On Sunday, April 26, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League held its bantam draft and the Parkland had lots of representation. The Dauphin Kings auto-protected Kyan Grouette and Carter Zalischuk. 

Dauphin would then go on to draft Rylan Gage with their fifth-overall selection. The Neepawa Natives, meanwhile, had the first overall selection and they chose Noah Dziver.

Moving forward to the third round, Dauphin selected Roan Coe, and once again, Neepawa had the first selection in the third round and that's where they picked up Madden Murray who had a great past season with the Parkland Rangers. 

"I was really excited to hear my name be picked," said Murray on being selected by Neepawa. "About halfway through the year, I realized that I actually had this chance so I was really excited and honoured to be selected."

Murray would end up being a part of the Natives organization for just more than a month. There's no secret that Doug Hedley had a goal of drafting Murray on April 26.

Although they didn't draft him, through a trade, Hedley and the rest of the Kings organization eventually got their wish. Murray was a part of a package deal that also saw Parker Malchuk come over from Neepawa and a sixth-round draft pick. 

Going the other way was Carter Sawchuk and Mitch Thiessen. That means that the Dauphinite is officially a prospect for his hometown team.

"It's really exciting to be another Murray family member that's a part of the organization," said Murray. "I'm really happy and it means a lot to me that Doug wanted me to be a part of the organization."

Madden is now looking to become another Murray that had the chance to play with the Kings. Bill Murray played with the Club in the '50s while Dean Murray suited up in the '70s. 

Being from Dauphin, there weren’t many Kings games at Credit Union Place where Madden wasn't in attendance, of course, if he wasn't on the ice himself. He grew up watching them and now knowing he's a part of the organization, it truly is a dream come true.

"My friends and I would watch basically every game that was at home," continued Murray. 

Madden says he plans on working as hard as he possibly can as he looks to play with the Kings in the future. In his immediate hockey career, he'll be looking to suit up with the Parkland U18 Rangers in the fall. 

"I'm working out every night and I'm staying busy," he concluded. "This is just the start for me; I really have to make a name for myself now."