Attack Set for 2026 CHL Import Draft
OWEN SOUND, ON – Fresh off seeing four players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Owen Sound Attack now turn their attention to the next opportunity to add elite international talent when the Canadian Hockey League conducts its annual CHL Import Draft on Tuesday beginning at 11am.
The Import Draft has become an important avenue for organizations across the CHL to identify and recruit some of the world’s top young hockey talent. As of last season, teams are now permitted to carry a maximum of three import players on their roster, and as such are permitted to make a maximum of three picks in the draft. With the Attack’s recent signing of 2025 CHL Import pick Lucian Bernat, the Bears will be eligible to make a maximum of two picks at this year’s CHL Import Draft. They hold the 23rd, 83rd and 144th overall picks for the upcoming draft.
Throughout franchise history, the Attack have built an impressive tradition of identifying and developing elite international talent through the CHL Import Draft. Since 2000, the organization has selected players from Slovakia, Czechia, Finland, Latvia and Belarus, many of whom have gone on to successful professional careers, including the NHL.
Among the most notable imports in franchise history are Andrej Sekera (Slovakia), who played over 800 NHL games after beginning his North American career in Owen Sound; Štefan Ružička (Slovakia), one of the organization’s first impact imports and a prolific scorer; Tomas Kana (Czechia), a dependable two-way forward; Damir Sharipzyanov (Russia), who has gone on to become one of the KHL’s top defencemen; Petrus Palmu (Finland), an electrifying offensive talent and NHL Draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks; Maksim Sushko (Belarus), who represented Belarus internationally and played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers; Artūrs Gavrus (Latvia), Richard Berzins (Latvia), Milan Doczy (Slovakia), Stepan Macháček (Czechia) and, most recently, Servác Petrovský (Slovakia), who helped lead the Attack during his three seasons in Owen Sound before signing a professional contract.
RECENT CHL IMPORT DRAFT RULE CHANGES
Under updated rules announced last week for the 2026 CHL Import Draft, 20-year-old import players will be eligible to be selected in any round, while 16-year-old import players may also be selected, but only in the first round. CHL clubs may carry a maximum of one 16-year-old import player per season, and that player cannot be traded or replaced by another import player during his 16-year-old season. If a 16-year-old import player is released to another level of hockey during the regular season or deleted from a club’s roster, that club will be limited to two import players for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
Fans can follow the 2026 CHL Import Draft through the CHL’s live tracker (click here) or through the Attack’s Struyk Energy Systems social media feeds by following @AttackOHL as the next generation of international stars officially begins their journey with your Owen Sound Attack.
