[{"id":96037,"date":"2026-06-30T14:04:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T20:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96037"},"modified":"2026-06-30T14:13:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T20:13:06","slug":"regina-pats-announce-2026-27-whl-regular-season-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/article\/regina-pats-announce-2026-27-whl-regular-season-schedule","title":{"rendered":"Regina Pats Announce 2026-27 WHL Regular Season Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>Regina, Sask.<\/strong> \u2013 The Regina Pats Hockey Club, in conjunction with the Western Hockey League, announced Tuesday the club&#8217;s 2026-27 regular season schedule.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Pats will open the 2026-27 campaign on <strong>Friday, September 18<\/strong>, when they travel to the Art Hauser Centre to take on the Prince Albert Raiders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Regina begins the season with its first two games on the road, visiting the Brandon Wheat Kings on <strong>Friday, September 25<\/strong>. The Pats will then return to the Brandt Centre for their home opener on <strong>Sunday, September 27<\/strong>, welcoming the Swift Current Broncos for a 2 p.m. puck drop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The 2026-27 regular season consists of 68 games, including 34 home dates at the Brandt Centre. Regina&#8217;s home schedule features:<\/p>\n<ul data-spread=\"false\">\n<li><strong>1<\/strong> game in September<\/li>\n<li><strong>5<\/strong> games in October<\/li>\n<li><strong>4<\/strong> games in November<\/li>\n<li><strong>7<\/strong> games in December<\/li>\n<li><strong>6<\/strong> games in January<\/li>\n<li><strong>6<\/strong> games in February<\/li>\n<li><strong>5<\/strong> games in March<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Pats will conclude the regular season with a home-and-home series against the Brandon Wheat Kings, beginning on <strong>Friday, March 26<\/strong> in Brandon before closing out the regular season at the Brandt Centre on <strong>Saturday, March 27<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>2026-27 Home Schedule<\/h2>\n<h3>September<\/h3>\n<ul data-spread=\"false\">\n<li>Sunday, September 27 vs. Swift Current (2:00 p.m.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>October<\/h3>\n<ul data-spread=\"false\">\n<li>Friday, October 9 vs. Prince Albert<\/li>\n<li>Friday, October 16 vs. Medicine Hat<\/li>\n<li>Wednesday, October 21 vs. Seattle<\/li>\n<li>Friday, October 23 vs. Moose Jaw<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday, October 27 vs. Everett<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>November<\/h3>\n<ul data-spread=\"false\">\n<li>Sunday, November 1 vs. Lethbridge<\/li>\n<li>Friday, November 6 vs. Brandon<\/li>\n<li>Friday, November 13 vs. Portland<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, November 14 vs. Wenatchee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>December<\/h3>\n<ul data-spread=\"false\">\n<li>Friday, December 4 vs. Swift Current<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, December 5 vs. Saskatoon<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday, December 8 vs. Red Deer<\/li>\n<li>Friday, December 11 vs. Saskatoon<\/li>\n<li>Sunday, December 13 vs. Edmonton<\/li>\n<li>Friday, December 18 vs. Moose Jaw<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday, December 29 vs. Brandon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>January<\/h3>\n<ul data-spread=\"false\">\n<li>Friday, January 1 vs. Prince Albert<\/li>\n<li>Friday, January 8 vs. Spokane<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, January 9 vs. Tri-City<\/li>\n<li>Friday, January 22 vs. Calgary<\/li>\n<li>Sunday, January 24 vs. Moose Jaw<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, January 30 vs. Lethbridge<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>February<\/h3>\n<ul data-spread=\"false\">\n<li>Wednesday, February 3 vs. Swift Current<\/li>\n<li>Friday, February 12 vs. Calgary<\/li>\n<li>Friday, February 19 vs. Brandon<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday, February 23 vs. Medicine Hat<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, February 27 vs. Red Deer<\/li>\n<li>Sunday, February 28 vs. Prince Albert<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>March<\/h3>\n<ul data-spread=\"false\">\n<li>Friday, March 12 vs. Edmonton<\/li>\n<li>Sunday, March 14 vs. Moose Jaw<\/li>\n<li>Wednesday, March 17 vs. Saskatoon<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, March 20 vs. Prince Albert<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, March 27 vs. Brandon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additional information regarding season tickets, single-game tickets and the club&#8217;s promotional schedule will be announced at a later date.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-96040\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/30140405\/2026-Pats-FullSeasonSchedule-1920x1080-1-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1141\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/30140405\/2026-Pats-FullSeasonSchedule-1920x1080-1-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/30140405\/2026-Pats-FullSeasonSchedule-1920x1080-1-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/30140405\/2026-Pats-FullSeasonSchedule-1920x1080-1-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/30140405\/2026-Pats-FullSeasonSchedule-1920x1080-1-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/30140405\/2026-Pats-FullSeasonSchedule-1920x1080-1-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1141px) 100vw, 1141px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regina, Sask. \u2013 The Regina Pats Hockey Club, in conjunction with the Western Hockey League, announced Tuesday the club&#8217;s 2026-27 regular season schedule. The Pats will open the 2026-27 campaign on Friday, September 18, when they travel to the Art Hauser Centre to take on the Prince Albert Raiders. Regina begins the season with its&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":96039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1337],"tags":[{"term_id":1631,"name":"2026-27 season","slug":"2026-27-season","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1631,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"4"},{"term_id":107,"name":"schedule","slug":"schedule","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":108,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1197"}],"class_list":["post-96037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-27-season","tag-schedule","category-1337","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/30140344\/2026-Pats-FullSeasonSchedule-1920x1080-1.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96037"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96043,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96037\/revisions\/96043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96030,"date":"2026-06-30T11:48:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96030"},"modified":"2026-06-30T11:59:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:59:46","slug":"pats-select-three-players-in-2026-chl-import-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/article\/pats-select-three-players-in-2026-chl-import-draft","title":{"rendered":"Pats Select Three Players In 2026 CHL Import Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Regina, Sask. &#8211;<\/strong> The Regina Pats added a trio of talented European prospects to the organization on Wednesday, selecting defencemen <strong>Ossi Tukio<\/strong> (Finland) and <strong>Tomas Cermak<\/strong> (Czechia), along with forward <strong>Samuel Karsay<\/strong> (Slovakia), in the 2026 CHL Import Draft.<\/p>\n<p>Leading the way was Tukio, who was chosen in the first round with the 18th overall selection. The smooth-skating Finnish defenceman headlines a class that also includes the mobile, physical Cermak in the second round and the high-motor, two-way forward Karsay in the third round.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ossi Tukio | 1st Round, #18 Overall | Tampere, Finland<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Tukio, 18, was selected by the Pats with the 18th pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft. The 6-foot-2, 187-pound left-shot defenceman from Tampere, Finland, captained Ilves&#8217; U20 team in the U20 SM-sarja during the 2025-26 season, recording 25 points (9G-16A) in 34 games. He helped lead Ilves to a second-place finish while ranking as the league&#8217;s second-highest scoring draft-eligible defenceman during the regular season.<\/p>\n<p>The son of former New York Islanders draft pick and longtime Liiga defenceman Arto Tukio, Tukio also logged top-pairing minutes for Finland&#8217;s U20 national team during the spring, positioning himself as a strong candidate for a spot on Finland&#8217;s roster for the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship. Ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, Tukio was ranked 45th among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ossi is a smooth-skating defenceman who moves the puck exceptionally well, whether it&#8217;s carrying it out of the zone or making a crisp first pass,&#8221; said Regina Pats GM Dale Derkatch. &#8220;He has a strong offensive instinct, likes to join the rush and create scoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates. He&#8217;s a player who can contribute on the power play and brings another dynamic element to our blue line.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tomas Cermak | 2nd Round, #85 Overall | Plzen, Czechia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cermak, 18, was selected by the Pats with the 85th pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound left-shot defenceman from Plze\u0148, Czechia, spent the 2025-26 season with BK Mlad\u00e1 Boleslav U20 in the Czech U20 league, recording 15 points (5G-10A) in 48 games. Cermak was ranked 82nd among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Tomas is an aggressive defenceman who competes hard in all three zones,&#8221; said Regina Pats GM Dale Derkatch. &#8220;He&#8217;s a very mobile player for his size and makes life difficult on opposing forwards with the way he defends around the net and battles in the corners. His combination of mobility, physicality and reach allows him to close gaps quickly, disrupt plays in open ice and win battles along the boards. We feel he has the tools to be a dependable two-way defenceman.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Samuel Karsay | 3rd Round, #146 Overall | Ilava, Slovakia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Karsay, 18, was selected by the Pats in the third round (146th overall) of the 2026 CHL Import Draft. The 6-foot-1, 172-pound left winger from Ilava, Slovakia, split the 2025-26 season between HK Spartak Dubnica in Slovakia&#8217;s second division and HK Dukla Tren\u010d\u00edn U20. In 11 games with Tren\u010d\u00edn&#8217;s U20 club, the 2008-born forward recorded seven points (four goals, three assists). He was also ranked 63rd among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft. Internationally, Karsay helped Slovakia capture a silver medal at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Samuel is a quick, competitive two-way forward who plays with a high motor every shift,&#8221; said Regina Pats GM Dale Derkatch. &#8220;He&#8217;s an excellent skater who applies relentless pressure on defenders with his forecheck and competes hard in all three zones. Offensively, he has a knack for finding scoring areas and is a dangerous finisher, particularly off the rush where he creates quality scoring chances. He&#8217;s also a very responsible player away from the puck, and his leadership qualities are evident, having served as captain of Slovakia&#8217;s national team at his age level.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regina, Sask. &#8211; The Regina Pats added a trio of talented European prospects to the organization on Wednesday, selecting defencemen Ossi Tukio (Finland) and Tomas Cermak (Czechia), along with forward Samuel Karsay (Slovakia), in the 2026 CHL Import Draft. Leading the way was Tukio, who was chosen in the first round with the 18th overall&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":96035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1337],"tags":[{"term_id":1638,"name":"2026 CHL Import Draft","slug":"2026-chl-import-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1638,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":1639,"name":"Ossi Tukio","slug":"ossi-tukio","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1639,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":1640,"name":"Tomas Cermak","slug":"tomas-cermak","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1640,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":1641,"name":"Samuel Karsay","slug":"samuel-karsay","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1641,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"}],"class_list":["post-96030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-chl-import-draft","tag-ossi-tukio","tag-tomas-cermak","tag-samuel-karsay","category-1337","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/30114745\/Pats-Select-Tukio-Cermak-and-Karsay-in-2026-CHL-Import-Draft.jpg",1200,675,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96030"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96036,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96030\/revisions\/96036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96026,"date":"2026-06-29T11:31:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96026"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:31:20","slug":"hamilton-invited-to-dallas-stars-development-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/article\/hamilton-invited-to-dallas-stars-development-camp","title":{"rendered":"Hamilton Invited to Dallas Stars Development Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>Regina, Sask. &#8211;<\/strong> The Regina Pats are proud to congratulate defenceman Reese Hamilton on being invited to the Dallas Stars&#8217; 2026 Development Camp.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The four-day camp will run from June 29 through July 2 at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, and will feature 35 players, including 22 forwards, nine defencemen, and four goaltenders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Hamilton, 19, is coming off a career season with the Pats after recording career highs in points (43) and assists (36), while adding seven goals in 67 games during the 2025-26 campaign. The Whitewood, Sask. product also finished the season with a +6 rating, establishing himself as one of Regina&#8217;s top blueliners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The 6-foot, 181-pound left-shot defenceman has now earned invitations to three NHL camps over the past calendar year. Hamilton attended the Seattle Kraken Development Camp following the 2025 season before taking part in the Winnipeg Jets Rookie Camp last fall. His invitation to Dallas marks another opportunity to showcase his continued development at the professional level.<\/p>\n<p>The Regina Pats congratulate Reese on this well-deserved opportunity and wish him the best of luck at Dallas Stars Development Camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regina, Sask. &#8211; The Regina Pats are proud to congratulate defenceman Reese Hamilton on being invited to the Dallas Stars&#8217; 2026 Development Camp. The four-day camp will run from June 29 through July 2 at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, and will feature 35 players, including 22 forwards, nine defencemen, and four goaltenders. Hamilton, 19,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":96027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1337],"tags":[{"term_id":1637,"name":"dallas stars","slug":"dallas-stars","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1637,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":1514,"name":"Reese Hamilton","slug":"reese-hamilton","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1514,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":22,"filter":"raw","term_order":"123"}],"class_list":["post-96026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-dallas-stars","tag-reese-hamilton","category-1337","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/29113105\/KHP_0290-2-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96028,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96026\/revisions\/96028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96019,"date":"2026-06-29T10:16:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96019"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:16:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:16:45","slug":"37-western-hockey-league-players-and-two-alumni-selected-in-2026-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/article\/37-western-hockey-league-players-and-two-alumni-selected-in-2026-nhl-draft","title":{"rendered":"37 Western Hockey League players and two alumni selected in 2026 NHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: center\"><em>WHL LEADS ALL LEAGUES WITH FOUR DEVELOPED PLAYERS SELECTED IN TOP 10 AND 22 PLAYERS IN FIRST THREE ROUNDS; TIGERS ALUMNUS MCKENNA GOES FIRST OVERALL TO TORONTO<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Buffalo, N.Y. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today 37 players and two alumni have been selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, held Friday and Saturday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 106 Canadian Hockey League players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft is the highest total since 2010. Of the 224 players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, 106 came from the CHL, representing 47.3 per cent of all players chosen. Of the 106 players selected from the CHL, 36.8 per cent hail from the WHL.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Since the 1967 NHL Amateur draft 2,268 players have been selected out of the WHL, including 360 first-round selections.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fo\/46cowspvr3eu9p85wupj6\/AD4-vxNOeVhxxbNXrgoYCPE?rlkey=t962e4qot8a57qihktelx4095&amp;st=mynr4d3w&amp;dl=0\">PLAYER ASSETS<\/a> \u2013 ACTION PHOTOS &amp; HIGHLIGHTS<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/folders\/19DtfIhIVQ_0en5w6c9KFBpO3YfEO2bQ7\">PHOTOS<\/a> \u2013 2026 NHL Draft (Credit to Natalie Shaver \/ CHL)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fo\/q22o60ipcdgiww4ki37ow\/AJNHMiahp70GEqaFhTSBsP8?rlkey=a6tcsxnrjptq7pzz8vzv4ry83&amp;st=taj1ivcu&amp;dl=0\">MEDIA AVAILS<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">For the second time in three drafts, the WHL boasts four players selected in the top 10 of the NHL Draft. This also serves as the second consecutive NHL Draft in which the WHL has led or tied for the most first-round players selected among any development league. The 2025 NHL Draft featured nine WHL players chosen in the first round.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">With 22 players selected through the first three rounds of the 2026 NHL Draft, the WHL led all development leagues.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Former WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers) was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, followed by Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Daxon Rudolph going to the Buffalo Sabres with the fourth pick. Prince George Cougars blueliner Carson Carels was called by the Calgary Flames with the sixth-overall selection and former Victoria Royals rearguard Keaton Verhoeff rounded out the group after being chosen ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The first round concluded with a run of WHL players, including Ryan Lin going 21st overall to the San Jose Sharks, Liam Ruck selected 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and JP Hurlbert hearing his name called 23rd overall by the Detroit Red Wings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The second round of the 2026 NHL Draft featured eight WHL players, including Chase Harrington (Spokane Chiefs), Matias Vanhanen (Everett Silvertips), Markus Ruck (Pittsburgh Penguins), Mathis Preston (Anaheim Ducks), Brek Liske (Philadelphia Flyers), Timofei Runtso (Montreal Canadiens), Jakub Vanecek (Dallas Stars), and Benjamin MacBeath (New York Rangers).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Medicine Hat Tigers led all WHL Clubs with five players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, including McKenna, the Ruck twins, Yaroslav Bryzgalov (Vancouver Canucks), and Jonas Woo (Columbus Blue Jackets).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The Edmonton Oil Kings, Portland Winterhawks, Prince Albert Raiders, Saskatoon Blades, and Vancouver Giants each finished with three players selected. The Brandon Wheat Kings, Everett Silvertips, Prince George Cougars, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, and Victoria Royals each had two players selected.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In total, 19 of 23 WHL teams had at least one player chosen in the 2026 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 2026 NHL Draft serves as the 18th time in the past 20 years the WHL has seen five or more players selected in the first round of the NHL Draft.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong><u>2026 NHL Draft<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 WHL Developed Players<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Overall \u2013 Player (Pos.) \u2013 NHL Team; WHL Team; Hometown<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Round One (7)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">#1 \u2013 Gavin McKenna (F) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs; Medicine Hat Tigers*; Whitehorse, Yukon<br \/>\n#4 \u2013 Daxon Rudolph (D) \u2013 Buffalo Sabres; Prince Albert Raiders; Lacombe, Alta.<br \/>\n#6 \u2013 Carson Carels (D) \u2013 Calgary Flames; Prince George Cougars; Cypress River, Man.<br \/>\n#9 \u2013 Keaton Verhoeff (D) \u2013 San Jose Sharks; Victoria Royals*; Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.<br \/>\n#21 \u2013 Ryan Lin (D) \u2013 San Jose Sharks; Vancouver Giants; Richmond, B.C.<br \/>\n#22 \u2013 Liam Ruck (F) \u2013 Pittsburgh Penguins; Medicine Hat Tigers; Osoyoos, B.C.<br \/>\n#23 \u2013 JP Hurlbert (F) \u2013 Detroit Red Wings; Kamloops Blazers; Allen, Texas<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Two (8)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">#36 \u2013 Chase Harrington (F) \u2013 Calgary Flames; Spokane Chiefs; Prince George, B.C.<br \/>\n#37 \u2013 Matias Vanhanen (F) \u2013 New Jersey Devils; Everett Silvertips; Nokia, Finland<br \/>\n#39 \u2013 Markus Ruck (F) \u2013 Pittsburgh Penguins; Medicine Hat Tigers; Osoyoos, B.C.<br \/>\n#50 \u2013 Mathis Preston (F) \u2013 Anaheim Ducks; Vancouver Giants; Penticton, B.C.<br \/>\n#53 \u2013 Brek Liske (D) \u2013 Philadelphia Flyers; Everett Silvertips; Beausejour, Man.<br \/>\n#57 \u2013 Timofei Runtso (D) \u2013 Montreal Canadiens; Victoria Royals; Marina del Rey, Calif.<br \/>\n#59 \u2013 Jakub Vanecek (D) \u2013 Dallas Stars; Tri-City Americans; Humpolec, Czechia<br \/>\n#64 \u2013 Benjamin MacBeath (D) \u2013 New York Rangers; Calgary Hitmen; Calgary, Alta.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Three (7)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">#65 \u2013 Joe Iginla (F) \u2013 Calgary Flames; Vancouver Giants; Lake Country, B.C.<br \/>\n#68 \u2013 Zachary Lansard (F) \u2013 Carolina Hurricanes; Regina Pats; Ste. Anne, Man.<br \/>\n#69 \u2013 Ethan MacKenzie (D) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs; Edmonton Oil Kings; Peachland, B.C.<br \/>\n#73 \u2013 Zach Olsen (F) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs; Saskatoon Blades; Calgary, Alta.<br \/>\n#74 \u2013 Beckett Hamilton (F) \u2013 Colorado Avalanche; Red Deer Rebels; Saskatoon, Sask.<br \/>\n#79 \u2013 Michal Orsulak (G) \u2013 Detroit Red Wings; Prince Albert Raiders; Tremosna, Czechia<br \/>\n#95 \u2013 Sean Burick (D) \u2013 Vegas Golden Knights; Penticton Vees; San Clemente, Calif.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Four (7)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">#97 \u2013 Yaroslav Bryzgalov (F) \u2013 Vancouver Canucks; Medicine Hat Tigers; Minsk, Belarus<br \/>\n#101 \u2013 Tyus Sparks (F) \u2013 Washington Capitals; Spokane Chiefs; Meridian, Idaho<br \/>\n#112 \u2013 Kayden Lemire (F) \u2013 Minnesota Wild; Prince George Cougars; Edmonton, Alta.<br \/>\n#113 \u2013 Jonah Sivertson (F) \u2013 Vegas Golden Knights; Prince Albert Raiders; Regina, Sask.<br \/>\n#117 \u2013 Brayden Klimpke (D) \u2013 Montreal Canadiens; Saskatoon Blades; Calgary, Alta.<br \/>\n#120 \u2013 Marek Sklenicka (G) \u2013 Philadelphia Flyers; Seattle Thunderbirds; Litvinov, Czechia<br \/>\n#126 \u2013 Tobias Tvrznik (G) \u2013 Colorado Avalanche; Wenatchee Wild; Litomerice, Czechia<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Five (5)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">#137 \u2013 Filip Ruzicka (G) \u2013 Minnesota Wild; Brandon Wheat Kings; Trinec, Czechia<br \/>\n#142 \u2013 Parker Snell (G) \u2013 Columbus Blue Jackets; Edmonton Oil Kings; St. Albert, Alta.<br \/>\n#153 \u2013 Giorgos Pantelas (D) \u2013 Los Angeles Kings; Brandon Wheat Kings; Victoria, B.C.<br \/>\n#158 \u2013 Cooper Williams (F) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs; Saskatoon Blades; Calgary, Alta.<br \/>\n#159 \u2013 Will McLaughlin (D) \u2013 Vegas Golden Knights; Portland Winterhawks; Canmore, Alta.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Six (4)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">#172 \u2013 Luke Wilfley (F) \u2013 New Jersey Devils; Portland Winterhawks; Englewood, Colo.<br \/>\n#174 \u2013 Jake Gustafson (F) \u2013 San Jose Sharks; Portland Winterhawks; San Jose, Calif.<br \/>\n#185 \u2013 Jonas Woo (D) \u2013 Columbus Blue Jackets; Medicine Hat Tigers; Winnipeg, Man.<br \/>\n#192 \u2013 Noah Kosick (F) \u2013 Anaheim Ducks; Seattle Thunderbirds; Victoria, B.C.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Seven (1)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">#199 \u2013 Alofa Tunoa Ta\u2019amu (D) \u2013 Winnipeg Jets; Edmonton Oil Kings; San Diego, Calif.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><em>* = last played in WHL during 2024-25 season<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong><u>2026 NHL Draft<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Players Committed to the WHL for 2026-27<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Four<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">#98 \u2013 Jonas Kemps (D) \u2013 Florida Panthers; Seattle Thunderbirds; Sebastopol, Calif.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Five<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">#136 \u2013 Kent Sauer (F) \u2013 Philadelphia Flyers; Edmonton Oil Kings; Andover, Minn.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Six<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">#164 \u2013 Bode Laylin (D) \u2013 Calgary Flames; Everett Silvertips; St. Michael, Minn.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>Round Seven<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">#208 \u2013 Logan Stuart (F) \u2013 Washington Capitals; Lethbridge Hurricanes; Manhattan Beach, Calif.<br \/>\n#224 \u2013 Tyler Deakos (F) \u2013 Montreal Canadiens; Penticton Vees; Canmore, Alta.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><em>Don\u2019t miss your opportunity to own a piece of WHL history from the 2026 WHL Prospects Game. Fans can bid on event-worn memorabilia bundles featuring 2026 NHL Draft stars. Visit <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/fans.winwithdash.com\/team\/whl\/event\/6a19a2831c32ae0008db44ac\"><em>DASH Auctions<\/em><\/a><em> for complete details.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><strong>About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Regarded as the world\u2019s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada\u2019s National Junior Hockey Team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHL leads all leagues with 22 developed players selected in first three rounds of 2026 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":96020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1337],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-96019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-1337","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/27161522\/1920-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96019"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96025,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96019\/revisions\/96025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96021,"date":"2026-06-29T10:16:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96021"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:16:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:16:26","slug":"recapping-the-2026-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/video\/recapping-the-2026-nhl-draft","title":{"rendered":"Recapping the 2026 NHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":96022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1338],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-96021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","category-1338","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/29082704\/1920-2.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96024,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96021\/revisions\/96024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96017,"date":"2026-06-29T10:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96017"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:16:12","slug":"106-chl-developed-players-selected-at-2026-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/article\/106-chl-developed-players-selected-at-2026-nhl-draft","title":{"rendered":"106 CHL-developed players selected at 2026 NHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong><i>The CHL\u2019s 106 selections marked its highest total since 2010, led all development leagues worldwide, and further reinforced the WHL, OHL and QMJHL as the game\u2019s premier development pathway<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to announce that 106 players developed across the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) were selected across seven rounds of the 2026 NHL Draft at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, representing the most of any development league in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The CHL\u2019s 106 selections were its highest total in 16 years, dating back to 2010, and marked the first time since 2013 that the CHL reached the 100-pick mark at the NHL Draft. In the seven-round era, which began in 2005, the 2026 NHL Draft now stands as the CHL\u2019s fourth-highest total, trailing only 2008 (110), 2005 (109) and 2010 (107).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The CHL\u2019s impact was felt immediately, with Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) alumnus <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29192\/\">Gavin McKenna<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs. McKenna became the 43rd CHL-developed player selected No. 1 overall since 1969, giving the CHL the first overall pick for the second straight NHL Draft and the third time in the last four years, following Matthew Schaefer in 2025 and Connor Bedard in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">McKenna\u2019s selection opened a first round that once again showcased the CHL at the very top of the Draft. In total, 16 CHL-developed players were selected in Round 1, accounting for 50 per cent of the opening round. CHL players represented six of the first 10 selections and three of the first four, with McKenna going No. 1 to Toronto, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL) forward <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9474\/\"><b>Caleb Malhotra<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> going No. 3 to the Vancouver Canucks, and Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) defenceman <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29416\/\"><b>Daxon Rudolph<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> going No. 4 to the Buffalo Sabres.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The opening round also highlighted one of the CHL\u2019s strongest defensive groups in recent memory. Seven CHL-developed defencemen were selected in the first round, while 13 blueliners came off the board across the opening two rounds. In all, 36 CHL defencemen were chosen over the two-day Draft, alongside 57 forwards and 13 goaltenders, underscoring the positional depth produced by the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The strength of the 2026 class carried well beyond the first round. The CHL had 32 players selected through two rounds, its most in 11 years and highest total since 36 were chosen across the opening two rounds in 2015. Through three rounds, the CHL\u2019s 47 selections matched its best three-round showing since 2015, while its 61 players selected through four rounds were also its most since 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the end of Round 6, the CHL had already surpassed its full 2025 NHL Draft total, with 94 selections. The CHL ultimately had at least 12 players chosen in each of the seven rounds, something that had only happened once before in the seven-round era, in 2005. The league also set a seven-round era high with 59 players selected from Rounds 4 through 7, including 45 from Rounds 5 through 7 and 29 over the final two rounds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) led all three CHL Member Leagues with 47 selections, its highest total since 2016 and one shy of its seven-round era high. The Western Hockey League (WHL) followed with 39 selections, its highest total since 2010, while also producing the first overall pick in McKenna. The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) reached 20 selections for the first time since 2021 and produced multiple first-round picks for the second straight NHL Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In total, the CHL\u2019s 106 selections came from 51 different clubs, with 19 OHL clubs, 19 WHL clubs and 13 QMJHL clubs represented. The Medicine Hat Tigers and Ottawa 67\u2019s led all CHL clubs with five players selected, followed by the Guelph Storm, London Knights, Saginaw Spirit and Soo Greyhounds, who each had four. Edmonton, Portland, Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Vancouver each produced three selections from the WHL, while Moncton and Qu\u00e9bec led the QMJHL with three selections apiece.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All 32 NHL clubs selected at least one CHL-developed player at the 2026 NHL Draft. The Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs led all NHL clubs with six CHL selections each, while the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights each selected five. In total, 13 NHL clubs selected at least four CHL players, further demonstrating the league-wide demand for talent developed across the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 2026 NHL Draft also reinforced the impact of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, with 11 of the 16 CHL-developed first-round selections having competed in the 2025 edition of the event. The two-game showcase continues to provide a best-on-best platform for NHL Draft-eligible players from across the CHL against the U.S. National Under-18 Team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">From the first overall pick to the final rounds, the 2026 NHL Draft served as another clear reminder of the CHL\u2019s unmatched role in developing NHL talent. With high-end skill at the top of the Draft, record-setting depth in later rounds, representation across every position, and selections from every NHL organization, the WHL, OHL and QMJHL once again stood at the centre of hockey\u2019s global development landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><b>106 CHL-developed players in the 2026 NHL Draft<\/b><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">*denotes players who competed in the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>FIRST ROUND (16)<\/b><br \/>\n1. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29192\/\"><b>Gavin McKenna<\/b><\/a> (Medicine Hat Tigers \/ WHL, LW) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs<br \/>\n3.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9474\/\"><b>Caleb Malhotra<\/b><\/a> (Brantford Bulldogs \/ OHL, C)* \u2013 Vancouver Canucks<br \/>\n4. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29416\/\"><b>Daxon Rudolph<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(Prince Albert Raiders \/ WHL, D)* \u2013 Buffalo Sabres<\/span><br \/>\n6. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29468\/\"><b>Carson Carels<\/b><\/a> (Prince George Cougars \/ WHL, D)* \u2013 Calgary Flames<br \/>\n7. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9299\/\"><b>Chase Reid<\/b><\/a> (Soo Greyhounds \/ OHL, D)* \u2013 Seattle Kraken<br \/>\n9. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29508\/\"><b>Keaton Verhoeff<\/b><\/a> (Victoria Royals \/ WHL, D) \u2013 San Jose Sharks<br \/>\n15. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9385\/\"><b>Nikita Klepov<\/b><\/a> (Saginaw Spirit \/ OHL, RW)* \u2013 Anaheim Ducks<br \/>\n16. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/21279\/\"><b>Maddox Dagenais<\/b><\/a> (Qu\u00e9bec Remparts \/ QMJHL, C)* \u2013 St. Louis Blues<br \/>\n17. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9102\/\"><b>Ethan Belchetz<\/b><\/a> (Windsor Spitfires \/ OHL, LW)* \u2013 Utah Mammoth<br \/>\n21. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29532\/\"><b>Ryan Lin<\/b><\/a> (Vancouver Giants \/ WHL, D)* \u2013 San Jose Sharks<br \/>\n22. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29383\"><b>Liam Ruck<\/b><\/a> (Medicine Hat Tigers \/ WHL, RW)* \u2013 Pittsburgh Penguins<br \/>\n23. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30098\/\"><b>JP Hurlbert<\/b><\/a> (Kamloops Blazers \/ WHL, RW)* \u2013 Detroit Red Wings<br \/>\n24. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9638\"><b>Adam Novotn\u00fd<\/b><\/a> (Peterborough Petes \/ OHL, LW)* \u2013 Vancouver Canucks<br \/>\n27. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9427\"><b>Maksim Sokolovskii<\/b><\/a> (London Knights \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Philadelphia Flyers<br \/>\n31. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/23895\/\"><b>Tommy Bleyl<\/b><\/a> (Moncton Wildcats \/ QMJHL, D) \u2013 Nashville Predators<br \/>\n32. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9333\/\"><b>Jaxon Cover<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(London Knights \/ OHL, LW) \u2013 Ottawa Senators<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>SECOND ROUND (16)<\/b><br \/>\n33. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9126\/\"><b>Brooks Rogowski<\/b><\/a> (Oshawa Generals \/ OHL, RW) \u2013 Vancouver Canucks<br \/>\n34. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/20170\/\"><b>Xavier Villeneuve<\/b><\/a> (Blainville-Boisbriand \/ QMJHL, D)* \u2013 Chicago Blackhawks<br \/>\n35. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/8963\/\"><b>Ryan Roobroeck<\/b><\/a> (Guelph Storm \/ OHL, LW )* \/ developed over the last three seasons with the Niagara IceDogs \u2013 Chicago Blackhawks<br \/>\n36. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29279\"><b>Chase Harrington<\/b><\/a> (Spokane Chiefs \/ WHL, LW)* \u2013 Calgary Flames<br \/>\n37. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30307\/\"><b>Matias Vanhanen<\/b><\/a> (Everett Silvertips \/ WHL, LW) \u2013 New Jersey Devils<br \/>\n39. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29384\/\"><b>Markus Ruck<\/b><\/a> (Medicine Hat Tigers \/ WHL, C) \u2013 Pittsburgh Penguins<br \/>\n43. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/23769\/\"><b>Egor Shilov<\/b><\/a> (Victoriaville Tigres \/ QMJHL, C)* \u2013 Colorado Avalanche<br \/>\n46. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/22095\/\"><b>Liam Lefebvre<\/b><\/a> (Cape Breton Eagles \/ QMJHL, RW) \/ developed over the last season with the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens \u2013 Los Angeles Kings<br \/>\n48. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9310\/\"><b>Ryder Cali<\/b><\/a> (North Bay Battalion \/ OHL, C) \u2013 Florida Panthers<br \/>\n50. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29463\/\"><b>Mathis Preston<\/b><\/a> (Vancouver Giants \/ WHL, RW)* \u2013 Anaheim Ducks<br \/>\n52. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/23745\/\"><b>Oleg Kulebiakin<\/b><\/a> (Halifax Mooseheads \/ QMJHL, LW) \u2013 Tampa Bay Lightning<br \/>\n53. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29404\/\"><b>Brek Liske<\/b><\/a> (Everett Silvertips \/ WHL, D) \u2013 Philadelphia Flyers<br \/>\n57. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30219\/\"><b>Timofei Runtso<\/b><\/a> (Victoria Royals \/ WHL, D) \u2013 Montr\u00e9al Canadiens<br \/>\n59. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29955\"><b>Jakub Vanecek<\/b><\/a> (Tri-City Americans \/ WHL, D) \u2013 Dallas Stars<br \/>\n60. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9162\"><b>Alexander Bilecki<\/b><\/a> (Kitchener Rangers \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs<br \/>\n64.<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30195\"><b>Ben MacBeath<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Calgary Hitmen \/ WHL, D) \u2013 New York Rangers<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>THIRD ROUND (15)<\/b><br \/>\n65. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29393\"><b>Joe Iginla<\/b><\/a> (Vancouver Giants \/ WHL, RW) \u2013 Calgary Flames<br \/>\n67. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/23743\/\"><b>Danai Shaiikov<\/b><\/a> (Gatineau Olympiques \/ QMJHL, G) \u2013 New York Rangers<br \/>\n68. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29458\/\"><b>Zachary Lansard<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(Regina Pats \/ WHL, RW) \u2013 Carolina Hurricanes<\/span><br \/>\n69. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29207\"><b>Ethan MacKenzie<\/b><\/a> (Edmonton Oil Kings \/ WHL, D) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs<br \/>\n72. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9685\"><b>Adam Nemec<\/b><\/a> (Sudbury Wolves \/ OHL, LW) \u2013 Ottawa Senators<br \/>\n73. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29429\/\"><b>Zach Olsen<\/b><\/a> (Saskatoon Blades \/ WHL, RW) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs<br \/>\n74. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29516\/\"><b>Beckett Hamilton<\/b><\/a> (Red Deer Rebels \/ WHL, RW) \u2013 Colorado Avalanche<br \/>\n77. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/21306\/\"><b>Charlie Morrison<\/b><\/a> (Qu\u00e9bec Remparts \/ QMJHL, D)* \u2013 New York Rangers<br \/>\n79. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30250\"><b>Michal Orsulak<\/b><\/a> (Prince Albert Raiders \/ WHL, G) \u2013 Detroit Red Wings<br \/>\n82. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/22262\/\"><b>Rian Chudzinski<\/b><\/a> (Moncton Wildcats \/ QMJHL, RW) \u2013 Anaheim Ducks<br \/>\n86. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9191\"><b>Pierce Mbuyi<\/b><\/a> (Owen Sound Attack \/ OHL, LW) \u2013 Pittsburgh Penguins<br \/>\n91. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/21308\/\"><b>Louis-F\u00e9lix Bourque<\/b><\/a> (Drummondville Voltigeurs \/ QMJHL, C) \u2013 Ottawa Senators<br \/>\n92. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9440\"><b>Ben Wilmott<\/b><\/a> (Barrie Colts \/ OHL, C) \u2013 Vegas Golden Knights<br \/>\n94. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9124\"><b>Alessandro Di Iorio<\/b><\/a> (Sarnia Sting \/ OHL, C)* \u2013 Columbus Blue Jackets<br \/>\n95. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30119\/\"><b>Sean Burick<\/b><\/a> (Penticton Vees \/ WHL, D) \u2013 Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n<p><b>FOURTH ROUND (14)<\/b><br \/>\n97. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30288\/\"><b>Yaroslav Bryzgalov<\/b><\/a> (Medicine Hat Tigers \/ WHL, LW) \u2013 Vancouver Canucks<br \/>\n100. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9386\"><b>Egor Barabanov<\/b><\/a> (Saginaw Spirit \/ OHL, C) \u2013 Calgary Flames<br \/>\n101. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29769\"><b>Tyus Sparks<\/b><\/a> (Spokane Chiefs \/ WHL, RW) \u2013 Washington Capitals<br \/>\n102. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9321\"><b>Spencer Bowes<\/b><\/a> (Ottawa 67\u2019s \/ OHL, LW) \u2013 New York Rangers<br \/>\n103. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9524\/\"><b>Thomas Vandenberg<\/b><\/a> (Ottawa 67\u2019s \/ OHL, C) \u2013 Los Angeles Kings<br \/>\n108. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9226\/\"><b>Adam Levac<\/b><\/a> (Peterborough Petes \/ OHL, C) \u2013 Detroit Red Wings<br \/>\n111. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/8733\/\"><b>Parker von Richter<\/b><\/a> (Barrie Colts \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Pittsburgh Penguins<br \/>\n112. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29473\"><b>Kayden Lemire<\/b><\/a> (Prince George Cougars \/ WHL, RW) \u2013 Minnesota Wild<br \/>\n113. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29417\"><b>Jonah Sivertson<\/b><\/a> (Prince Albert Raiders \/ WHL, RW) \u2013 Vegas Golden Knights<br \/>\n117. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29162\/\"><b>Brayden Klimpke<\/b><\/a> (Saskatoon Blades \/ WHL, D) \u2013 Montr\u00e9al Canadiens<br \/>\n120. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30303\"><b>Marek Sklenicka<\/b><\/a> (Seattle Thunderbirds \/ WHL, G) \u2013 Philadelphia Flyers<br \/>\n124. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/23759\/\"><b>Olivers Murnieks<\/b><\/a> (Saint John Sea Dogs \/ QMJHL, C) \u2013 Buffalo Sabres<br \/>\n125. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9513\/\"><b>Ryder Fetterolf<\/b><\/a> (Ottawa 67\u2019s \/ OHL, G) \u2013 Carolina Hurricanes<br \/>\n126. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30226\"><b>Tobias Tvrznik<\/b><\/a> (Wenatchee Wild \/ WHL, G) \u2013 Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n<p><b>FIFTH ROUND (16)<\/b><br \/>\n131. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9357\"><b>Finn Kearns<\/b><\/a> (Sudbury Wolves \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Seattle Kraken<br \/>\n133. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9358\"><b>Andrew Robinson<\/b><\/a> (Windsor Spitfires \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Edmonton Oilers<br \/>\n135. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/21392\/\"><b>Alexandre Taillefer<\/b><\/a> (Qu\u00e9bec Remparts \/ QMJHL, D) \u2013\u00a0 Winnipeg Jets<br \/>\n137. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30313\/\"><b>Filip Ruzicka<\/b><\/a> (Brandon Wheat Kings \/ WHL, G) \u2013 Minnesota Wild<br \/>\n141. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9656\"><b>Vladimir Dravecky<\/b><\/a> (Guelph Storm \/ OHL, D) \/ developed over the last season with the Brantford Bulldogs \u2013 New York Islanders<br \/>\n142. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29594\"><b>Parker Snell<\/b><\/a> (Edmonton Oil Kings \/ WHL, G) \u2013 Columbus Blue Jackets<br \/>\n143. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9123\"><b>Beckham Edwards<\/b><\/a> (Sarnia Sting \/ OHL, C)* \u2013 Detroit Red Wings<br \/>\n146. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9318\/\"><b>Eric Frossard<\/b><\/a> (Guelph Storm \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Anaheim Ducks<br \/>\n147. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/21391\/\"><b>Florent Houle<\/b><\/a> (Sherbrooke Phoenix \/ QMJHL, RW) \u2013 Utah Mammoth<br \/>\n150. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9160\"><b>Carter Stevens<\/b><\/a> (Guelph Storm \/ OHL, RW) \u2013 St. Louis Blues<br \/>\n151.<a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9573\"><b>Harris Pangretitsch<\/b><\/a> (Soo Greyhounds \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Ottawa Senators<br \/>\n153. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29452\/\"><b>Giorgos Pantelas<\/b><\/a> (Brandon Wheat Kings \/ WHL, D)* \u2013 Los Angeles Kings<br \/>\n155. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/8920\"><b>Ryan Brown<\/b><\/a> (London Knights \/ OHL, LW) \u2013 Dallas Stars<br \/>\n157. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9568\/\"><b>Jacob Vandeven<\/b><\/a> (London Knights \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Boston Bruins<br \/>\n158. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29428\"><b>Cooper Williams<\/b><\/a> (Saskatoon Blades \/ WHL, C) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs<br \/>\n159. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29946\"><b>Will McLaughlin<\/b><\/a> (Portland Winterhawks, WHL, D) \u2013 Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n<p><b>SIXTH ROUND (17)<\/b><br \/>\n162. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9307\/\"><b>Andr\u00e9 Mondoux<\/b><\/a> (Kingston Frontenacs \/ OHL, D) \u2013 New York Rangers<br \/>\n163. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9662\"><b>Darian Anderson<\/b><\/a> (Flint Firebirds \/ OHL, RW) \u2013 New York Rangers<br \/>\n165. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9167\"><b>Zachary Jovanovski<\/b><\/a> (Guelph Storm \/ OHL, G)* \u2013 Carolina Hurricanes<br \/>\n169. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9461\"><b>Brody Pepoy<\/b><\/a> (Saginaw Spirit \/ OHL, RW) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs<br \/>\n171. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/21613\/\"><b>Lars Steiner<\/b><\/a> (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies \/ QMJHL, G) \u2013 St. Louis Blues<br \/>\n172. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29911\"><b>Luke Wilfley<\/b><\/a> (Portland Winterhawks \/ WHL, C) \u2013 New Jersey Devils<br \/>\n174. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/30280\/\"><b>Jake Gustafson<\/b><\/a> (Portland Winterhawks \/ WHL, C) \u2013 San Jose Sharks<br \/>\n177. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/8813\"><b>Alex Kostov<\/b><\/a> (Flint Firebirds \/ OHL, C) \u2013 Los Angeles Kings<br \/>\n179. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/21280\/\"><b>Benjamin Cossette Ayotte<\/b><\/a> (Val-d\u2019Or Foreurs \/ QMJHL, D) \u2013 Nashville <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Predators<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">180. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9599\"><b>Caden Harvey<\/b><\/a> (Windsor Spitfires \/ OHL, RW) \u2013 Edmonton Oilers<br \/>\n181. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9228\"><b>Cole Zurawski<\/b><\/a> (Owen Sound Attack \/ OHL, RW) \u2013 Florida Panthers<br \/>\n185. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29025\"><b>Jonas Woo<\/b><\/a> (Medicine Hat Tigers \/ WHL, D) \u2013 Columbus Blue Jackets<br \/>\n186. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9382\"><b>Stepan Shurygin<\/b><\/a> (Saginaw Spirit \/ OHL, G) \u2013 Tampa Bay Lightning<br \/>\n188. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/21374\/\"><b>Dylan Dumont<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Drummondville Voltigeurs \/ QMJHL, RW) \u2013 Buffalo Sabres<\/span><br \/>\n190. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/8999\"><b>Wesley Royston<\/b><\/a> (Owen Sound Attack \/ OHL, RW) \u2013 Montr\u00e9al Canadiens<br \/>\n191. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9527\/\"><b>Matthew Minchak<\/b><\/a> (Kingston Frontenacs \/ OHL, G) \u2013 Vegas Golden Knights<br \/>\n192. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29554\/\"><b>Noah Kosick<\/b><\/a> (Seattle Thunderbirds \/ WHL, C) \u2013 Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n<p><b>SEVENTH ROUND (12)<\/b><br \/>\n195. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/20169\/\"><b>Shawn Carrier<\/b><\/a> (Halifax Mooseheads \/ QMJHL, LW) \u2013 Colorado Avalanche<br \/>\n197. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9520\"><b>Jasper Kuhta<\/b><\/a> (Ottawa 67\u2019s \/ OHL, C) \u2013 Dallas Stars<br \/>\n198. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/8961\/\"><b>Rylan Singh<\/b><\/a> (Guelph Storm \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Seattle Kraken<br \/>\n199. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29710\/\"><b>Noa Ta&#8217;amu<\/b><\/a> (Edmonton Oil Kings \/ WHL, D) \u2013 Winnipeg Jets<br \/>\n201. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9480\"><b>Alexander Karmanov<\/b><\/a> (North Bay Battalion \/ OHL, D) \u2013 San Jose Sharks<br \/>\n203. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9213\"><b>Colin Fitzgerald<\/b><\/a> (Soo Greyhounds \/ OHL, C) \u2013 St. Louis Blues<br \/>\n214. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9522\/\"><b>Ondrej Ruml<\/b><\/a> (Ottawa 67\u2019s \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Colorado Avalanche<br \/>\n215. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/20334\/\"><b>Alexandre Raymond<\/b><\/a> (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies \/ QMJHL, G) \u2013 Colorado Avalanche<br \/>\n217. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/20480\/\"><b>Louis-Antoine Denault<\/b><\/a> (Newfoundland Regiment \/ QMJHL, G) \u2013 Florida Panthers<br \/>\n218. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/players\/23761\/\"><b>Max Vilen<\/b><\/a> (Moncton Wildcats \/ QMJHL, D) \u2013 Tampa Bay Lightning<br \/>\n222. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9574\/\"><b>Quinn McKenzie<\/b><\/a> (Soo Greyhounds \/ OHL, C) \u2013 New Jersey Devils<br \/>\n223. <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/players\/9130\/\"><b>Lucas Ambrosio<\/b><\/a> (Erie Otters \/ OHL, D) \u2013 Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The CHL\u2019s 106 selections marked its highest total since 2010 and led all development leagues worldwide at the 2026 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":96018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1337],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-96017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-1337","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/27190309\/Webcover-16x9final.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96017"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96023,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96017\/revisions\/96023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96014,"date":"2026-06-27T16:11:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T22:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96014"},"modified":"2026-06-27T16:22:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T22:22:53","slug":"lansard-drafted-68th-overall-in-third-round-by-hurricanes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/article\/lansard-drafted-68th-overall-in-third-round-by-hurricanes","title":{"rendered":"Lansard Drafted 68th Overall in Third Round by Hurricanes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Regina, SK &#8211;\u00a0<\/strong>Regina Pats forward <strong>Zach Lansard<\/strong> was selected in the <strong>third round (68th overall)<\/strong> by the <strong>Carolina Hurricanes<\/strong> in the <strong>2026 NHL Entry Draft<\/strong> on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Lansard, 17, became the third Regina Pats player to be drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes since the franchise relocated from Hartford in 1997, joining Brett Lysak (1999) and Matej Trojovsky (2003). Scott Daniels was previously drafted by the franchise in 1989 during its time as the Hartford Whalers. In addition, Lansard became just the second player in Pats history to be chosen 68th overall, joining Bernie Germain in 1972.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-96016 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/27160720\/LansardIG-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"547\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/27160720\/LansardIG-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/27160720\/LansardIG-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/27160720\/LansardIG-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/27160720\/LansardIG.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 547px) 100vw, 547px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Ste. Anne, Man., product took a major step forward in his sophomore Western Hockey League season after earning Regina Pats Rookie of the Year honours in 2024-25. Following a 19-point (7G-12A) rookie campaign in 54 games, Lansard broke out with 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points in 68 contests in the 2025-26 season, finishing third on the club in both goals and points. He carried that momentum into the playoffs, tallying three goals in five games during the Pats&#8217; first-round series against the Medicine Hat Tigers.<\/p>\n<p>The 2008-born forward was originally drafted by the Blue Brigade in the fourth round (78th overall) in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft and has steadily developed into a prominent talent in the WHL and a key piece to the Regina Pats&#8217; offence. Among his notable offensive metrics, the six-foot, 175-pound forward was a mainstay on the power-play last season, registering five goals, 12 assists, and 17 points on the man advantage in the 2025-26 campaign, also recording three game-winning goals for the Pats.<\/p>\n<p>Lansard is expected to return to Regina for the 2026-27 season, where he will continue his development while taking on an even larger role with the Pats.<\/p>\n<p>The Regina Pats would like to congratulate Zach and his family on this tremendous accomplishment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regina, SK &#8211;\u00a0Regina Pats forward Zach Lansard was selected in the third round (68th overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft on Saturday. Lansard, 17, became the third Regina Pats player to be drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes since the franchise relocated from Hartford in 1997, joining Brett Lysak (1999) and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":588,"featured_media":96015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1337],"tags":[{"term_id":1636,"name":"Carolina Hurricanes","slug":"carolina-hurricanes","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1636,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":1613,"name":"2026 nhl draft","slug":"2026-nhl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1613,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"23"},{"term_id":1379,"name":"zach lansard","slug":"zach-lansard","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1379,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw","term_order":"251"},{"term_id":8,"name":"Regina Pats","slug":"regina-pats","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":55,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2758,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1129"}],"class_list":["post-96014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-carolina-hurricanes","tag-2026-nhl-draft","tag-zach-lansard","tag-regina-pats","category-1337","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/27152812\/Lansard3.jpg",2560,1707,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96008,"date":"2026-06-22T14:32:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96008"},"modified":"2026-06-22T14:32:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:32:26","slug":"media-availability-general-manager-dale-derkatch-introduction-of-head-coach-david-bell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/video\/media-availability-general-manager-dale-derkatch-introduction-of-head-coach-david-bell","title":{"rendered":"Media Availability: General Manager Dale Derkatch, Introduction of Head Coach David Bell"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dZUEwDzr7VM&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dZUEwDzr7VM&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":588,"featured_media":96009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1338],"tags":[{"term_id":1634,"name":"David Bell","slug":"david-bell","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1634,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"},{"term_id":434,"name":"dale derkatch","slug":"dale-derkatch","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":436,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw","term_order":"594"},{"term_id":8,"name":"Regina Pats","slug":"regina-pats","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":55,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2758,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1129"}],"class_list":["post-96008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-david-bell","tag-dale-derkatch","tag-regina-pats","category-1338","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/22143201\/3.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96002,"date":"2026-06-22T12:07:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96002"},"modified":"2026-06-22T12:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:12:28","slug":"pats-announce-2026-pre-season-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/article\/pats-announce-2026-pre-season-schedule","title":{"rendered":"Pats Announce 2026 Pre-Season Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Regina, Sask. \u2013 <\/strong>The Regina Pats Hockey Club, in conjunction with the Western Hockey League, announced its <strong>2026 pre-season schedule<\/strong> on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The Blue Brigade will compete in <strong>seven<\/strong> WHL pre-season games in September, with one at a neutral site, as the Pats will travel to <strong>Ochapowace First Nation<\/strong> to take on the Brandon Wheat Kings on September 5.<\/p>\n<p>The Pats will play <strong>three of their seven<\/strong> pre-season contests at the <strong>Brandt Centre<\/strong>, beginning with a rookie game against the Swift Current Broncos on September 1. Regina will also host the Moose Jaw Warriors on September 2 and the Prince Albert Raiders on September 11. Closing out the pre-season slate is a September 12 matchup with the Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>REGINA PATS 2026 PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tuesday, September 1 | vs. Swift Current | Brandt Centre | 7:00 p.m. (Rookie Game)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Wednesday, September 2 | vs. Moose Jaw | Brandt Centre | 7:00 p.m.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Friday, September 4 | at Brandon | Assiniboine Credit Union Place | 7:00 p.m.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>*Saturday, September 5 | vs. Brandon | Chief Denton George Memorial Multiplex \u2013 Ochapowace First Nations, SK | 7:00 p.m. (Neutral site location)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li>Tuesday, September 8 | at Moose Jaw | Temple Gardens Centre | 7:00 p.m.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Friday, September 11 | vs. Prince Albert | Brandt Centre | 7:00 p.m.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Saturday, September 12 | at Saskatoon | SaskTel Centre | 7:00 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*Home games in <strong>BOLD<\/strong>. All times local.<\/p>\n<p>The Pats will once again take pre-season hockey on the road with a neutral-site game at <strong>Chief Denton George Memorial Multiplex<\/strong> as they visit Ochapowace First Nation. The <strong>1,500<\/strong>&#8211;<strong>seat<\/strong> arena is located in the home community of Pats&#8217; forward Connor Bear. Last season, Regina hosted the Prince Albert Raiders in Yorkton, having previously played in Estevan and Assiniboia during the 2024 pre-season.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re excited for the opportunity to visit Ochapowace First Nation and bring Regina Pats hockey to the community. It\u2019s a great chance to connect with fans beyond Regina and share the excitement for the start of the WHL season,&#8221; said <strong>Regina Pats CEO Gord Pritchard<\/strong>. &#8220;We look forward to a great atmosphere at Chief Denton George Memorial Multiplex and a special event for players, fans, and the community.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For inquiries, contact the Pats Business Office at 306-522-PATS (7287) or visit in person at 1463 Albert Street, Monday to Friday, 8:30AM \u2013 4:30PM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regina, Sask. \u2013 The Regina Pats Hockey Club, in conjunction with the Western Hockey League, announced its 2026 pre-season schedule on Monday. The Blue Brigade will compete in seven WHL pre-season games in September, with one at a neutral site, as the Pats will travel to Ochapowace First Nation to take on the Brandon Wheat&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":588,"featured_media":96003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1337],"tags":[{"term_id":1633,"name":"2026 Pre-Season","slug":"2026-pre-season","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1633,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3"},{"term_id":8,"name":"Regina Pats","slug":"regina-pats","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":55,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2758,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1129"},{"term_id":107,"name":"schedule","slug":"schedule","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":108,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1197"}],"class_list":["post-96002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-pre-season","tag-regina-pats","tag-schedule","category-1337","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/19152645\/2026-Pats-PreSeason-Schedule-1920x1080-1.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96005,"date":"2026-06-22T10:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T16:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/?p=96005"},"modified":"2026-06-22T13:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:40:55","slug":"pats-name-david-bell-44th-head-coach-in-franchise-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/article\/pats-name-david-bell-44th-head-coach-in-franchise-history","title":{"rendered":"Pats Name David Bell 44th Head Coach In Franchise History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Regina, Sask. \u2013<\/strong> The Regina Pats Hockey Club is proud to announce the hiring of David Bell as the 44th Head Coach in franchise history. Bell, 49, joins the Pats following seven seasons with the American Hockey League&#8217;s Belleville Senators, the primary affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. He served as an assistant coach from 2019-23 before being promoted to head coach in 2023, a position he held through December 2025.<\/p>\n<p>During his time with the Senators organization, Bell played an integral role in the development of numerous NHL players, including Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Ridly Greig, Parker Kelly, Cole Reihnhardt, Mark Kastelic, and Zack Ostapchuk. As Belleville&#8217;s head coach, Bell compiled a 97-78-15-11 record over 201 regular season games and guided the club to the second round of the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Following an extensive search, Bell emerged as the unanimous choice because of his proven leadership, outstanding communication skills, exceptional player development record, and clear vision for building a championship culture.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re excited to welcome Dave and his family to our organization,&#8221; said Regina Pats General Manager Dale Derkatch. &#8220;Dave brings more than 20 years of coaching experience at both the Canadian Hockey League and American Hockey League levels and has a proven track record of developing young talent. Throughout our search, one thing became very clear \u2014 Dave was the right person to lead our hockey club into its next chapter.<\/p>\n<p>We weren&#8217;t simply looking for our next head coach\u2014we were looking for someone who could become a teacher, mentor and leader for our players while helping establish the championship culture we believe will define the future of the Regina Pats. Dave embodies everything we were looking for. He is an outstanding communicator and an exceptional bench coach whose preparation, game management and competitive nature immediately stood out throughout our process.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A native of Wiarton, Ontario, Bell&#8217;s coaching career spans more than two decades. He spent 13 seasons in the Ontario Hockey League between 2004 and 2017, serving as an assistant coach with the Owen Sound Attack, Barrie Colts and Niagara IceDogs before being named head coach of the IceDogs during the 2016-17 season.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to joining the Ottawa organization, Bell spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League from 2017-19, helping develop prospects within the Los Angeles Kings system.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What impressed us most is the way Dave builds meaningful relationships with his players,&#8221; Derkatch continued. &#8220;He believes trust is the foundation of development and creates an environment where players feel supported while also being challenged every day. He has a unique ability to push players outside of their comfort zones to reach their full potential while genuinely caring about them as hockey players and as people.<\/p>\n<p>Dave has a clear vision for where he wants to take this hockey team and shares our belief in building a championship culture through accountability, development, hard work and strong relationships. His values align with who we want to be as an organization. He is the right leader for our hockey club, and we&#8217;re excited to watch him lead this talented young group as we pursue our ultimate goal of bringing another WHL championship to Regina.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bell joins the Regina Pats at an exciting time for the organization as Brandt Sports &amp; Entertainment continues its long-term investment in the franchise. With the recent acquisition of the Brandt Centre, the organization is committed to creating one of the premier player development environments in the Canadian Hockey League through significant investments in facilities, technology, health and performance resources, and the overall player experience.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m incredibly excited to join the Regina Pats organization,&#8221; said Bell. &#8220;I&#8217;d like to thank the Semple family for this opportunity and Dale for believing in my coaching and development philosophy and vision. The Regina Pats are one of the premier franchises in junior hockey, with a proud tradition of developing players and competing for championships.<\/p>\n<p>Our responsibility is to help every player become the best version of themselves, both on and off the ice, while building a team that our fans and community can be proud of every night. We want to create an environment where players are challenged, supported and inspired to reach their full potential. If we commit to that process every day, we&#8217;ll give ourselves the opportunity to compete for championships and ultimately bring another championship back to the Queen City.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As a player, Bell suited up as a defenceman with the Ottawa 67&#8217;s from 1994-98, serving as team captain during his final two seasons. In Ottawa, Bell played for Brian Kilrea, the winningest coach in CHL history. Following his junior career, he signed with the San Jose Sharks organization and played professionally in the American Hockey League and ECHL from 1998-2004. Bell captained the Greenville Grrrowl to the 2002 Kelly Cup Championship before transitioning into coaching shortly after his playing career concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Bell becomes the 44th head coach in the storied history of the Regina Pats and will immediately begin preparations for the 2026-27 Western Hockey League season.<\/p>\n<p>He assumes the role at an exciting time for the franchise as Brandt Sports &amp; Entertainment continues its long-term investment in the Regina Pats, with a vision centered on developing elite players, providing a first-class player experience, and building a team capable of competing for WHL championships year after year.<\/p>\n<p>The Regina Pats would like to welcome Dave, his wife Brooke, and children Brandon, Bryanna, Nolan, and Lilah to Regina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regina, Sask. \u2013 The Regina Pats Hockey Club is proud to announce the hiring of David Bell as the 44th Head Coach in franchise history. Bell, 49, joins the Pats following seven seasons with the American Hockey League&#8217;s Belleville Senators, the primary affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. He served as an assistant coach from 2019-23&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":96006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1337],"tags":[{"term_id":1634,"name":"David Bell","slug":"david-bell","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1634,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"},{"term_id":1635,"name":"Head Coach","slug":"head-coach","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1635,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2"},{"term_id":1118,"name":"hockey operations","slug":"hockey-operations","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1126,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"767"}],"class_list":["post-96005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-david-bell","tag-head-coach","tag-hockey-operations","category-1337","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/06\/22085954\/Pats-Name-Dave-Bell-Head-Coach.jpeg",1170,647,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-pats\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]