MAREK VANACKER NAMED TO 2024 CHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME
The Brantford Bulldogs are extremely proud to see Marek Vanacker named to the 2024 Kubota CHL Top Prospects game taking place on January 24th in Moncton.
Vanacker has certainly earned the hounour having captured the eye of NHL scouts in posting 12 goals & 17 assists for 29 points in 31 games on the season.
2024 will mark the 3rd straight CHL Top Prospects Game where a Bulldog is named.
2024 – Marek Vanacker
2023 – Nick Lardis
2022 – Jorian Donovan
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TORONTO, ON – The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to announce the 40 players (see complete list of players along with coaching staff below) who will compete in the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, on Wednesday, January 24, 2024.
Selected by the NHL’s 32 clubs, the 40 chosen players from across the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) will compete before hundreds of NHL scouts and thousands of fans in Moncton in an effort to improve their draft stock ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft which is scheduled for next June.
Among the list of 40 players, there are 14 CHL skaters who currently have received an ‘A’ rating from NHL Central Scouting. That group of CHL players features ten projected first-round forwards along with four top-ranked defencemen, including forward Cayden Lindstrom of the Medicine Hat Tigers, defenceman Sam Dickinson of the London Knights, and forward Maxim Massé of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Both forwards Tij Iginla of the Kelowna Rockets and Andrew Basha of the Medicine Hat Tigers have seen their grades upgraded from a ‘B’ to an ‘A’ rating since the NHL Central Scouting’s ‘Preliminary Players to Watch List’ was published at the end of October.
OHL teams will multiple players selected include the Oshawa Generals (3), the Mississauga Steelheads (2) and the London Knights (2).
The 40 players will be assigned to either Team Red or Team White in the new year, while captains and alternates for both clubs will also be announced in January.
GALLANT, KELLY SELECTED AS HONOURARY COACHES
Although the players have yet to be allocated to specific squads, both the coaching and support staff for Teams Red and White have been identified. Behind the bench for Team Red will be former Saint John Sea Dogs and NHL head coach Gerard Gallant who will serve as the squad’s honorary coach. In addition to leading the Sea Dogs to a Memorial Cup title in 2011 as their head coach, Gallant has coached over 700 games in the NHL and he was awarded the Jack Adams Award following the 2017-18 season as the NHL’s Coach of the Year. Gallant will be joined by Moncton Wildcats head coach Daniel Lacroix who will be Team Red’s bench boss. Meanwhile, on the other side, Team White will be led by head coach Jim Hulton of the Charlottetown Islanders, while Mike Kelly, who has over 30 years of coaching experience in the NHL, AHL, OHL, QMJHL, and U SPORTS, will be Team White’s honourary coach. Over his career, Kelly has served as an assistant coach on Gallant’s staffs with the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs – just to name a few.
Support staff for both teams will include equipment managers Chris MacDonald (Moncton Wildcats) and Andrew “Spider” MacNeill (Charlottetown Islanders) along with athletic therapists Graham Black (Moncton Wildcats) and Melanie Landry (Halifax Mooseheads).
The 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will mark the 28th edition of this showcase and it will represent the first time that this event has ever taken place in the province of New Brunswick.
37 of the 40 CHL players who competed at the 2023 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Langley, B.C., were among those selected at the 2023 NHL Draft last June, a list that included first-overall pick Connor Bedard (Chicago Blackhawks/Regina Pats) and seven other CHL skaters chosen by NHL teams in the first round.
Since the event was first introduced in 1996, it has featured 16 players who were later selected first overall in the NHL Draft including Bedard (2023), Alexis Lafrèniere (2020), Nico Hischier (2017), Connor McDavid (2015), Aaron Ekblad (2014), Nathan MacKinnon (2013), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011), Taylor Hall (2010), John Tavares (2009), Steven Stamkos (2008), Patrick Kane (2007), Marc-Andre Fleury (2003), Rick Nash (2002), Vincent Lecavalier (1998), Joe Thornton (1997), and Chris Phillips (1996).
The CHL continues to be the top supplier of talent to the NHL. At the 2023 NHL Draft, 80 CHL players were selected (accounting for nearly 36% of all draft picks), the most of any hockey development league in the world. Dating back to 1969, the CHL has seen 10 or more of its players taken in the first round of the NHL Draft – a streak that now runs at 55 consecutive drafts.
The 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game airs live from the Avenir Centre on TSN, TSN.ca, the TSN App, and RDS on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m. AT. With a limited number of tickets available, fans are encouraged to act quickly to secure their seat for the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Moncton by visiting Ticketmaster.ca.
Team Red Staff
Honourary Coach – Gerard Gallant
Head Coach – Daniel Lacroix (Moncton Wildcats)
Equipment Manager – Chris MacDonald (Moncton Wildcats)
Athletic Therapist – Graham Black (Moncton Wildcats)
Team White Staff
Honourary Coach – Mike Kelly
Head Coach – Jim Hulton (Charlottetown Islanders)
Equipment Manager – Andrew “Spider” MacNeill (Charlottetown Islanders)
Athletic Therapist – Melanie Landry (Halifax Mooseheads)
40 PLAYERS SELECTED FOR 2024 KUBOTA CHL/NHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME
| POS | NAME | TEAM | RATING* |
| G | Dawson Cowan | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) | C |
| G | Carter George | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) | B |
| G | Ryerson Leenders | Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) | B |
| G | Lukas Matecha | Tri-City Americans (WHL) | C |
| D | Harrison Brunicke | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) | C |
| D | Ben Danford | Oshawa Generals (OHL) | B |
| D | Sam Dickinson | London Knights (OHL) | A |
| D | Charlie Elick | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) | B |
| D | Lukas Fischer | Sarnia Sting (OHL) | B |
| D | Spencer Gill | Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) | B |
| D | Tomas Lavoie | Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL) | B |
| D | Luca Marrelli | Oshawa Generals (OHL) | B |
| D | Henry Mews | Ottawa 67’s (OHL) | A |
| D | Zayne Parekh | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) | A |
| D | Colton Roberts | Vancouver Giants (WHL) | B |
| D | Carter Yakemchuk | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) | A |
| F | Andrew Basha | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) | A |
| F | Cole Beaudoin | Barrie Colts (OHL) | B |
| F | Raoul Boilard | Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) | B |
| F | Berkly Catton | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) | A |
| F | Maximilian Curran | Tri-City Americans (WHL) | B |
| F | Gabriel Frasca | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) | B |
| F | Liam Greentree | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) | A |
| F | Tanner Howe | Regina Pats (WHL) | A |
| F | Tij Iginla | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | A |
| F | Adam Jecho | Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) | A |
| F | Ollie Josephson | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) | B |
| F | Cayden Lindstrom | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) | A |
| F | Jett Luchanko | Guelph Storm (OHL) | B |
| F | Maxim Massé | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) | A |
| F | Julius Miettinen | Everett Silvertips (WHL) | C |
| F | Luke Misa | Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) | B |
| F | Sam O’Reilly | London Knights (OHL) | B |
| F | Terik Parascak | Prince George Cougars (WHL) | B |
| F | Ethan Procyszyn | North Bay Battalion (OHL) | B |
| F | Ryder Ritchie | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) | A |
| F | Beckett Sennecke | Oshawa Generals (OHL) | A |
| F | Marek Vanacker | Brantford Bulldogs (OHL) | B |
| F | Kieron Walton | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) | B |
| F | Carson Wetsch | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) | B |
*Grades from NHL Central Scouting as of Monday, December 18, 2023
