14 CHL players selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft
In total, six CHL players were taken in the top 10 on Friday night, matching the highest number of CHL skaters selected within the first 10 picks since 2020
The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to announce that 14 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players were selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 14 selections represented nearly half of the NHL’s first-round picks on Friday and stood as the most of any development league in the world.
In total, six CHL players were taken in the top 10, matching the highest number of CHL skaters selected within the first 10 picks since six were chosen in 2020. Over the last 55 years, the CHL has had 10 or more of its players selected in the first round of every NHL Draft dating back to 1969 – a streak that now runs at 56 consecutive drafts.
The first of the 14 CHL players drafted on Friday was Beckett Sennecke (Oshawa Generals / OHL, RW). Taken third overall by the Anaheim Ducks, Sennecke became the highest-drafted Oshawa Generals player since Nathan Horton was chosen third overall in 2003 by the Florida Panthers. Helping the Oshawa Generals to the 2024 OHL Championship Series, Sennecke collected a point in 13 of his 16 postseason games and posted a multi-point outing in half of those contests during the 2024 OHL Playoffs. He also tallied 68 points (27G-41A) to finish third on his team in scoring during the 2023-24 regular season.
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) led the CHL’s three-member leagues with nine draft picks in the first round – representing the most by the OHL since 2016 when nine of their alumni were taken. Both the London Knights and Oshawa Generals led all CHL clubs in the first round with two drafted players each. Following Sennecke’s selection, the next OHL skater to come off the board was Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit / OHL, D), who became the highest-drafted player in Saginaw Spirit history by going ninth overall to the Calgary Flames.
Among the other OHL skaters drafted was Sam Dickinson (London Knights / OHL, D), whose selection at No. 11 to the San Jose Sharks extended the London Knights’ CHL-record streak to 55 consecutive years of having a player taken in the NHL Draft. The Philadelphia Flyers then drafted Jett Luchanko (Guelph Storm / OHL, C) at No. 13, Cole Beaudoin (Barrie Colts / OHL, C) went to the Utah Hockey Club at No. 24, the Los Angeles Kings took Liam Greentree (Windsor Spitfires / OHL, RW) 26th overall, Marek Vanacker (Brantford Bulldogs, LW / OHL) was taken by the Chicago Blackhawks with the No. 27 selection, Ben Danford (Oshawa Generals, D / OHL) was then chosen 31st by the Toronto Maple Leafs, before Sam O’Reilly (London Knights / OHL, C) rounded out the OHL’s first-day of selections when he was taken 32nd overall by the Edmonton Oilers.
Meanwhile, selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Cayden Lindstrom (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL) became the first player from the Medicine Hat Tigers to be taken in the top 10 since Cam Barker was chosen third overall in 2004 by the Blackhawks. This past season, playing in just 32 regular-season games due to an injury, the 2024 CHL Top Prospect Award winner scored a goal in nearly 60% of his games (19 of 32) and registered eight multi-goal outings with the Tigers during the 2023-24 campaign.
On Friday, Lindstrom was one of five Western Hockey League (WHL) players to be taken in the first round. Following Lindstrom was Tij Iginla (Kelowna Rockets / WHL, C) who was selected sixth overall by the Utah Hockey Club, which marked the first-ever draft pick for the NHL’s newest franchise. Iginla’s selection at No. 6 also made him the highest-drafted forward in the history of the Kelowna Rockets. Proceeding that, the Ottawa Senators took Carter Yakemchuk (Calgary Hitmen / WHL, D) at No. 7, the Seattle Kraken called upon Berkly Catton (Spokane Chiefs / WHL, C) with the 8th overall selection, and Terik Parascak (Prince George Cougars / WHL, RW) was drafted 17th by the Washington Capitals.
13 of the 14 CHL players selected in the first round of this year’s draft competed in the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game that took place back on January 24 in Moncton, N.B. Cayden Lindstrom, who was unable to play in this game due to an injury, was among the 40 CHL players originally chosen for this event. This upcoming season, a new series called the CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada will serve as a showcase event for the top draft-eligible talent from across the CHL. Specifically, in November 2024, the top first-year NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the CHL’s three-member leagues (WHL, OHL, and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League) will face off against those from USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP) in a two-game series. Specific details on the date, location, and event format for the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge will be announced at a later date.
Following tonight’s first round, there have now been a total of 894 players from the CHL selected in the first round of an NHL Draft since 1969 — accounting for nearly two-thirds of all first-rounders chosen over that time.
The 2024 NHL Draft will continue on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT with rounds two through seven.
14 CHL Players selected in the First Round of the 2024 NHL Draft
Players with hyperlinked team names have video profiles from the #MeetTheFuture series presented by Kubota Canada. The statistics listed below come from the 2023-24 season.
*denotes players who competed in the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
3. Beckett Sennecke (Oshawa Generals / OHL, RW)* – Anaheim Ducks: Collected a point in 13 of his 16 postseason games during the 2024 OHL Playoffs and posted a multi-point outing in half of those playoff contests; Sennecke also tallied 68 points (27G-41A) to finish third on his team in scoring during the regular season
4. Cayden Lindstrom (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL, C) – Columbus Blue Jackets: Recipient of the CHL Top Prospect Award in 2024; scored a goal in nearly 60% of his games (19 of 32) and registered eight multi-goal outings this season; his 1.44 points-per-game rate was the highest by a draft-eligible skater from the Medicine Hat Tigers in 22 years (Joffrey Lupul: 1.47 P/GP in 2001-02)
6. Tij Iginla (Kelowna Rockets / WHL, C)* – Utah Hockey Club: His 47 goals this season were the third-most by a Rockets player over the past 20 years. Iginla scored eight goals in the first round of the 2024 WHL Playoffs, tying a Kelowna franchise record for most goals in a playoff series since 1996
7. Carter Yakemchuk (Calgary Hitmen / WHL, D)* – Ottawa Senators: First draft-eligible defenceman from the WHL to score 30 goals in a season since Ian White (Swift Current Broncos) achieved the feat 22 years ago; named to the CHL’s Second All-Star Team, Yakemchuk set a new Hitmen franchise record for goals in a single season by a blueliner with 30, breaking Jake Bean’s previous record (24) from 2015-16; alongside Parekh (33G-63A), Yakemchuk helped mark the first time in CHL history that two draft-eligible defencemen scored 30-plus goals in the same season
8. Berkly Catton (Spokane Chiefs / WHL, C)* – Seattle Kraken: His 56 goals and 116 points were the most of any draft-eligible skater in the CHL during the 2023-24 campaign. Alongside Baie-Comeau’s Justin Poirier, Catton was one of just two first-time draft-eligible skaters from the CHL to top 50 goals this season; named to the CHL’s Second All-Star Team, Catton is just the third draft-eligible skater from the WHL since 2000 to top 115 points (Connor Bedard – 143 points in 2022-23; Nic Petan – 120 points in 2012-13)
9. Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit / OHL, D)* – Calgary Flames: Registered 96 points (33G-63A) this season, which was the most by a CHL defenceman since Ryan Ellis tallied 100 points as a member of the Windsor Spitfires in 2010-11; alongside Ellis, Parekh is one of just two CHL blueliners over the last 20 years to top 95 points in a single season; a 2024 Memorial Cup champion, the CHL Defenceman of the Year and a CHL First-Team All-Star, Parekh is one of just eight draft-eligible blueliners to have broken the 30-goal plateau in CHL history
11. Sam Dickinson (London Knights / OHL, D)* – San Jose Sharks: His 70 points (18G-52A) this season were the third-most by any draft-eligible defenseman from the London Knights, trailing only Evan Bouchard (87 in 2017-18) and Rob Ramage (73 in 1976-77); he helped the Knights to an OHL Championship in 2024 and his +56 plus/minus rating was the second-highest mark by an OHL blueliner this season
13. Jett Luchanko (Guelph Storm / OHL, C)* – Philadelphia Flyers: Led the Guelph Storm in assists (54) and points (74) this season, the latter was a 60-point improvement from his rookie campaign; ranked tied for second in the OHL in power-play assists (30); helped Canada to a gold medal at the 2024 U18 World Championship after averaging a point per game (2G-5A in 7 GP)
17. Terik Parascak (Prince George Cougars / WHL, RW)* – Washington Capitals: His 43 goals and 105 points (43G-62A) led all CHL rookies during the 2023-24 season; his 105 points were the most by a rookie in the CHL since Patrick Kane of the London Knights tallied 145 points in 2006-07 along with Sam Gagner of the London Knights who posted 118 points that same season; his 105 points ultimately rank as the seventh-most of any rookie in the CHL over the last 25 years
24. Cole Beaudoin (Barrie Colts / OHL, C)* – Utah Hockey Club: Finished tied for second in scoring (62 points) on the Barrie Colts; led his team with 12 power-play goals and three short-handed goals during the 2023-24 season; won gold at the 2024 U18 World Championship (2G-2A in 7 GP) and 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he was one of five players on Team Canada to score at least three goals en route to a gold medal
26. Liam Greentree (Windsor Spitfires, RW / OHL)* – Los Angeles Kings: His 90 points (36G-54A) were the second-most of any first-time draft-eligible skater in the OHL this season, trailing only Saginaw’s Zayne Parekh; his 90 points were also the most by a draft-eligible skater from the Windsor Spitfires since Josh Bailey recorded 96 points during the 2007-08 campaign
27. Marek Vanacker (Brantford Bulldogs, LW / OHL)* – Chicago Blackhawks: Led the Bulldogs in goals (36) and scoring (82 points) this season, the latter of which marked a 66-point increase over his rookie campaign; his 36 goals were also tied for the most of any first-time draft-eligible skater in the OHL alongside Windsor’s Liam Greentree (36G-54A)
31. Ben Danford (Oshawa Generals, D / OHL)* – Toronto Maple Leafs: Was an assistant captain with the Generals while finishing eighth in scoring among all OHL U18 defensemen with 33 points (1G-32A in 64 GP); helped lead the Generals to the 2024 OHL Championship series having recorded four goals and six assists in 21 postseason games; he also represented Canada at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup where he won a gold medal
32. Sam O’Reilly (London Knights / OHL, C)* – Edmonton Oilers: Finished third among rookies in the OHL with 20 goals and 56 points (20G-36A) in 68 games with the London Knights this season; helped the Knights capture the 2024 OHL Championship, finishing the playoffs with 12 points (5G-7A) in 16 games, which was the most by an OHL rookie this postseason
