78 CHL players selected in 2020 NHL Draft
The Canadian Hockey League today announced that 78 CHL players were selected in the seven rounds of the 2020 NHL Draft which was held virtually October 6-7 accounting for more than 35% of all 217 picks made by all 31 NHL clubs.
The first round proved to be the most successful for CHL talent with 19 players selected on Tuesday night including six of the top-10 picks. Alexis Lafreniere of the Rimouski Oceanic led the way at number one to the New York Rangers followed by Quinton Byfield of the Sudbury Wolves at two to the Los Angeles Kings. Wednesday morning’s picks began with 10 from the CHL in the second round which brought the league’s opening two-round total to 29 which represents over 46% of the top-62. Both the third and fourth rounds featured nine CHL players each, followed by a fifth round surge of 14 players, then 11 in the sixth round, and just six to end the proceedings in the seventh round.
By position the 2020 NHL Draft saw a total of 135 forwards selected of which 52 were from the CHL, 61 defencemen picked including 21 from the CHL, and 20 goaltenders highlighted by five from the CHL. In Lafreniere and Byfield the league produced the draft’s top two forwards, while Jamie Drysdale of the Erie Otters and Kaiden Guhle of the Prince Albert Raiders were the second and third rearguards off the board at number six to the Anaheim Ducks and 16 to the Montreal Canadiens respectively. Nico Daws of the Guelph Storm led the CHL as the sixth netminder picked at 84 by the New Jersey Devils, with Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers the league’s next up and eighth keeper overall going 103 to the Rangers.
Of the players selected, the Ontario Hockey League led the way with 31 players, followed by the Western Hockey League at 28, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League at 19. In all, 44 CHL clubs developed at least one player in the 2020 NHL Draft broken down by 17 OHL teams, 16 WHL clubs, and 11 QMJHL units. Top producing programs were the Brandon Wheat Kings and Soo Greyhounds both with four players selected, while the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Everett Silvertips, Ottawa 67’s, Portland Winterhawks, and Sudbury Wolves each developed three players picked. The Sags three picks is the club’s most since 2008, the Wheaties last had four in 2002, while the Hounds continue an impressive streak of annual picks going back to 2007 producing 40 total selections during such time. The London Knights continued the CHL’s longest active draft streak that goes all the way back to 1969 and are one of 18 CHL clubs who had two players picked in 2020.
29 of the NHL’s 31 clubs selected at least one CHL player with the Rangers leading the way with six. The Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning both made five CHL selections, followed by the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, and Philadelphia Flyers each with four. Among the remaining Canadian teams, the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets both made two CHL selections, while the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs both made one. The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks were the lone NHL teams not to select a CHL player.
37 of the players selected in the 2020 NHL Draft competed in the 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game played January 16 in Hamilton which was the 25th annual showcase of NHL Draft eligible talent with future NHL stars from across the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL.
Following the 2020 NHL Draft a total of 5,688 CHL players have been selected since 1969.
CHL Players Selected in 2020 NHL Draft:
Players with hyperlinked names have video profiles from the #MeetTheFuture series presented by Kubota Canada.
*denotes players who competed in the 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
^denotes players selected in their second or third year of NHL Draft eligibility.
First Round (19):
1. Alexis Lafreniere (Rimouski Oceanic) LW – New York Rangers*
2. Quinton Byfield (Sudbury Wolves) C – Los Angeles Kings*
6. Jamie Drysdale (Erie Otters) D – Anaheim Ducks*
8. Jack Quinn (Ottawa 67’s) RW – Buffalo Sabres*
9. Marco Rossi (Ottawa 67’s) C – Minnesota Wild*
10. Cole Perfetti (Saginaw Spirit) C – Winnipeg Jets*
13. Seth Jarvis (Portland Winterhawks) C – Carolina Hurricanes*
16. Kaiden Guhle (Prince Albert Raiders) D – Montreal Canadiens*
18. Dawson Mercer (Chicoutimi Sagueneens) C – New Jersey Devils*
19. Braden Schneider (Brandon Wheat Kings) D – New York Rangers*
22. Hendrix Lapierre (Chicoutimi Sagueneens) C – Washington Capitals
23. Tyson Foerster (Barrie Colts) RW – Philadelphia Flyers*
24. Connor Zary (Kamloops Blazers) C – Calgary Flames*
25. Justin Barron (Halifax Mooseheads) D – Colorado Avalanche
26. Jake Neighbours (Edmonton Oil Kings) LW – St. Louis Blues*
27. Jacob Perreault (Sarnia Sting) RW – Anaheim Ducks*
28. Ridly Greig (Brandon Wheat Kings) C – Ottawa Senators*
30. Mavrik Bourque (Shawinigan Cataractes) C – Dallas Stars*
31. Ozzy Wiesblatt (Prince Albert Raiders) RW – San Jose Sharks*
Second Round (10):
39. Ryan O’Rourke (Soo Greyhounds) D – Minnesota Wild*
42. Luke Evangelista (London Knights) RW – Nashville Predators*
48. Jan Mysak (Hamilton Bulldogs) C – Montreal Canadiens
53. Vasiliy Ponomarev (Shawinigan Cataractes) C – Carolina Hurricanes*
55. Cross Hanas (Portland Winterhawks) LW – Detroit Red Wings
56. Tristen Robins (Saskatoon Blades) RW – San Jose Sharks
57. Jack Finley (Spokane Chiefs) C – Tampa Bay Lightning*
60. Will Cuylle (Windsor Spitfires) LW – New York Rangers*
61. Egor Sokolov (Cape Breton Eagles) LW – Ottawa Senators^
62. Gage Goncalves (Everett Silvertips) C – Tampa Bay Lightning^
Third Round (9):
63. Donovan Sebrango (Kitchener Rangers) D – Detroit Red Wings*
65. Daemon Hunt (Moose Jaw Warriors) D – Minnesota Wild
68. Lukas Cormier (Charlottetown Islanders) D – Vegas Golden Knights*
72. Jeremie Poirier (Saint John Sea Dogs) D – Calgary Flames*
73. Luke Prokop (Calgary Hitmen) D – Nashville Predators*
75. Jean-Luc Foudy (Windsor Spitfires) C – Colorado Avalanche*
84. Nico Daws (Guelph Storm) G – New Jersey Devils*^
87. Justin Sourdif (Vancouver Giants) RW – Florida Panthers*
93. Jack Thompson (Sudbury Wolves) D – Tampa Bay Lightning*
Fourth Round (9):
94. Zayde Wisdom (Kingston Frontenacs) RW – Philadelphia Flyers
98. Brandon Coe (North Bay Battalion) RW – San Jose Sharks*
99. Jaromir Pytlik (Soo Greyhounds) C – New Jersey Devils*
103. Dylan Garand (Kamloops Blazers) G – New York Rangers*
104. Thimo Nickl (Drummondville Voltigeurs) D – Anaheim Ducks*
108. Lukas Svejkovsky (Medicine Hat Tigers) C – Pittsburgh Penguins
119. Tanner Dickinson (Soo Greyhounds) C – St. Louis Blues
122. William Villeneuve (Saint John Sea Dogs) D – Toronto Maple Leafs
123. Antonio Stranges (London Knights) LW – Dallas Stars*
Fifth Round (14):
126. Tyler Tullio (Oshawa Generals) RW – Edmonton Oilers
127. Evan Vierling (Barrie Colts) C – New York Rangers
128. Martin Chromiak (Kingston Frontenacs) RW – Los Angeles Kings
132. Alex Cotton (Lethbridge Hurricanes) D – Detroit Red Wings^
135. Elliot Desnoyers (Halifax Mooseheads) LW – Philadelphia Flyers
141. Isaak Phillips (Sudbury Wolves) D – Chicago Blackhawks
143. Ryan Francis (Cape Breton Eagles) RW – Calgary Flames*
145. Ole Bjorgvik-Holm (Mississauga Steelheads) D – Columbus Blue Jackets
146. Pavel Novak (Kelowna Rockets) RW – Minnesota Wild
147. Jaydon Dureau (Portland Winterhawks) LW – Tampa Bay Lightning^
148. Bear Hughes (Spokane Chiefs) C – Washington Capitals^
149. Raivis Ansons (Baie-Comeau Drakkar) RW – Pittsburgh Penguins
152. William Dufour (Drummondville Voltigeurs) RW – New York Islanders
153. Kasper Puutio (Everett Silvertips) D – Florida Panthers*
Sixth Round (11):
158. Philippe Daoust (Moncton Wildcats) C – Ottawa Senators
162. Evgeniy Oksentyuk (Flint Firebirds) LW – Dallas Stars^
163. Will Cranley (Ottawa 67’s) G – St. Louis Blues
164. Tyrel Bauer (Seattle Thunderbirds) D – Winnipeg Jets
165. Matt Rempe (Seattle Thunderbirds) C – New York Rangers
172. Chad Yetman (Erie Otters) C – Chicago Blackhawks^
174. Rory Kerins (Soo Greyhounds) C – Calgary Flames
178. Connor McClennon (Winnipeg ICE) RW – Philadelphia Flyers
179. Garin Bjorklund (Medicine Hat Tigers) G – Washington Capitals
181. Cole Reinhardt (Brandon Wheat Kings) LW – Ottawa Senators
185. Remi Poirier (Gatineau Olympiques) G – Dallas Stars
Seventh Round (6):
188. Louis Crevier (Chicoutimi Sagueneens) D – Chicago Blackhawks^
201. Adam Raska (Rimouski Oceanic) RW – San Jose Sharks
204. Ben McCartney (Brandon Wheat Kings) LW – Arizona Coyotes^
205. Ilya Solovyov (Saginaw Spirit) D – Calgary Flames^
208. Ronan Seeley (Everett Silvertips) D – Carolina Hurricanes
217. Declan McDonnell (Kitchener Rangers) RW – Tampa Bay Lightning
Of note, an additional three players selected but not counted in overall league totals have committed to CHL teams for the 2020-21 season. Those players include forward Danil Gushchin (Niagara IceDogs) chosen 76th overall by the San Jose Sharks, goaltender Jan Bednar (Acadie-Bathurst Titan) chosen 107th overall by the Detroit Red Wings, and defenceman Viktor Persson (Kamloops Blazers) chosen 191st overall by the Vancouver Canucks.