The Bakersfield Junior Condors are proud to recognize Brayden Watts as an alumni of the Kern County Hockey Club. Brayden’s accomplishments throughout his hockey career have landed him currently with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The WHL is one of the top feeder systems to the National Hockey League. A total of 20 WHL players were selected in the 2018 NHL entry draft, 3 of which were teammates of Brayden in Vancouver. Brayden was born on February 21st, 1999 and quickly dawned his first pair of hockey skates at a young age. His passion for the game of hockey began while watching his favorite Bakersfield Condors Paul Rosebush, Paul Willett and Brett Lutes at Centennial Garden (now Rabobank Are- na). Brayden’s talent was obvious from the onset of his career as he competed in the Bakersfield Dragons squirt division at 6 years old. He continued to impress during his time with the Bakers- field Dragon’s and was a stand-out with the organization until the age of 14 where he decided to show his skills with the Arizona Bobcats, one of the top AAA hockey programs in the country. In 2014, Brayden’s hard work, determination and commitment began to turn heads as he was selected in the WHL draft by the Moose Jaw Warriors. Brayden suited up for 57 games in his first season (2015/16) with the Warriors under coach Tim Hunter (16+yrs NHL veteran). After playing 40 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors during the 2016/17 season, Brayden was traded to the Vancouver Giants (WHL) where he competed in 30 games scoring 3 goals and adding 11 assists. Brayden proved to settle in Vancouver nicely during the 2017/18 season where he continued to thrive playing in 70 games and accumulating 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points. Currently, Brayden continues to push hard for an opportunity to excel in the professional ranks as he trains for 3-4 hours a day, 4 days a week with Condors strength and conditioning coach Patrick Love. The Junior Condors organization is proud of Brayden’s achievements and wish him the best of luck in the future.