Rockets gear up for busy 2023 WHL Draft Week
The next group of Rockets prospects will join the fold later this week as the Western Hockey League will conduct the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft and 2023 WHL Prospects Draft online this Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Real-time results will be available at https://whl.ca/draft.
Following this week one more draft will take place this off-season, with the CHL Import Draft slated for July 5th.
2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft
Wednesday, May 10 at 9 a.m. PT
The Kelowna Rockets will select seventh overall selection in the first round of the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft.
The 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will consist of two rounds and 44 selections, with each WHL Club presented with the opportunity to make two draft choices. Players eligible for the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft are 2008-born players who reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft – First Round Order of Selection
1) Spokane Chiefs
2) Victoria Royals
3) Edmonton Oil Kings
4) Swift Current Broncos
5) Prince Albert Raiders
6) Brandon Wheat Kings
7) Kelowna Rockets
8) Vancouver Giants
9) Medicine Hat Tigers
10) Everett Silvertips
11) Calgary Hitmen
12) Regina Pats
13) Tri-City Americans
14) Lethbridge Hurricanes
15) Prince George Cougars
16) Moose Jaw Warriors
17) Portland Winterhawks
18) Red Deer Rebels
19) Saskatoon Blades
20) Kamloops Blazers
21) Seattle Thunderbirds
22) Winnipeg ICE
The order of selection was determined on March 29, 2023 through the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft Lottery. All six WHL Clubs that did not qualify for the 2023 WHL Playoffs participated in the lottery. The lottery proceedings determined the order of selection for the first six picks in the first round of the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft, with inverse order of standing from the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season determining the order of selection for the second round.
Players not selected in the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will remain eligible to be selected in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday, May 11, or listed by a WHL Club at any time thereafter.
Last year, the Rockets selected defenceman Jackson Gillespie of the Dallas Stars Elite 14U AAA program seventeenth overall in the first round. He signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with Kelowna during training camp last September.
2023 WHL Prospects Draft
Thursday, May 11
WATCH LIVE – Pre-Show at 8:30 a.m. PT / WHL Prospects Draft at 9 a.m. PT
The Rockets do not hold a first-round pick in this year’s draft, they traded what eventually became the seventh-overall selection away in the Matthew Wedman deal back in 2019 while building up for the 2020 Memorial Cup. Seattle then in turn, moved the pick to Prince Albert for Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nolan Allan earlier this season.
Looking ahead to next year’s draft, the Rockets will have two first-round picks in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. The own their own pick and hold Regina’s first-round pick, which was dealt to the Rockets from Seattle in the Dach trade.
The Rockets will make their first selection of the day when they pick 26th in the second round.
2023 Rockets WHL Prospects Draft Pick Inventory
- Second Round – Kelowna’s own pick
- Third Round – acquired in the Golder/Kovacevic trade
- Third Round – acquired in the Johnson/Flamand trade
- Fourth Round – originally Everett’s pick, acquired from Seattle in the Dach trade
- Fourth Round – acquired from Tri-City in the Romeril trade
- Fifth Round – acquired from Victoria in the Cristiano trade
- Fifth Round – Kelowna’s own pick
- Seventh Round – Kelowna’s own pick
- Ninth Round – Kelowna’s own pick
- Tenth Round – Kelowna’s own pick
The first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, including a 30-minute pre-show, will be livestreamed FREE via WHL Live on CHL TV. All that is required is to register and login using a free account with CHL TV, no subscription or purchase is necessary. The 2023 WHL Prospects Draft Pre-Show begins with co-hosts Chris Wahl and Taylor Green at 9:30 a.m. MT, with live draft coverage beginning at 10 a.m. MT.
The Prince Albert Raiders hold the first-overall selection in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, as determined by the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery on March 29, 2023.
2023 WHL Prospects Draft – First Round Order of Selection
1) Prince Albert Raiders (from Edmonton)
2) Prince Albert Raiders
3) Spokane Chiefs
4) Victoria Royals
5) Brandon Wheat Kings
6) Vancouver Giants (from Swift Current)
7) Prince Albert Raiders (from Kelowna)
8) Vancouver Giants
9) Medicine Hat Tigers
10) Everett Silvertips
11) Calgary Hitmen
12) Edmonton Oil Kings (from Regina)
13) Tri-City Americans
14) Lethbridge Hurricanes
15) Prince George Cougars
16) Moose Jaw Warriors
17) Portland Winterhawks
18) Red Deer Rebels
19) Brandon Wheat Kings (from Saskatoon)
20) Everett Silvertips (from Kamloops)
21) Saskatoon Blades (from Seattle)
22) Spokane Chiefs (from Winnipeg)
The order of selection for the second round and all other rounds will be the inverse order of final 2022-23 WHL Regular Season standings. The complete order of selection for the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft can be found at https://whl.ca/draft.
Players eligible for the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft are 2008-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.
Players not selected in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft will remain eligible to be listed by WHL Clubs at any time thereafter.
2023 CHL Import Draft
July 5 at 8:00 a.m. PT
The CHL announced the order of selection last week for the upcoming CHL Import Draft set for later this year on July 5th.
Kelowna holds the 11th overall pick in the first round and the 72nd pick in the second round. Each WHL Club will be permitted a maximum of two selections during the 2023 CHL Import Draft.
As was the case a year ago, Russian and Belarusian players will be ineligible for selection in the 2023 CHL Import Draft. For the 2023 CHL Import Draft, players who have been a resident in Russia or Belarus at any time over the past 24 months are ineligible to be drafted. The only exception is a Russian or Belarussian player who was previously drafted by a CHL club and subsequently deleted on or before the cut-down date in 2023
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five 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’s National Junior Hockey Team.
