Lindstrom, Parekh, and Massé named finalists for the 2023-24 CHL Top Draft Prospect Award
Cayden Lindstrom of the Medicine Hat Tigers, Zayne Parekh of the Saginaw Spirit, and Maxim Massé of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens have been named nominees for the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award, which is presented annually to the top prospect eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft.
The recipient of the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award will be announced and given his trophy at a ceremony for the 2024 CHL Awards on Saturday, June 1, in Saginaw, Michigan. The latter is an event taking place as part of the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow in Saginaw, which is scheduled to run from May 23 – June 2.
Over the years, the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award has been won by many great players including Joe Thornton (Soo Greyhounds), Vincent Lecavalier (Rimouski Océanic), Jay Bouwmeester (Medicine Hat Tigers), Patrick Kane (London Knights), Steven Stamkos (Sarnia Sring), Connor McDavid (Erie Otters), Alexis Lafrenière (Rimouski Océanic), and most recently Connor Bedard (Regina Pats).
WHL Nominee — Cayden Lindstrom (Medicine Hat Tigers)
27G-19A, 46 PTS, +12 in 32 GP during the 2023-24 season
Ranked at No. 3 by NHL Central Scouting in their Final Rankings ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft, Cayden Lindstrom of the Medicine Hat Tigers was the top-ranked North American skater from the CHL on their list. Lindstrom recorded 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games before an injury held him out of the lineup for the remainder of the regular season. Before his injury, Lindstrom sat tied for fourth in the WHL with 27 goals and he had found the back of the net in nearly 60% of his games (19 of 32), including eight multi-goal outings.
Averaging 1.44 points per game during the 2023-24 season, Lindstrom’s 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). His 1.44 points-per-game average was also the fourth-best mark among first-time draft-eligible skaters in the CHL this season, trailing only Spokane’s Berkly Catton (1.71 points per game), Prince George’s Terik Parascak (1.54 points per game) and Saginaw’s Zayne Parekh (1.45 points per game).
Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, the 18-year-old from Chetwynd, B.C., also helped Canada win gold at the 2023 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup (2G-1A in 5 GP). He also previously represented Canada White at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (2G-2A in 6 GP).
OHL Nominee — Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit)
33G-63A, 96 PTS, +39 in 66 GP during the 2023-24 season
Ranked at No. 5 by NHL Central Scouting in their Final Rankings ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft, Zayne Parekh of the Saginaw Spirit was the top-ranked North American skater from the OHL on their list. Over his 66 games during the 2023-24 season, Parekh registered an impressive 33 goals and 63 assists for 96 points this season. Ultimately, his 96 points (33G-63A) are 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.
Parekh led all defencemen in the CHL in scoring (96) and goals (33) this season. With 33 goals, the 18-year-old from Nobleton, Ont., became just the second draft-eligible defenceman in OHL history to score 30 goals in a season, following John Slaney’s 38 with the Cornwall Royals in 1989-90. Parekh is also one of eight draft-eligible blueliners to have broken the 30-goal plateau in CHL history, ranking third behind John Slaney (38 goals in 1989-90) and Greg Hawgood (34 goals with the Kamloops Blazers in 1985-86).
Alongside Calgary’s Carter Yakemchuk, Parekh helped mark the first time in CHL history that two draft-eligible defencemen scored 30-plus goals in the same season (Parekh – 33, Calgary’s Carter Yakemchuk – 30).
QMJHL Nominee — Maxim Massé (Chicoutimi Saguenéens)
36G-39A, 75 PTS, -4 in 67 GP during the 2023-24 season
Ranked at No. 30 by NHL Central Scouting in their Final Rankings ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft, Maxim Massé of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens was the second highest-ranked skater from the QMJHL on their list. During the 2023-24 season, the 18-year-old from Rimouski, Que., led the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in both goals (36) and points (75).
His 36 goals were also the second-most of any draft-eligible skater from the QMJHL, trailing only Baie-Comeau’s Justin Poirier (51). Additionally, the 75 points that Massé recorded this season were fourth among draft-eligible skaters in the QMJHL. Given his strong play over the 2023-24 campaign, Massé was named the recipient of the Michael-Bossy Trophy as the QMJHL’s Top Professional Prospect, winning the award ahead of finalists Raoul Boilard of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Spencer Gill of the Rimouski Océanic.
Just a year ago, Massé took home the CHL Rookie of the Year Award after ranking second among rookies in the CHL in both goals (29) and points (65) following the 2022-23 season.
Recently, at the end of April, Massé went overseas to Finland to compete for Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship. Once there, the Sags forward helped Canada to a gold medal by registering two goals and five points over seven tournament games. Last summer, Massé also got a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2023 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, having tallied six points (5G-1A) in just five games at that event.
