233 CHL players have been named to NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2026 NHL Draft

16 CHL players have earned an ‘A’ rating from NHL Central Scouting — projecting them as first-round candidates for the 2026 NHL Draft — including Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants / WHL), Ryan Roobroeck (Niagara IceDogs / OHL), and Xavier Villeneuve (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL), who are all set to represent Team CHL at next month’s 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge in Calgary and Lethbridge.

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to announce that 233 players from across the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) have been named to NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2026 NHL Draft (see full list below). The CHL’s total of 233 listed players leads all development leagues worldwide, surpassing the combined 51 players from the USHL and U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP). In all, CHL players represent 73.4% of the 316 North American players identified by NHL Central Scouting on Monday — an increase of 16% from last year.

Among the Member Leagues of the CHL, the OHL led the way with 92 players — including 78 skaters and 14 goaltenders. They were followed by the WHL, which featured 86 players (72 skaters and 14 goaltenders), while the QMJHL rounded out the CHL contingent with 55 players (46 skaters and nine goaltenders).

In addition to the 233 current CHL players named to NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2026 NHL Draft, four more players who developed in the CHL were also recognized — three from the WHL and one from the OHL — including “A”-rated prospect Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL), the 2024-25 CHL and WHL Player of the Year, and Keaton Verhoeff (Victoria Royals / WHL).

Beyond McKenna and Verhoeff, 16 current CHL players received an “A” rating, identifying them as projected first-round candidates for the 2026 NHL Draft. Each league is represented among these elite prospects, with the OHL leading the way with nine, followed by the WHL with five and the QMJHL with two. In total, 17 of the 19 North American players to earn an “A” grade developed in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL — a group that includes Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants / WHL), Ryan Roobroeck (Niagara IceDogs / OHL), and Xavier Villeneuve (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL), who are all set to represent Team CHL at next month’s 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge in Calgary and Lethbridge.

Fans won’t want to miss the action as some of the CHL’s brightest draft-eligible stars go head-to-head with the U.S. National Under-18 Team in this best-on-best showcase. The 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge will take place on November 25 in Calgary and November 26 in Lethbridge, with both games starting at 6:00 p.m. MT / 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast live across Canada on TSN and RDS. Tickets are on sale now at chl.ca/prospectschallenge. The remainder of Team CHL’s roster will be unveiled by the end of the month, featuring many of the top-ranked players highlighted on NHL Central Scouting’s list, along with even more of the league’s premier future NHL talent.

The OHL’s top-ranked talent features forwards Ethan Belchetz (Windsor Spitfires), Alessandro Di Iorio (Sarnia Sting), Nikita Klepov (Saginaw Spirit), Caleb Malhotra (Brantford Bulldogs), Adam Novotny (Peterborough Petes), Ryan Roobroeck (Niagara IceDogs), and Brooks Rogowski (Oshawa Generals), along with defenceman Chase Reid (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) and forward Oscar Hemming (Kitchener Rangers), who was listed among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

The WHL’s ‘A’-rated group includes defencemen Carson Carels (Prince George Cougars), Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants), and Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert Raiders), together with forwards JP Hurlbert (Kamloops Blazers) and Mathis Preston (Spokane Chiefs).

The QMJHL’s ‘A’-rated contingent is led by forward Egor Shilov (Victoriaville Tigres) and defenceman Xavier Villeneuve (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada).

Of the other CHL players listed on NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List, 24 skaters and four goaltenders received a ‘B rating’ indicative of second/third-round candidates, while 65 skaters and 13 goaltenders were given a ‘C rating’ which represents fourth/fifth-round candidates. Moreover, 91 skaters and 19 goaltenders received a ‘W rating’ which indicates sixth/seventh-round candidates.

In total, 59 of the CHL’s 61 clubs are represented on the list, led by the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL), who feature nine players. Close behind are the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL), Windsor Spitfires (OHL), and Sarnia Sting (OHL), each with seven players, followed by the Prince Albert Raiders (WHL), Swift Current Broncos (WHL), London Knights (OHL), Niagara IceDogs (OHL), Oshawa Generals (OHL), Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), and Québec Remparts (QMJHL), who each have six players represented.

The CHL remains the leading producer of talent for the NHL. Last season, 170 CHL players appeared in NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings, with 90 ultimately selected at the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles — accounting for more than 40% of all draft picks. That total included 21 first-round selections from CHL clubs, marking only the fifth time since 1969 — and the first in over a decade — that the CHL reached that milestone in Round 1. Dating back to 1969, the CHL has produced 10 or more first-round picks in 57 consecutive NHL Drafts.

At the beginning of the 2025-26 season, a total of 402 CHL graduates from its member leagues (WHL, OHL & QMJHL) were among those named to the NHL’s Opening Night rosters, representing nearly 50% of the players on the NHL’s 32 teams.

NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch List (October 20, 2025)

Players have been identified using the following grading system for the 2025-26 season:

• ‘A’ Rating – Indicates a 1st round candidate
• ‘B’ Rating – Indicates a 2nd / 3rd round candidate
• ‘C’ Rating – Indicates a 4th / 5th round candidate
• ‘W’ Rating – Indicates a 6th / 7th round candidate