forward.

"He's a leader, he leads by example - he was our captain, he was our leading scorer, but he definitely has other players that kind of look up to him. Just the way he conducts himself - he's such a humble kid," Balmer explained.

"In the dressing room, Karson is just a fantastic kid. As a coach, he does everything we ask him to do. He asks questions, and it's pretty important to him that the rest of the team is happy as well, it's not just about him and his accolades - he's a true team guy."

One of ten 2019 bantam draft picks, including one of five from his home province of Manitoba, King looks to aid the Broncos in a resurgence back to the playoffs, and potentially that promise land which saw an Ed Chynoweth Cup hoisted in 2018.

"We're just excited to see Karson's future growth, and we're pretty happy that Swift Current is giving him an opportunity to showcase his skills," Balmer said. "Hopefully we'll see him in a Swift Current Broncos uniform in the next couple years."