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Medicine Hat’s Cole Sanford, Trevor Cox eye NHL contracts in last WHL seasons

Medicine Hat's Cole Sanford is without an NHL contract despite scoring 50 goals last year. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)
Medicine Hat's Cole Sanford is without an NHL contract despite scoring 50 goals last year. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)

Medicine Hat Tigers wingers Cole Sanford and Trevor Cox know the window of opportunity to extend their hockey careers to the NHL ranks is closing on them. They are entering their final seasons in the Western Hockey League without a pro contract after all 30 NHL clubs passed them over in the last three entry drafts.

“There’s plenty of motivation for me this year,” says Sanford, who tallied 50 markers and 95 points in 72 games last season. “I’m still without a contract and that’s what I’m playing for. I want to play at the next level and need to show that I can do that.”

Going undrafted in 2015 didn’t shock Cox, but it was still tough to take after he netted 29 goals and 109 points in 69 contests last season. He sees the draft snub as some extra motivation to prove his critics wrong just as he did following being passed over in the 2010 WHL bantam draft.

“I thought it was 50/50 at the draft,” says Cox on whether he thought a team would draft him. “I wasn’t blown away when I wasn’t drafted, but it was discouraging. But it happened to me before in the WHL draft and that didn’t stop me from playing in the WHL. I’ll use it as motivation to help me this season.”

Despite not donning jerseys in Florida, Sanford (Edmonton Oilers) and Cox (Washington Capitals) received NHL camp invites. The experience of playing at that level enhanced both players’ knowledge of what it will take to get there.

“It went really well in Edmonton and was a really cool experience,” says Sanford, who turned 20 in July. “Being my first NHL camp, it was cool just to be there, but to play with so many great young players that they have made it that much more exciting. I saw how competitive it is and just the skill and strength that you need to have there.”

For Cox, the strength and size of the players especially stood out to him in Washington.

“I noticed how bigger and stronger they are at that level,” says the Surrey, B.C., native. “It was my first

Trevor Cox was passed over in the 2015 draft, but received a training camp invite from the Capitals. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)
Trevor Cox was passed over in the 2015 draft, but received a training camp invite from the Capitals. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)

NHL camp, so it was a new experience for me to go against players at that level. But it went really well and gave me some extra confidence.”

One of the biggest reasons why Sanford and Cox are without pro contracts is because they noticeably lack in the size department. Sanford possesses a 5-foot-9, 165-pound stature while Cox also weighs in at 165 pounds, but stands about an inch shorter at 5-foot-8.

Both scorers are comforted in knowing other smaller forwards such as Tampa Bay Lightning star Tyler Johnson, who also entered his WHL overage season undrafted and without a contract, and Calgary Flames playmaker Johnny Gaudreau have proved that size isn’t everything.

“It’s good to see guys like Tyler Johnson and Johnny Gaudreau show smaller skilled players can play in the NHL,” says Cox, who turned 20 in August. “It gives smaller players the confidence to know it can be done and motivates me as well.”

Sanford, a Vernon, B.C., native, feels players like Johnson and Gaudreau have  benefited his career because of the precedents they have set for smaller players.

“I think guys like Tyler Johnson and Johnny Gaudreau have helped me and other players like me because they’ve made the case for all smaller players,” he says. “They’ve made the case for teams to look at those guys because they can play at that level even though they aren’t as big as other players.”

In an effort to prepare for playing at the next level, the veteran forwards are more focused on improving their overall games this season rather than just what shows up on the stats sheet.

“I want to improve on all the little details,” says Sanford. “I want to work on my play away from the puck and in my own zone and just every little detail in the game.”

Cox, meanwhile, is focused on elevating his play in his own end.

“Improving on my defensive game is something I’m working on,” he says. “I’ll always be an offensive forward, but I want to be better on the defensive side of things.”

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen