2026 WHL Draft Preview

The Lethbridge Hurricanes will embark on arguably one of the most important drafts in recent history for the organization on Wednesday and Thursday when the Western Hockey League holds the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.

The Prospects Draft will begin on Wednesday. May 6^th when the league will hold its first round with a live draft show streamed free on Victory+ beginning with the pre-draft show starting at 5:30pm MT. The league will then host rounds two through 15 on Thursday, May 7^th beginning at 10:00am MT.

In 2026, players born in the United States will be eligible for the Prospects Draft after the WHL abandoned the two-round US Priority Draft which was held for six years from 2020 until 2025. Players eligible for the WHL Prospects Draft  are 2011-born players who reside in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

The Hurricanes enter the 2026 WHL Draft owning a total of 19 draft picks in the 15-round draft, including 12 picks in the first eight rounds. Lethbridge’s first selection will be with Saskatoon’s pick, 14^th overall, which was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets in November in the Shane Smith and Vojtech Cihar trade. The ‘Canes will also hold a total of two third-round picks, two fourth-round picks, two sixth-round picks and four seventh-round selections. The following is all the draft picks held by the Hurricanes:

1^st Round – 14^th overall (via Saskatoon – acquired from Kelowna in Smith & Cihar trade)
3^rd Round – 50^th overall (via Wenatchee – acquired from Spokane in Wormald trade)
3^rd Round – 58^th overall (via Spokane – acquired from Spokane in Wormald trade)
4^th round – 70^th overall (Lethbridge – re-acquired from Spokane in Wormald trade)
4^th round – 77^th overall (via Regina – acquired from Kelowna in Smith & Cihar trade)
6^th round – 116^th overall (Lethbridge – re-acquired from Kelowna in Smith & Cihar trade)
6^th round – 120^th overall (via Moose Jaw – acquired from Moose Jaw in Ziprick trade)
7^th round – 139^th overall (Lethbridge)
7^th round – 150^th overall (via Spokane – acquired from Spokane in Gizowski trade)
7^th round – 154^th overall (via Calgary – acquired from Moose Jaw in Petersen trade)
7^th round – 160^th overall (via Prince Albert – acquired from Prince Albert in Fabrizi trade)
8^th round – 174^th overall (via Kamloops – acquired from Kamloops in Olsen trade)
9^th round – 185^th overall (Lethbridge)
10^th round – 208^th overall (Lethbridge)
11^th round – 231^st overall (Lethbridge)
12^th round – 254^th overall (Lethbridge)
13^th round – 277^th overall (Lethbridge)
14^th round – 300^th overall (Lethbridge)
15^th round – 323^rd overall (Lethbridge)

The likelihood of the Hurricanes, or any other team for that matter, selecting a player with every pick they hold is very rare with most teams passing by the time the 10^th round opens. In fact, the most recent draft in 2025, there were only 13 players selected in rounds 11 through 15.

That’s not to say that you can’t find a late bloomer or ‘draft surprise’ in the later rounds; current Hurricanes forward Kayden Longley was the last player taken in in the 2021 WHL Draft when he was selected by the Kelowna Rockets in the 13^th round, 281^st overall; the previous 21 selections were passed on.

Other noteworthy players that were selected in the final rounds of the WHL Prospects Draft include:

2023 – 11^th round, 236^th overall – Riley Thorpe (MJ)
2021 – 12^th round, 259^th overall – Ismail Abougouche (KEL)
2019 – 11^th round, 234^th overall – Marcus Nguyen (POR)
2019 – 13^th round, 286^th overall – Max Hildebrand (PA)
2017 – 10^th round, 212^th overall – Daylan Kuefler (KAM)
2015 – 10^th round, 211^th overall – Max Paddock (REG)
2015 – 10^th round, 215^th overall – Adam Evanoff (MJ)

While you can occasionally find steals as the draft goes, the first-round picks are where teams make their money and typically select players that will shape the future of the team for years to come. Lethbridge’s recent history of first-round selections include:

2024 – 13^th overall – Tyden Lafournaise
2023 – 14^th overall – Dayne Beuker
2022 – 11^th overall – Will Sharpe
2021 – 10^th overall – Miguel Marques
2021 – 17^th overall – Tristen Doyle
2020 – 16^th overall – Cole Miller
2018 – 8^th overall – Zack Stringer
2017 – 16^th overall – Noah Boyko
2016 – 19^th overall – Dylan Cozens
2015 – 2^nd overall – Calen Addison
2014 – 2^nd overall – Jordy Bellerive
2013 – 17^th overall – Stuart Skinner

Other notable first-round picks in Hurricanes history include:

2012 – 4^th overall – Giorgio Estephan
2006 – 7^th overall – Carter Ashton
2004 – 4^th overall – Dwight King
2000 – 6^th overall – Brent Seabrook

The Hurricanes ended the 2025-2026 season with a record of 17-47-3-1 in their 68-game schedule failing to qualify for the WHL Playoffs for the first time since 2015. Lethbridge’s own pick, which turned into the first overall pick, was traded to the Kelowna Rockets in January of 2025 in the Caden Price trade. Despite not owning their own first-round pick, the Hurricanes will select in the first round holding the 14^th overall pick, a pick selection which has proved to produce some impressive talent in the history of the WHL Draft, including:

2024 – Chase Surkan (Brandon)
2023 – Dayne Beuker (Lethbridge)
2022 – Connor Schmidt (Moose Jaw)
2021 – Ryder Ritchie (Prince Albert)
2020 – Zach Benson (Winnipeg)
2019 – Mathew Ward (Swift Current)
2015 – Dawson Barteaux (Red Deer)
2014 – Jaret Anderson-Dolan (Spokane)
2011 – Brayden Point (Moose Jaw)
2009 – Hunter Shinkaruk (Medicine Hat)
2004 – Tyson Sexsmith (Vancouver)
1999 – Kyle Brodziak (Moose Jaw)
1993 – Josh Holden (Regina)

Other notable players taken over the years with selections held by the Hurricanes in this year’s WHL Draft include:

50th – 2008 – Cain Franson (Vancouver)
58th – 2024 – Leif Oaten (Lethbridge)
58th – 2020 – Aiden Oiring (Winnipeg)
58th – 2019 – Kyle Chyzowski (Portland)
58th – 2017 – Dylan Garand (Kamloops)
58th – 2014 – Nick Henry (Regina)
58th – 1996 – Jamie Lundmark (Moose Jaw)
70th – 2022 – Brayden Klimpke (Saskatoon)
70th – 2012 – Noah Juulsen (Everett)
77th – 2014 – Brett Davis (Lethbridge)
77th – 2013 – Cale Fleury (Kootenay)
77th – 2009 – Jaimen Yakubowski (Lethbridge)
120th – 2022 – Ethan Bibeau (Prince Albert)
120th – 2019 – Daniel Hauser (Winnipeg)

This year’s draft will be the first under the vision of new Interim General Manager Barclay Parneta. The former head man with the Vancouver Giants was hired as a Senior Advisor by the Hurricanes at the start of the 2025-2026 season before he replaced Peter Anholt following the long-time GM’s resignation in January.

Parneta has spent a long time in the Western Hockey League spending the previous seven years as the General Manager with the Giants, but his time also includes eight years as the Head Scout / Assistant General Manager with the Tri-City Americans which came after seven years as an Amateur Scout in the National Hockey League with the Phoenix Coyotes and St. Louis Blues.

During his time as both a General Manager and Head Scout, Parneta has made some important picks over the years, including:

6^th overall – 2023 – Ryan Lin (Vancouver)
7^th overall – 2022 – Cameron Schmidt (Vancouver)
19^th overall – 2022 – Aaron Obobaifo (Vancouver)
119^th overall – 2022 – Burke Hood (Vancouver)
10^th overall – 2020 – Mazden Leslie (Vancouver)
32^nd overall – 2020 – Ty Halaburda (Vancouver)
56^th overall – 2020 – Ethan Semeniuk (Vancouver)

With the Giants, Parneta also made WHL history selecting standout women’s player Chloe Primerano in the 2021 WHL Draft, making her the first ever female selected in the draft.

In his time with the Americans, the draft success continued with many highlighted selections including:

80^th overall – 2018 – Tyson Greenway
102^nd overall – 2018 – Parker Bell
53^rd overall – 2017 – Talyn Boyko
6^th overall – 2016 – Sasha Mutala
7^th overall – 2015 – Carson Focht
7^th overall – 2014 – Michael Rasmussen
44^th overall – 2014 – Kyle Olson
49^th overall – 2014 – Brett Leason
115^th overall – 2014 – Riley Sawchuk
63^rd overall – 2013 – Dylan Coghlan
89^th overall – 2013 – Morgan Geekie
21^st overall – 2012 – Parker Wotherspoon
175^th overall – 2012 – Jordan Topping
211^th overall – 2011 – Brandon Carlo

Parneta will guide the Hurricanes into the future as they hope to land a top-end talent at pick #14 and continue to add to a prospect pool which includes Cohen Pentney, Reid Soper, Matteo Di Stefano, Liam McFadden, Luka Samu, Graham Gard, among others.

Regardless of whom the ‘Canes brass will select in the first round of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, it will mark the first time since the 2014 draft that a new General Manager will oversee the draft for Lethbridge.

Fans can follow along with the FREE WHL Draft Show beginning at 5:30pm MT on Wednesday on Victory+ (www.victoryplus.com) or follow Round 1 and Rounds 2-15 on Thursday by visiting www.whl.ca/draft.

– Dustin Forbes