Draft Tracker: 5 questions with Brett Kulak, Vancouver Giants

Standing next to Brett Kulak today, you wouldn't be able to tell that at one point, he was held out of hockey due to his size. Listed at 6-foot-1, the 17-year old Kulak is making a name as a rookie on the Vancouver Giants' back end.

But the Stony Plain, Alta., has had to adjust in many ways to life in the Western Hockey League. Not only is he playing against tougher competition, but he's doing it with a larger body that he didn't have in his bantam years and had him cut from his AAA team at first. Most importantly, it would seem, the northern Alberta native also had to adjust to the big city lights of Vancouver and junior hockey crowds of more than 10,000 some nights.

"It took a lot of getting used to for sure," Kulak says of his move to the Lower Mainland. "You wake up in the morning and you look around you think: 'This ain't right, I should be out in the country.' "

The concern surrounding the strong skater when he was selected in the ninth round of the 2009 WHL bantam draft wasn't whether or not he'd fit in to a larger city in front of larger audiences, but whether or not his then 5-8 frame would survive in the rough world of the WHL. Kulak hit a growth spurt when he was 15 and, after an extra year in the AAA Parkland Athletic Club Saints, was ready to make his WHL debut this season.

"I adapted a little bit better. Body position is a real important thing. I've developed that over my years playing hockey and I'm not doing too bad here."

Kulak has been used in a secondary shutdown role with David Musil, who was selected in the early second round of the 2011 NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers. He's been seeing power-play time and offensive zone minutes as well, and he has 9 goals and 22 points.

Despite his impressive stride and patience on the ice (exhibited in this goal against the Kamloops Blazers - 1:31 in) his coach, the legendary Don Hay, is reluctant to draw comparisons between other defencemen and Kulak, who has shot up the draft rankings. Kulak is 67th among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting midterm rankings and has drawn interest from Los Angeles, Chicago and both New York teams.

"He's got to form his own type of identity. I've coached some real good defencemen along the way," Hay says. "You know Brett's starting to come. He's starting to play well every game, and that's what you need: consistency."

1. You grew up on a farm. Is there anything you can away from that experience that may help you as a hockey player?

"I'm not too sure about the farm work, but it involves a lot of dedication, much like hockey I guess. You're spending long hours in the tractor and all, but living out in the country we've got a pond out by my house so we'd push the pond off and spent a lot of time out on the pond playing hockey."

2. I heard that you drive a Toyota Corolla. Are you becoming a bit more of a city boy?

"Yeah, I drive a Toyota Corolla. I'd like to have a truck out here but they're pretty hard on gas scootin' around the city. A car is nice to get around in."

3. Have you talked to any scouts for what you may want to work on and areas of your game you could improve upon?

"They've just asked me my personal stuff. They haven't really given me very much feedback, obviously physical strength though and battling the bigger guys out there. Some of those guys out there are 20 pounds heavier than me and I need to shoot harder."

4. Do you have a favourite player or a favourite team that you follow?

"I'd say Nicklas Lidstrom and Duncan Keith. I kind of model my game after them and they're similar players to me I feel. They're just good role models for me, good guys, good to look up to. I cheer for my hometown, Edmonton, but maybe Detroit as well."

5. Not a question, but Edmonton could use a defenceman.

(laughs) "Yeah, hopefully."

Cam Charron is a hockey writer who covers the WHL for Buzzing the Net. Follow him on Twitter @camcharron