Windsor Spitfires Prepare for 2020 CHL Import Draft
Windsor, ON. – The Windsor Spitfires Hockey Club will participate in the 29th annual CHL Import Draft this Tuesday, Jun. 30 at 11 a.m. (ET).
The Spitfires are expected to select one player with the 40th-overall pick. Through the CHL Import Draft, each team in the CHL is permitted to dress and play a maximum of two import players each season.
The two-round draft will take place online with the order of selection rotating through each of the CHL’s three leagues using an inverse order of final regular season standings within each league from the 2019-20 season. The Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion hold the number one pick, followed by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan at number two, and the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos who will select third overall.
The import draft is seen as a way to raise the level of competition in the CHL, as well as to broaden its fan base while retaining high North American content. Last season a total of 81 players were selected from 14 different countries led by 17 players from the Czech Republic and consisting of 48 forwards, 27 defensemen, and six goaltenders.
The CHL Import Draft has always been a big day on the calendar for OHL clubs, marking an opportunity to add a player or two who can make an immediate impact in the upcoming season. This year’s selection is set for Tuesday June 30th starting at 11:00am, with pick-by-pick coverage at both chl.ca and ontariohockeyleague.com. It’ll be a unique edition of the event this year, as CHL clubs will make their selections prior to the NHL Draft taking place.
Each team in the CHL is permitted to dress and play a maximum of two import players each season who are selected annually through the CHL Import Draft process. The deadline for teams to submit their Import player protected list for the 2020-21 season is Thursday June 25 at 1:00 pm ET which will then determine how many of the maximum 120 selections will be made in the 2020 CHL Import Draft.
Spitfires – Import Draft History
2019 – Ruben Rafkin – 1 season as a Spitfire – now plays for TPS in Finland
2018 – Kari Piiroinen – 2 seasons as a Spitfire – now plays for Tappara in Finland
2017 – Lev Starikov – 2 seasons as a Spitfire – now plays in USHL
2015 – Mikhail Sergachev – 2 seasons as a Spitfire and Memorial Cup Champion – now plays for Tampa Bay in the NHL
2014 – Markus Soberg – 2 seasons as a Spitfire – now plays for Stavanger Oilers in Norway
2010 – Alexander Khokhlachev – 3 seasons as a Spitfire – played for Boston in the NHL, now plays for Moscow Spartak in the KHL
2009 – Tom Kuhnhackl – 2 seasons as a Spitfire – played for Pittsburgh and New York Islanders in the NHL, now plays for Bridgeport in the AHL
2008 – Andrei Loktionov – 1 season as a Spitfire and Memorial Cup Champion – played for the Devils, Kings and Hurricanes in the NHL, now plays for Magnitogorsk Metallurg in the KHL
