2026 CHL Import Draft to take place June 30 at 8 a.m. PST
The Spokane Chiefs hold the 36th, 97th, and 158th overall picks in the 2026 CHL Import Draft, which will be held on Tuesday, June 30th. The CHL Import Draft is an annual event in which every team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) select players from outside North America. The draft will begin at 8 a.m. PST with each team in the CHL allowed up to three import players on their rosters.
Spokane’s final roster last year featured one overage import, Czechia’s Dominik Petr, and a pair of 2006 born imports, goaltender Linus Vieillard and forward Assanali Sarkenov. Because both Viellard and Sarkenov are entering their overage season, Spokane will be allowed to make three picks.
KEY FORMER SPOKANE IMPORT SELECTIONS
(F) Michael Grabner – Austria – 22ND overall – 2004
The Chief’s first pick, 22nd overall, in 2004 was the Vancouver Canucks first round selection in 2006. Grabner is a member of the Chiefs List of Legends.
(F) Ondrej Roman – Czechia – 5th overall – 2006
Selected fifth overall and played 142 games in Spokane, winning a Memorial Cup in 2008.
(F) Dominik Uher – Czechia– 47th overall – 2009
The Chiefs first round pick in 2009 played over 170 games for the Chiefs over three seasons and also represented Czechia at the 2012 World Junior Championships.
(F) Dominik Zwerger – Austria – 106th overall – 2013
Spokane’s 2013 second round pick was named WHL Rookie of the Year in 2013 and recorded 33 goals in his first two seasons as a Chief.
(D) Filip Kral – Czechia – 78th overall – 2017
Spokane’s second round pick in 2017 recorded 120 points in 154 games over three seasons as a Chief.
Under updated rules for the 2026 CHL Import Draft, 16-year-old import players are only allowed to be drafted during the first round, whereas 20-year-old players will be eligible to be selected in any of the three rounds. Additionally, CHL teams are only allowed to draft one 16-year-old import player and cannot be traded or replaced by another 16-year-old import player. If a 16-year-old import player is released to another level of hockey during the season, that club is now limited to two import players for the rest of the season. Clubs with three import players under the age of 20 will be ineligible in the draft.
As the CHL Import Draft includes the three leagues under its umbrella (Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League) the picks will rotate through each of them based on their league’s final standings. Oshawa from the OHL will select first, followed by QMJHL’s Baie-Cameau Drakkar. The Lethbridge Hurricanes hold the WHL’s first pick, third overall.
The CHL Import Draft has helped international players develop in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL before heading off to the National Hockey League (NHL).
A number of future NHL players have come through the CHL, including Leon Draisaitl (Prince Albert Raiders / WHL), Zdeno Chara (Prince George Cougars / WHL), Marian Hossa (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), Mikael Backlund (Kelowna Rockets / WHL), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), Gabriel Landeskog (Kitchener Rangers / OHL), Nikita Zadorov (London Knights / OHL), Rasmus Andersson (Barrie Colts / OHL), Olli Määttä (London Knights / OHL), Alexander Radulov (Québec Remparts / QMJHL), David Krejci (Gatineau Olympiques / QMJHL), and Nico Hischier (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL), among others as well. Six CHL import players were selected in the 2025 NHL Draft.
In the last 34 years of the CHL Import Draft, over 2,310 players from outside Canada and the United States have been selected.
The CHL Import Draft will take place online with the order of selection rotating between clubs in each of the CHL Member Leagues (WHL, OHL, and QMJHL). Fans can follow the draft on the CHL’s website.
