Chiefs select G Carter Esler 22nd overall in 2023 WHL Prospects Draft

Spokane, Wash. — The Spokane Chiefs have selected goaltender Carter Esler in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

“Carter is an athletic goaltender who is also very technically sound,” Spokane Chiefs General Manager Matt Bardsley said. “He’s a great competitor who has a calmness to his game that rubs off on his teammates. He’s very focused and driven and studies his position very well.”

Esler, a five-foot-nine netminder from Okotoks, Alberta, spent the 2022-23 season with the Okotoks Oilers U15 AAA where he posted a 2.98 GAA and .925 SV% over 21 games played. He stayed steady in the playoffs, going 7-1-1 and posting a .936 SV%, recording a shutout. Esler was also named a 2023 Alberta Cup All-Star last month after his team, Alberta Green, won the tournament.

The 2008-born goalie is the highest ever selected by the Spokane Chiefs and the first to be taken in the first round. He joins forward Mathis Preston as the Chiefs’ 2023 first-round picks.

The Chiefs full 2023 WHL Prospects Draft results will be updated at spokanechiefs.com.

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The Spokane Chiefs are a member of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players. Since 1985 the Chiefs have been a pillar in the Spokane community, offering family-friendly entertainment and a winning tradition, which includes: two Memorial Cup Championships in 1991 & 2008, two WHL Championships in 1991 & 2008 and four Western Conference Championships in 1991, 1996, 2000 & 2008. Over 60 alumni have gone on to play in the National Hockey League.