89 CHL Players Selected in the 2017 NHL Draft
Chicago, IL – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that 89 CHL players were selected in the seven rounds of the 2017 NHL Draft held this weekend at United Center in Chicago representing 41% of all 217 players picked by all 31 NHL clubs.
The 89 CHL players includes 14 selected in the first round with five picks in the top-10 led by Nico Hischier of the Halifax Mooseheads chosen first overall by the New Jersey Devils and Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings picked second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. The draft’s second round featured 16 CHL players bringing the league’s opening two-round total to 30 which represents 48% of the top-62 picks.
Of the 89 CHL players selected, the Ontario Hockey League leads the way with 42 players, followed by 33 players from the Western Hockey League, and 14 players selected from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“The NHL Draft is a special time for players to enjoy the experience with their family, friends, billets, and teams and celebrate this most exciting opportunity,” said CHL President David Branch. “Congratulations to all of our players and their families, as well as our coaches and teams who continue to build and enhance the CHL environment as the number one development league and leading supplier of players to the NHL.”
By position, a total of 117 forwards were selected (55 CHL), 79 defencemen (28 CHL), and 21 goaltenders (6 CHL). The league featured six of the first 10 forwards chosen including Hischier, Patrick, sixth overall pick Cody Glass (Vegas) of the Portland Winterhawks, ninth overall pick Michael Rasmussen (Detroit) of the Tri-City Americans, 10th overall pick Owen Tippett (Florida) of the Mississauga Steelheads, and 11th overall pick Gabriel Vilardi (Los Angeles) of the Windsor Spitfires. On defence, the CHL produced five of the first 10 selected at the position including 14th overall pick Cal Foote (Tampa Bay) of the Kelowna Rockets, 16th overall pick Juuso Valimaki (Calgary) of the Tri-City Americans, 23rd overall pick Pierre-Olivier Joseph (Arizona) of the Charlottetown Islanders, 29th overall pick Henri Jokiharju (Chicago) of the Portland Winterhawks, and the 32nd overall pick Conor Timmins (Colorado) of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In goal, CHL netminders represented three of the top five picks led by Michael DiPietro (Vancouver) of the Windsor Spitfires chosen 64th overall, Matthew Villalta (Los Angeles) of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds chosen 72nd overall, and Stuart Skinner (Edmonton) of the Lethbridge Hurricanes chosen 78th overall.
43 different CHL teams developed NHL Draft picks in 2017 led by the Owen Sound Attack who produced a franchise record six players selected, followed by the Tri-City Americans who tied a modern seven-round club record with four players selected. The Guelph Storm, Hamilton Bulldogs, London Knights, and Portland Winterhawks also had four players selected with the Bulldogs establishing a new team record after producing their first NHL Draft pick last season following the club’s inaugural season in Hamilton. The Knights continued their record streak of players chosen annually since 1969.
28 of the 31 NHL teams selected at least one CHL player with the Arizona Coyotes, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, and Vancouver Canucks each selecting five. Of the other Canadian NHL teams, the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs each selected four CHL players, while the Winnipeg Jets selected three. The Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Washington Capitals were the only teams not to select a CHL player.
Following the 2017 NHL Draft, a total of 5,461 CHL players have been selected since 1969 representing just under 50% of all players.
CHL Players Selected in the 2017 NHL Draft:
(Click on a player to watch post-draft interview)
First Round (14 CHL Players):
1. Nico Hischier (Halifax Mooseheads) – New Jersey Devils
2. Nolan Patrick (Brandon Wheat Kings) – Philadelphia Flyers
6. Cody Glass (Portland Winterhawks) – Vegas Golden Knights
9. Michael Rasmussen (Tri-City Americans) – Detroit Red Wings
10. Owen Tippett (Mississauga Steelheads) – Florida Panthers
11. Gabriel Vilardi (Windsor Spitfires) – Los Angeles Kings
13. Nick Suzuki (Owen Sound Attack) – Vegas Golden Knights
14. Cal Foote (Kelowna Rockets) – Tampa Bay Lightning
16. Juuso Valimaki (Tri-City Americans) – Calgary Flames
20. Robert Thomas (London Knights) – St. Louis Blues
22. Kailer Yamamoto (Spokane Chiefs) – Edmonton Oilers
23. Pierre-Olivier Joseph (Charlottetown Islanders) – Arizona Coyotes
27. Morgan Frost (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) – Philadelphia Flyers
29. Henri Jokiharju (Portland Winterhawks) – Chicago Blackhawks
Second Round (16 CHL Players):
32. Conor Timmins (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) – Colorado Avalanche
33. Kole Lind (Kelowna Rockets) – Vancouver Canucks
34. Nicolas Hague (Mississauga Steelheads) – Vegas Golden Knights
35. Isaac Ratcliffe (Guelph Storm) – Philadelphia Flyers
39. Jason Robertson (Kingston Frontenacs) – Dallas Stars
40. Aleksi Heponiemi (Swift Current Broncos) – Florida Panthers
41. Jaret Anderson-Dolan (Spokane Chiefs) – Los Angeles Kings
47. Alex Formenton (London Knights) – Ottawa Senators
50. Maxime Comtois (Victoriaville Tigres) – Anaheim Ducks
51. Zachary Lauzon (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) – Pittsburgh Penguins
53. Jack Studnicka (Oshawa Generals) – Boston Bruins
55. Jonah Gadjovich (Owen Sound Attack) – Vancouver Canucks
56. Josh Brook (Moose Jaw Warriors) – Montreal Canadiens)
59. Eemeli Rasanen (Kingston Frontenacs) – Toronto Maple Leafs
60. Antoine Morand (Acadie-Bathurst Titan) – Anaheim Ducks
62. Jake Leschyshyn (Regina Pats) – Vegas Golden Knights
Third Round (13 CHL Players):
64. Michael DiPietro (Windsor Spitfires) – Vancouver Canucks
67. Morgan Geekie (Tri-City Americans) – Carolina Hurricanes
68. Scott Walford (Victoria Royals) – Montreal Canadiens
69. MacKenzie Entwistle (Hamilton Bulldogs) – Arizona Coyotes
72. Matthew Villalta (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) – Los Angeles Kings
73. Stelio Mattheos (Brandon Wheat Kings) – Carolina Hurricanes
75. Nate Schnarr (Guelph Storm) – Arizona Coyotes
78. Stuart Skinner (Lethbridge Hurricanes) – Edmonton Oilers
79. Lane Zablocki (Red Deer Rebels) – Detroit Red Wings
83. Zach Gallant (Peterborough Petes) – Detroit Red Wings
84. Dmitri Samorukov (Guelph Storm) – Edmonton Oilers
85. Ivan Lodnia (Erie Otters) – Minnesota Wild
87. Cale Fleury (Kootenay ICE) – Montreal Canadiens
Fourth Round (13 CHL Players):
94. Nick Henry (Regina Pats) – Colorado Avalanche
97. Mason Shaw (Medicine Hat Tigers) – Minnesota Wild
98. Nikita Popugaev (Prince George Cougars) – New Jersey Devils
101. Liam Hawel (Guelph Storm) – Dallas Stars
106. Matthew Strome (Hamilton Bulldogs) – Philadelphia Flyers
107. Maksim Sushko (Owen Sound Attack) – Philadelphia Flyers
108. Noel Hoefenmayer (Ottawa 67’s) – Arizona Coyotes
109. Adam Ruzicka (Sarnia Sting) – Calgary Flames
110. Ian Scott (Prince Albert Raiders) – Toronto Maple Leafs
118. Markus Phillips (Owen Sound Attack) – Los Angeles Kings
121. Drake Batherson (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) – Ottawa Senators
122. Kyle Olson (Tri-City Americans) – Anaheim Ducks
123. Brandon Crawley (London Knights) – New York Rangers
Fifth Round (11 CHL Players):
128. Tyler Steenbergen (Swift Current Broncos) – Arizona Coyotes
130. David Noel (Val-d’Or Foreurs) – St. Louis Blues
131. Cole Fraser (Peterborough Petes) – Detroit Red Wings
136. Leon Gawanke (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) – Winnipeg Jets
138. Drake Rymsha (Sarnia Sting) – Los Angeles Kings
140. Zach Fischer (Medicine Hat Tigers) – Calgary Flames
141. Fedor Gordeev (Flint Firebirds) – Toronto Maple Leafs
143. Marian Studenic (Hamilton Bulldogs) – New Jersey Devils
146. Kirill Maksimov (Niagara IceDogs) – Edmonton Oilers
147. Jacob Golden (London Knights) – Minnesota Wild
149. Jarret Tyszka (Seattle Thunderbirds) – Montreal Canadiens
Sixth Round (13 CHL Players):
159. Jacob McGrew (Spokane Chiefs) – San Jose Sharks
163. Brett Davis (Kootenay ICE) – Dallas Stars
164. Reilly Webb (Hamilton Bulldogs) – Detroit Red Wings
165. Arnaud Durandeau (Halifax Mooseheads) – New York Islanders
166. Brendan De Jong (Portland Winterhawks) – Carolina Hurricanes
171. D’Artagnan Joly (Baie-Comeau Drakkar) – Calgary Flames
172. Ryan McGregor (Sarnia Sting) – Toronto Maple Leafs
173. Cedric Pare (Saint John Sea Dogs) – Boston Bruins
175. Trenton Bourque (Owen Sound Attack) – St. Louis Blues
176. Pavel Koltygin (Drummondville Voltigeurs) – Nashville Predators
181. Petrus Palmu (Owen Sound Attack) – Vancouver Canucks
183. Jordan Hollett (Medicine Hat Tigers) – Ottawa Senators
185. Sasha Chmelevski (Ottawa 67’s) – San Jose Sharks
Seventh Round (9 CHL Players):
188. Matt Brassard (Oshawa Generals) – Vancouver Canucks
189. Ben Jones (Niagara IceDogs) – Vegas Golden Knights
191. Jocktan Chainey (Halifax Mooseheads) – New Jersey Devils
193. Brady Gilmour (Saginaw Spirit) – Detroit Red Wings
194. Dylan Ferguson (Kamloops Blazers) – Dallas Stars
198. Skyler McKenzie (Portland Winterhawks) – Winnipeg Jets
204. Daniel Bukac (Brandon Wheat Kings) – Boston Bruins
212. Ivan Chekhovich (Baie-Comeau Drakkar) – San Jose Sharks
216. Jacob Paquette (Kingston Frontenacs) – Nashville Predators
For full results from the 2017 NHL Draft visit www.nhl.com.