Hectic summer sees 10 CHLers from 2019 NHL Draft ink first contract
Less than two months after the 2019 NHL Draft, 10 Canadian Hockey League talents have signed entry-level contracts.
Congratulations to @foote_nolan on signing with the @TBLightning!
Details➡️ https://t.co/YcH9GonUYD pic.twitter.com/VAeNy3kOcQ— Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets) June 25, 2019
The Tampa Bay Lightning wasted no time in putting pen to paper with Kelowna Rockets forward Nolan Foote, who was inked to a three-year agreement just four days following the opening round of the draft when he was chosen with the 27th overall selection.
The son of longtime NHLer and current Rockets head coach Adam Foote, the budding forward joins another Rockets graduate with the Lightning in brother and 20-year-old defenceman Cal Foote, who suited up with Kelowna from 2015-18.
As for the younger Foote, who finished last season just shy of a point-per-game pace with 36 goals and 27 assists in 66 appearances, he is one of seven players from the Western Hockey League drafted in 2019 to have since signed an entry-level contract.
ICYMI: Kirby Dach signs entry level deal with @NHLBlackhawks
📰 » https://t.co/4KubpUkjoB#BladeCity pic.twitter.com/cpi8GObvPs
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) July 9, 2019
This year, the top selection from the WHL came at No. 3 when the Chicago Blackhawks called the name of Saskatoon Blades forward Kirby Dach.
Dach, who models his game after Anaheim Ducks captain and Calgary Hitmen graduate Ryan Getzlaf, is a noted playmaker with a keen ability to dish to his linemates. That much was evident with the Blades last season when he finished third in team scoring with 73 points in 62 games.
Congratulations to Brett Leason (@Bleason7)! He has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals!
📲Get the details on the Raiders App, or online here: https://t.co/y21BGoxNz7
📸 @Capitals #GoRaidersGo #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/qpGe2hEhb3
— Prince Albert Raiders (@PARaidersHockey) July 11, 2019
Sticking in Saskatchewan, the Washington Capitals seemingly came away impressed when scouting the Prince Albert Raiders as the club made a pair of selections from the Ed Chynoweth Cup champions.
Leading the way was impressive 20-year-old forward Brett Leason, who was taken with pick No. 56 following a breakout campaign in 2018-19 that saw him notch 36 goals and 53 assists, good for a 57-point improvement from the previous year. Leason has the chance to jump to the pro ranks next season, the next step in a busy year that included an appearance with Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship as well as a trip to the 2019 Memorial Cup presented by Kia with the Raiders.
ICYMI: Aliaksei Protas (@protas_21) signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the @Capitals on Wednesday!
📲Get the details on the Raiders App, or online here: https://t.co/kJ8zkDd7IV
📸 Washington Capitals#GoRaidersGo #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/O7OOqTruMi
— Prince Albert Raiders (@PARaidersHockey) July 10, 2019
Joining Leason in D.C. is fellow Raiders forward Aliaksei Protas, the 26th pick from the 2018 CHL Import Draft. Following a modest regular-season output that saw him register 40 points in 61 games, the Belarusian forward found another gear in the postseason as he tallied 22 points in 23 outings, good for fourth in league-wide playoff scoring. The Capitals drafted Protas with the 91st selection.
We followed up with @Dylan_Cozens after signing his first NHL contract with the @BuffaloSabres. We asked him how playing in Lethbridge has helped him get to this point in his career 💬 #yql | #whlcanes pic.twitter.com/QL2Dn3ka5j
— Lethbridge Hurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) July 26, 2019
Meanwhile, near the top of the draft, Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Dylan Cozens became the first player from the Yukon to be taken in the opening round when the Buffalo Sabres selected him with the seventh pick.
A native of Whitehorse, Cozens has spent the past two seasons with the Hurricanes, including the 2018-19 campaign in which his 84 points led the team in scoring.
Congratulations to @BowenByram who has just inked his first NHL Contract with the @Avalanche! https://t.co/9KFEXprhNy
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) July 19, 2019
On the blue line, Vancouver Giants defenceman Bowen Byram became the first rearguard selected in the 2019 NHL Draft when he was chosen fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche.
Following a 71-point season, Byram continued to draw the attention of talent evaluators with an impressive playoff performance that saw him lead the entire WHL with eight goals and 18 assists in 22 appearances to help guide the Giants to the seventh game of the Ed Chynoweth Cup Final.
News Release: #Sens sign 2019 first round selection defenceman Lassi Thomson to entry-level contract: https://t.co/msmxq0NB1v
Communiqué : Les #Sens accordent un contrat d’entrée au défenseur Lassi Thomson, choix de première en 2019 : https://t.co/bcclpSTM1H pic.twitter.com/HHVe9R7qG6
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) July 15, 2019
In Kelowna, the Rockets were the only CHL franchise to see multiple 2019 first rounders following the selection of Finnish blue-liner Lassi Thomson, who went 19th overall to the Ottawa Senators. Thomson was also the first CHL talent to be chosen by a Canadian club in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Taken 53rd in the 2018 CHL Import Draft, Thomson made his debut with the Rockets last season, scoring 41 points in 63 games.
It’s been less than a month since the 2019 NHL Draft and in a span of just three days, the #Caps have now signed each of their first three picks: @con91mcmichael, @Bleason7 and @protas_21.
Welcome (officially) to the squad, boys!#ALLCAPS | #CapsDraft pic.twitter.com/m54PbbDVJl
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 12, 2019
In the OHL, London Knights forward Connor McMichael joins Leason and Protas with the Capitals following his first-round selection at 25th overall.
McMichael, who registered 72 points in 67 games with the Knights last season, became the eighth first rounder produced by London in the past five years, the longest active streak in the CHL.
#SJSharks sign defenseman Artemi Kniazev to a standard, entry-level contract.https://t.co/De6ldQZIX9
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) July 2, 2019
In the QMJHL, Chicoutimi Sagueneens defenceman Artemi Kniazev joined the San Jose Sharks following his selection at 48th overall.
The Russian-born blue-liner, chosen with the 10th pick in the 2018 CHL Import Draft, impressed in his first season in North America in 2018-19, notching 34 points in 55 games to finish second in scoring among Sagueneens defencemen.
🖊 to 📄! Join us in congratulating Nikita Alexandrov on signing his entry-level contract with the @StLouisBlues!
DETAILS: https://t.co/dLYzOAPm3w pic.twitter.com/0iPZlJ7Lhv
— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) August 1, 2019
Finally, also drafted out of the QMJHL was Charlottetown Islanders forward Nikita Alexandrov, who joins the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues after being taken with pick No. 62.
Chosen with the 50th pick in the 2017 CHL Import Draft, the German-born scorer has spent the past two seasons in Prince Edward Island. After posting 31 points as a rookie in 2017-18, Alexandrov nearly doubled that total last season as he finished with 27 goals and 34 assists across 64 appearances.