[{"id":54494,"date":"2026-04-03T16:10:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54494"},"modified":"2026-04-03T18:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:55:06","slug":"elliott-takes-on-new-challenges-in-final-junior-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/elliott-takes-on-new-challenges-in-final-junior-season","title":{"rendered":"Elliott Takes On New Challenges in Final Junior Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>WENATCHEE, Wash. –\u00a0<\/strong>The climb continues for Wenatchee Wild forward Sam Elliott.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After two years in the British Columbia Hockey League, Elliott stepped up a notch this past season and earned his chance in the Western Hockey League with the Wild, and will climb again next season when he joins the NCAA Division I ranks at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.<\/p>\n

Known to his teammates as “Selly,” the climb has been steady for Elliott ever since he began playing at four years old. He says he can’t remember a time when he wasn’t on the ice – after all, his dad, Scott, operates an ice rink in Surrey, British Columbia.<\/p>\n

“We were always around the rink growing up, me and my sister both, and we both play now,” said Elliott. “We were always there, so the game was always very familiar from a young age.”<\/p>\n

Elliott spent one year in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League as a 13-year-old, playing for Delta Hockey Academy’s U15 AAA team, but soon found a home with the nearby Valley West Giants, part of British Columbia’s provincial AAA circuit. The 2019-20 season was a good one, with 40 points in 30 B.C. Elite Hockey League games. A Western Hockey League draft-day call, though, never came…nor did the 2020-21 season, thanks to ongoing COVID restrictions in British Columbia. He was finally able to hop back on the ice in the fall of 2021, but had jumped up to the Giants’ U18 team – the adjustment period took all of three games, with two goals and an assist in a road game against the Cariboo Cougars in Prince George.\u00a0He ended that first U18 season with 18 points, before seeing his production jump to 46 points the next year, also wearing a letter as the Giants’ alternate captain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then, the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles came calling – the first season was a memorable one not just for Elliott, but the Surrey hockey community as a whole – after winning just two playoff series in a decade since their 2013 BCHL Fred Page Cup championship, the 2023-24 Eagles made a run for the ages to bring the Surrey community another Cup. He would appear in 22 of Surrey’s 24 playoff games, with only the first-round series against Cowichan Valley decided in fewer than six games. The eventual game-winner in the clincher against Penticton went through Elliott, who nearly scored the deciding goal himself before Liam Tanner jammed in a rebound just off the goal line.<\/p>\n

“Every round was so much fun,” said Elliott. “We had our first three rounds on [Vancouver Island], so we were always traveling a day early. The fans were so loud and electric, they were amazing. I remember coming home after we won – there was a big lineup of fans waiting outside our rink for us, so that’s just how it was in Surrey. They were great, and they were nice, and they cared a lot, and they followed along. There was a big travel pack that saw our games.”<\/p>\n

Though he netted just 12 points in his 46 games that season with Surrey, it was enough to earn the team’s Scott Gomez Rookie of the Year Award. Handing the trophy to Elliott was none other than Gomez himself, who had played for the Eagles on his way to a 17-year pro career with two Stanley Cup titles. He returned to Surrey as an assistant coach with the Eagles during the 2023-24 season before taking over as head coach the following year.<\/p>\n

“His goal was coming back and teaching us,” said Elliott. “I remember in our playoff run, he would always say, ‘We came for one.’ When you’re on the road, if you can grab two wins in an away barn, that’s great, but you’re definitely going for one, and that really stuck with me. That was such a great motto that he had. He taught us so much, even when he wasn’t the head coach his first year.”<\/p>\n

The 2024-25 season almost ended as soon as it began. Elliott suffered an injury in the opening game of the season, and missed the first four months. When he returned to the lineup at Prince George, he scored in the opening minute of the third period, netting the game-winner. He would\u00a0go on to score 16 points in just 21 games, plus five more in a five-game opening-round playoff series against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, and earn the Eagles’ Athletic Courage Award.<\/p>\n

A Valley West connection led to Elliott’s next call, when Giants coach Riley Emmerson reached out and suggested that the Wild were interested in bringing him on board. After corresponding with Emmerson, also a British Columbia scout for Wenatchee, and Wild general manager Bliss Littler, Elliott officially signed with the club last June.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It took only two games to score his first point on September 27 this past season against Everett, but what followed was a\u00a0statement –\u00a0<\/em>a two-goal, two-assist outburst October 12 against the Seattle Thunderbirds, helping Wenatchee break into the win column with a 7-3 decision.<\/p>\n

Then, the injury bug bit – Elliott missed six games in mid-November, and appeared in only three games between mid-December and the end of January. After scoring in Wenatchee\u2019s overtime win November 1 against the Saskatoon Blades, it took until February 28 for Elliott to return to the scoring column, in a 6-2 drubbing of the Kelowna Rockets.<\/p>\n

\u201cInjuries are tough, we all know that, but the guys were there for me however I was playing,\u201d said Elliott. \u201cWe had such a good crew of guys. It was easy to just take your mind off the game. The guys really helped me out, and getting back on the score sheet was nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, Elliott wrapped up his final season of junior hockey with 16 points, including five goals, in 45 games. He did it amid not just the challenge of stepping onto the ice in a new league at a new level, but doing so away from home for the first time. This past season was his first season billeting with a host family, after living at home throughout his time with Valley West and Delta, and his two BCHL seasons with Surrey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was easy. My billets made it easy for me,\u201d said Elliott. \u201cThey were great, and [Tobias Tvrznik] and I had a good time. That took my mind off of being away from home, which was nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be further again from home in his next stop \u2013 Elliott announced his NCAA Division I commitment with the Nanooks shortly after the end of the season. He\u2019ll join an Alaska team coming off a 15-win season that includes a United Collegiate Hockey Cup championship, a de facto \u201cconference championship\u201d tournament played among the five independent NCAA Division I hockey institutions. The Nanooks have sent 12 players to the National Hockey League in their history, including three Stanley Cup champions – one of the three is a recent Olympic silver medalist, St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko.<\/p>\n

He says he’ll aim for a business degree while with the Nanooks, and as much as he enjoys the outdoors, Fairbanks will feel even more like home as Sam Elliott continues the climb in his hockey career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. –\u00a0The climb continues for Wenatchee Wild forward Sam Elliott. After two years in the British Columbia Hockey League, Elliott stepped up a notch this past season and earned his chance in the Western Hockey League with the Wild, and will climb again next season when he joins the NCAA Division I ranks at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":54495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-54494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-53","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/04\/03160310\/wild-tips-032026-0399.jpg",8256,5504,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":54486,"date":"2026-04-01T15:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54486"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:56:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T20:56:22","slug":"bassen-brings-experience-to-wenatchee-in-20-year-old-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/bassen-brings-experience-to-wenatchee-in-20-year-old-season","title":{"rendered":"Bassen Brings Experience to Wenatchee in 20-Year-Old Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>WENATCHEE, Wash. –\u00a0<\/strong>When\u00a0Riley Bassen’s<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>2025-26 season began, he was battling to get into the lineup at NCAA Division I Merrimack College as a freshman. When his 2025-26 season came to an end, he departed the ice to the cheers of more than 4,000 fans at Town Toyota Center as the Wenatchee Wild closed their Western Hockey League home schedule in front of their biggest crowd of the year.<\/p>\n

Bassen came to the Wild at Christmas and ended his season with 20 games in the Wenatchee lineup and 11 points, including four multi-point games. The adjustment to the league’s rugged, physical style didn’t take long – he opened his brief stay in the WHL with a multi-point game on December 27, earning an assist on his very first shift in the league before scoring a game-tying\u00a0goal on his first third-period shift in a 5-4 win at the Spokane Chiefs.<\/p>\n

“It was a lot different. The adjustment from youth hockey to juniors is a big step, but I don’t think the adjustment was that big for the WHL,” said Bassen. “I was practicing with college guys for the first half of the year – teams have lots of guys in the USHL that are throwing their bodies around and really working hard.”<\/p>\n

The Frisco, Texas native first stepped into the sport at age 6, and doesn’t remember a time when he wasn’t on the ice. It isn’t difficult to imagine where his hockey talent came from – Bassen’s family history in the sport runs deep<\/em>. His dad Bob played 765 games in the National Hockey League, spread over 15 seasons. A generation before, grandfather Hank won 47 NHL games as a goaltender, and became the Pittsburgh Hornets’ final backstop in 1967 as they skated into the history books as the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup champions before giving way to the NHL’s Penguins that fall.<\/p>\n

Uncle Mark played almost 450 professional games in the United States and Germany, and even cousins Boaz and Chad have taken their talents to the pros in Europe.<\/p>\n

“I know Boaz really well. Boaz is playing for the [Schwenninger] Wild Wings in the DEL,” said Bassen. “We haven’t grown up together, but we stay in touch a little bit, and I get to see him every once in a while. I don’t know Chad that well – he’s later in his career, and the age difference between us is pretty big. His dad and mom and sister just came to watch in Canada on our last road trip of the year, so it was nice to see them, and we talked about Chad a little bit.”<\/p>\n

Riley played four seasons of AAA hockey for the Dallas Stars Elite club before making the move to juniors, becoming a consistent point-per-game scorer in Texas on his way to United States Hockey League stops in Iowa and North Dakota. He spent two years with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, before being dealt to the Fargo Force for the 2024-25 campaign, and made Clark Cup playoff appearances in two of his three USHL campaigns. This time, there was an adjustment period, though his first step onto the USHL ice revealed a good sign of things to come – his first preseason game also featured his first unofficial goal, an eventual game-winner less than 14 minutes into a victory over the Madison Capitols.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to hop right into the junior game out of AAA and make an impact, but Bassen did eventually get settled in and find his footing. Navigating life away from home for the first time was one of a few challenges he had to wrestle with after moving on to Cedar Rapids.<\/p>\n

“I don’t like the cold. That’s why we live in Texas,” said Bassen. “That was a big thing for me, driving in the snow and having no idea how. It was a learning experience for sure.”<\/p>\n

After 149 games in the USHL, his collegiate stay with the Warriors was brief – Bassen did not appear in a game during his first semester at Merrimack, and opted to return to the junior ranks for a final time. The initial connection to Wenatchee was made not this season in Massachusetts, but three years ago in Cedar Rapids, thanks to one of the Valley’s final Junior A stars: current North Dakota forward Cade Littler.<\/p>\n

“It was a weird first half of the year. I went there and didn’t really get a shot,” said Bassen. “I roomed with Cade (in Cedar Rapids) – I’m not sure if [Wild general manager] Bliss [Littler] knew me that well, but that was one of my connections. It worked out pretty well.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Bassen’s return to junior hockey brought him to a circuit that is quite familiar in family circles – his dad played two full seasons in Medicine Hat and won a World Junior gold medal and an Eastern Conference all-star nod during the 1984-85 season. Mark would log 146 games in the WHL for Calgary, Lethbridge and Brandon, and Chad played 238 games over four years in the league, including a trip to the Memorial Cup with the Regina Pats in 2001 and a near-miss with the Everett Silvertips three years later.<\/p>\n

Bassen became an immediate leader in the Wild dressing room, earning the team’s captaincy by the end of the season and responding well to the Wild coaching staff. He says his dad’s lessons stayed with him throughout his junior career as well, pushing him to stay consistent with his workouts and his work ethic. At the same time, he admitted he likes the balance of being able to learn his own lessons and figure the sport out on his own.<\/p>\n

“Some guys don’t have parents that push them like that,” said Bassen. “I’ve been pretty lucky to have a father that knows what it takes to get to the NHL and where you want to go. He knows how to push the right buttons, and if you work hard and compete, you’ll have no regrets.”<\/p>\n

As for his future plans, Bassen appears poised to return to the NCAA game and says he’s close to a decision on his next destination – however, nothing final will be decided upon until the NCAA transfer portal opens on April 13, following the Frozen Four championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. –\u00a0When\u00a0Riley Bassen’s\u00a02025-26 season began, he was battling to get into the lineup at NCAA Division I Merrimack College as a freshman. When his 2025-26 season came to an end, he departed the ice to the cheers of more than 4,000 fans at Town Toyota Center as the Wenatchee Wild closed their Western Hockey…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":54487,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[{"term_id":147,"name":"Riley Bassen","slug":"riley-bassen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":147,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"6"}],"class_list":["post-54486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-riley-bassen","category-53","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/03\/31164621\/wild-tips-032026-0444-e1774990059713.jpg",3000,2000,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":54484,"date":"2026-03-31T14:55:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54484"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:13:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T19:13:43","slug":"tvrznik-named-to-second-team-western-conference-all-star-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/tvrznik-named-to-second-team-western-conference-all-star-list","title":{"rendered":"Tvrznik Named to Second Team Western Conference All-Star List"},"content":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013<\/strong> In his first Western Hockey League season, Wenatchee Wild goaltender Tobias Tvrznik<\/strong><\/a> established himself as one of the top goaltending prospects in North America ahead of the National Hockey League draft this June. Tuesday, the WHL reaffirmed his standing among the league\u2019s elite netminders.<\/p>\n

The Wild are excited to announce that the Litomerice, Czechia product has been named to the league\u2019s Second Team Western Conference All-Star list, thanks to a 16-win season while carrying some of the top marks on the circuit. Tvrznik finished the regular season with a .913 save percentage, good for third on the league leaderboard while facing the ninth-most shots in the league, and picked up his first WHL shutout February 6 in a 2-0 defeat of the Victoria Royals.<\/p>\n

The 10th<\/sup> overall selection in last year\u2019s Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, Tvrznik began his WHL career with a 60-save showing against the Everett Silvertips on September 20, tying a 29-year-old franchise record dating back to the WHL team\u2019s inaugural season as the Edmonton ICE in 1996, the first of his seven games this season with 40 points or more. He would also add an NCAA Division I commitment to Ohio State University late in the season, and was nominated to the inaugural WHL Prospects Game Presented by Showpass before being forced to bow out due to injury. He heads to the offseason as the fifth-ranked draft-eligible goaltender in North America on the NHL Central Scouting list, and second-ranked goaltender in the WHL.<\/p>\n

It is Wenatchee\u2019s first postseason all-star nod since defenseman Graham Sward <\/strong>and forward Kenta Isogai <\/strong>were both selected as First Team U.S. Division All-Stars in 2024.<\/p>\n

2026-27 season tickets are on sale now by phone at 509-888-7825, or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center. Updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available through the team\u2019s website and on the team\u2019s social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013 In his first Western Hockey League season, Wenatchee Wild goaltender Tobias Tvrznik established himself as one of the top goaltending prospects in North America ahead of the National Hockey League draft this June. Tuesday, the WHL reaffirmed his standing among the league\u2019s elite netminders. The Wild are excited to announce that the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":54485,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[{"term_id":118,"name":"Tobias Tvrznik","slug":"tobias-tvrznik","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":118,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":38,"filter":"raw","term_order":"35"}],"class_list":["post-54484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-tobias-tvrznik","category-53","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/03\/31134256\/2025-26-Generic-Graphic-Tvrznik-2nd-Team-All-Western-Conference.jpg",940,788,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":54482,"date":"2026-03-30T20:56:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T00:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54482"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:43:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:43:53","slug":"alumn-ice-report-march-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/alumn-ice-report-march-in-review","title":{"rendered":"Alumn-ICE Report: March in Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zach Benson<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n
\n
<\/h5>\n

A proud third-year member of the Western Hockey League, the Wenatchee Wild are continuing a celebrated WHL legacy that dates back to Edmonton, Alberta in 1996, continuing in Cranbrook, British Columbia and Winnipeg, Manitoba. These are the ICE alumni, who are now also members of the #WildFamily, making news in American pro hockey this month:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NHL<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

SAM REINHART, 2010-15 (64 GP, 29-32-61) – <\/strong>Tallied two goals and three assists in March for the Florida Panthers<\/strong>, but has missed eight straight games due to a foot injury.<\/p>\n

ZACH BENSON, 2020-23 (57 GP, 10-26-36) – <\/strong>Scored three goals and six assists in the month of March for the Buffalo Sabres,\u00a0<\/strong>including a three-game goal-scoring streak from March 21 to 25. His four-game point streak from March 19 to 25 tied a season-best. Buffalo enters April neck-and-neck with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Atlantic Division lead. One point back of Benson is former Winnipeg teammate PEYTON KREBS, 2016-21 (74 GP, 10-25-35),\u00a0<\/strong>who had six points in March, and posted his first goal in four weeks in Saturday’s shootout win over the Seattle Kraken.<\/p>\n

MATTHEW SAVOIE, 2019-24 (74 GP, 14-17-31) – <\/strong>Heads into April with a three-game goal-scoring streak in hand, scoring the game-winner Saturday in a 4-2 Edmonton Oilers\u00a0<\/strong>triumph over the Anaheim Ducks. His 22:29 of ice time was also far and away the most in his NHL career – he has played every game for the Oilers this year, and has Edmonton on the brink of the Pacific Division lead.<\/p>\n

BRAYDEN McNABB, 2006-11 (55 GP, 4-4-8) – <\/strong>Scored two goals in March, lighting the lamp for the Vegas Golden Knights <\/strong>in games against Pittsburgh and Dallas.<\/p>\n

ZACK OSTAPCHUK, 2022-23 (48 GP, 3-2-5) – <\/strong>Appeared in 14 games in March for the\u00a0San Jose Sharks,\u00a0<\/strong>but did not register a point.<\/p>\n

JACK FINLEY, 2021-22 (37 GP, 2-3-5) – <\/strong>Earned an assist March 12 for his only point of the month, highlighting a 3-1 St. Louis Blues <\/strong>win over the Carolina Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

CALE FLEURY, 2014-18 (21 GP, 1-2-3) – <\/strong>Made four appearances in March with the\u00a0Seattle Kraken,\u00a0<\/strong>with an assist March 7 against the Ottawa Senators.<\/p>\n

CONOR GEEKIE, 2019-24 (11 GP, 0-2-2) –\u00a0<\/strong>Appeared in five games for the\u00a0Tampa Bay Lightning<\/strong>, earning an assist March 8 at the Buffalo Sabres. Also made eight appearances for the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, with points in seven of eight and the eventual game-winner March 20 at the Rochester Americans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AHL<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

CARSON LAMBOS, 2018-23 (60 GP, 10-18-28) –\u00a0<\/strong>Has one goal and one assist in 10\u00a0Iowa Wild\u00a0<\/strong>contests in March.<\/p>\n

MICHAEL MILNE, 2018-22 (39 GP, 2-4-6) – <\/strong>Was traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Detroit Red Wings this month, landing him in a Grand Rapids Griffins <\/strong>sweater over the last two weeks. Between the Griffins and the\u00a0Syracuse Crunch,\u00a0<\/strong>Milne has played in 10 AHL games this month, but has not registered a point.<\/p>\n

NOAH PHILP, 2015-17 (20 GP, 1-5-6) – <\/strong>Has made 14 of his 20 Chicago Wolves <\/strong>appearances this month, picking up three assists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

KENTA ISOGAI, 2023-25 (24 GP, 2-3-5) –\u00a0<\/strong>Picked up three points, including a goal, in nine games for the\u00a0Ontario Reign\u00a0<\/strong>in March. He opened the month in the ECHL, making one appearance with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits before being recalled to the Reign.<\/p>\n

DAWSON BARTEAUX, 2019-20 (24 GP, 0-0-0) – <\/strong>Hit the ice 13 times for the Manitoba Moose, <\/strong>but never registered a point in March.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ECHL<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

BRETT DAVIS, 2016-19 (60 GP, 18-24-42) –<\/strong> Has notched five goals and three assists for the Rapid City Rush <\/strong>this month, with a pair of goals (including the game-winner) Friday in a 5-3 victory at the Tahoe Knight Monsters. That two-goal showing was his first multi-goal outing since posting his second career hat trick January 25 against the Utah Grizzlies. Teammate\u00a0BRILEY WOOD, 2022-24 (63 GP, 9-21-30)\u00a0<\/strong>hasn’t been too shabby in March either, totaling a goal and five assists over his last 13 appearances with the Rush, while BOBBY RUSSELL, 2016-18 (54 GP, 5-15-20) <\/strong>has points in four of his last six games and scored points in all three of Rapid City’s month-ending road games at the Tahoe Knight Monsters.<\/p>\n

EVAN FRIESEN, 2021-25 (65 GP, 22-17-39) – <\/strong>Also added five goals and three assists to his total this month for the Utah Grizzlies<\/strong>,\u00a0wrapping up his month with a two-goal effort Sunday against the Allen Americans.<\/p>\n

HUDSON ELYNUIK, 2013-14 (33 GP, 12-18-30) – <\/strong>Racked up nine points, including a pair of goals, in March for the\u00a0Florida Everblades<\/strong>. He opened the month with points in four straight, and finished the month with points in four of five – Elynuik has nearly a point-per-game average since returning from a year-and-a-half stint in the pro ranks in Russia and Slovakia.<\/p>\n

BEN ZLOTY, 2018-23 (39 GP, 6-22-28) – <\/strong>Came back from a brief AHL call-up to register five games this month for the Norfolk Admirals –\u00a0<\/strong>he ended the month with an assist Sunday on the Admirals’ only goal in a 3-1 loss at the Reading Royals.<\/p>\n

BRAYDEN EDWARDS, 2021-22 (47 GP, 10-15-25) – <\/strong>Scored eight points, including four goals, in March for the Wheeling Nailers.\u00a0<\/strong>The last of those four goals came Sunday, the eventual clincher in a 4-1 win over the Worcester Railers.<\/p>\n

ISAAC JOHNSON, 2019-20 (36 GP, 7-18-25) – <\/strong>Scored his two most recent Iowa Heartlanders <\/strong>goals exactly a month apart, with the last one coming March 20 at the Bloomington Bison – he departs the month of March with a goal and two assists. He shares the Iowa roster with former ICE standout M<\/strong>AX PATTERSON, 2015-17 (59 GP, 10-12-22) <\/strong>who has a goal and an assist this month.<\/p>\n

CAM HAUSINGER, 2017-19 (56 GP, 13-11-24) – <\/strong>Joined the\u00a0Toledo Walleye\u00a0<\/strong>in a mid-month acquisition from the\u00a0Greenville Swamp Rabbits<\/strong>, and posted his only point of the month March 20 with an assist in his Toledo debut. He had the secondary helper on the game-winner in the final second of a 4-3 decision over the Tahoe Knight Monsters.<\/p>\n

REECE HARSCH, 2019-20 (56 GP, 5-14-19) – <\/strong>Wrapped up March with a goal and an assist – his lone goal of the month came in the final game, a tying tally in the first period of a 2-1\u00a0Fort Wayne Komets\u00a0<\/strong>win over the Indy Fuel.<\/p>\n

TANNER FAITH, 2010-15 (37 GP, 1-4-5) – <\/strong>Made five appearances in a\u00a0Tulsa Oilers\u00a0<\/strong>sweater early in the month, landing on the stat sheet March 7 with an assist against the Allen Americans.<\/p>\n

MIKE LADYMAN, 2019-21 (2 GP, 0-0-0) –\u00a0<\/strong>Made his pro debut for the\u00a0Orlando Solar Bears\u00a0<\/strong>this past weekend out of Mount Royal University of USports, playing in a pair of games at the Atlanta Gladiators.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Also on Wenatchee’s alumni list are the standouts from its Junior A era (2008-2023) – these players laid the foundation for the WHL’s future success in the Wenatchee Valley. These are Wenatchee’s Junior A alumni who are making news in American pro hockey this month:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NIC DOWD, 2008-09 (67 GP, 5-13-18) –\u00a0<\/strong>Was dealt to the\u00a0Vegas Golden Knights\u00a0<\/strong>from the Washington Capitals <\/strong>ahead of the trade deadline, and totaled 13 games between the clubs with a goal and an assist. That goal came by way of a shorthanded tally against his old team Saturday in a 5-4 Vegas loss.<\/p>\n

DEVIN COOLEY, 2016-17 (9-9-5, 2.51) – <\/strong>Won two of eight decisions for the Calgary Flames <\/strong>in March, earning back-to-back wins against St. Louis and Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

SAM MORTON, 2016-18\/2019-20 (62 GP, 15-20-35) – <\/strong>Notched three goals in March for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers,\u00a0<\/strong>most recently Friday in a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Eagles.<\/p>\n

HARRISON SCOTT, 2019-20 (63 GP, 13-14-27) –\u00a0<\/strong>Posted five points, including a pair of goals, over 11 March appearances for the AHL’s\u00a0Texas Stars.<\/strong><\/p>\n

BRETT CHORSKE, 2019-20 (58 GP, 11-12-23) – <\/strong>Got off to a high-flying start to the month before closing out March with two goals and an assist for the Charlotte Checkers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

BRYAN YOON, 2015-16 (40 GP, 3-4-7) – <\/strong>Made 12 appearances for the AHL’s\u00a0Colorado Eagles<\/strong>, managing an assist in a March 6 showdown with the Abbotsford Canucks.<\/p>\n

CRISTOPHE TELLIER, 2018-19 (55 GP, 8-24-32) – <\/strong>Posted six points, including a pair of goals, in March for the\u00a0ECHL’s\u00a0Savannah Ghost Pirates.\u00a0<\/strong>His most recent marker came March 22, a power play tally against the Atlanta Gladiators.<\/p>\n

LUCAS SOWDER, 2016-18 (46 GP, 13-11-24) – <\/strong>Cranked out six goals and three assists over 10 games in March for the ECHL’s\u00a0Kansas City Mavericks –\u00a0<\/strong>he ended the month with five goals and six total points in his last four outings, and the game-winning goal Friday in a 4-1 defeat of the Wichita Thunder.<\/p>\n

CHARLIE COMBS, 2015-17 (32 GP, 8-5-13) – <\/strong>Made the most of his four appearances in March for the\u00a0South Carolina Stingrays,\u00a0<\/strong>opening the month with his first ECHL hat trick against the Savannah Ghost Pirates.<\/p>\n

MARKO REIFENBERGER, 2018-19 (61 GP, 6-6-12) – <\/strong>Stepped into the lineup 13 times for the\u00a0Norfolk Admirals\u00a0<\/strong>in March, earning two goals and three assists.<\/p>\n

JACQUES BOUQUOT, 2018-19(45 GP, 4-13-17) – <\/strong>Got off to a hot start to the month, with assists in three of his first four games for the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen\u00a0<\/strong>before ultimately closing the month with four assists. He was joined by another former Wenatchee standout, TREVOR GRIEBEL, 2018-20 (7 GP, 1-0-1)\u00a0<\/strong>at the middle of the month – Griebel scored a goal March 14, just 9:26 into his very first pro game. Assisting in net in March was MICHAEL BULLION, 2014-15 (9-9-3, 2.83), <\/strong>who closed the month of March with three decisions, including a win March 13 against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.<\/p>\n

JACOB MODRY, 2016-19 (40 GP, 1-4-5) – <\/strong>Played in three games this month, all road games, for the ECHL’s\u00a0Greenville Swamp Rabbits, <\/strong>but did not register a point.<\/p>\n

CHRISTOPHE FILLION, 2018-19 (24 GP, 3-0-3) – <\/strong>Played a four-game-in-five-day stretch for the ECHL’s\u00a0Wichita Thunder<\/strong>, all on the road, in early March. Did not post a point in his four appearances.<\/p>\n

TRUE CROWE, 2019-20 (3 GP, 0-2-2) –\u00a0<\/strong>Made his ECHL debut in early March with three games for the\u00a0Greensboro Gargoyles<\/strong> and notched assists in two of them, including his first outing March 5 against the Savannah Ghost Pirates.<\/p>\n

SETH EISELE, 2017-18 (17-6-1, 2.22) – <\/strong>Earned a win and a no-decision in two outings this month for the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays,\u00a0<\/strong>allowing just two goals and stopping 60 chances in just under 86 minutes of work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zach Benson A proud third-year member of the Western Hockey League, the Wenatchee Wild are continuing a celebrated WHL legacy that dates back to Edmonton, Alberta in 1996, continuing in Cranbrook, British Columbia and Winnipeg, Manitoba. These are the ICE alumni, who are now also members of the #WildFamily, making news in American pro hockey…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":54483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-54482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-53","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/03\/30205547\/zach-benson-rebecca-villagracia-gettyimages.jpg",2048,1365,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":54476,"date":"2026-03-26T12:35:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54476"},"modified":"2026-03-26T21:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:45:14","slug":"wenatchee-wild-awarded-third-overall-selection-in-whl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/wenatchee-wild-awarded-third-overall-selection-in-whl-draft","title":{"rendered":"Wenatchee Wild Awarded Third Overall Selection in WHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013<\/strong> Over the past 36 years, the list of hockey\u2019s best players has come to include quite a few who heard their names called early on the Western Hockey League\u2019s annual draft day.<\/p>\n

This season, the Wenatchee Wild will call one of those very first names.<\/p>\n

The Wild are excited to announce that they have secured the third overall selection in this year\u2019s WHL Prospects Draft, following the announcement of this year\u2019s WHL Draft Lottery results Thursday evening. This year\u2019s third overall selection was made possible thanks to the club\u2019s January 2024 trade with the Swift Current Broncos involving current Syracuse Crunch forward and first-round National Hockey League draft pick Conor Geekie<\/strong>, with Wenatchee receiving the Broncos’ first-round selection in this year’s draft. Swift Current finished this season in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings and 22nd<\/sup> overall. It is the highest selection for the club since its acquisition of the former Winnipeg ICE franchise in the summer of 2023.<\/p>\n

The list of third overall selections in the WHL Prospects Draft is an impressive one, headlined by former New York Rangers goaltender Dan Blackburn, who won a WHL championship with the Kootenay ICE in 2000 before being taken by the New York Rangers at 10th<\/sup> overall and going directly to the National Hockey League after his WHL career ended in 2001. Also topping the list of third overall picks is current Czech pro Mark Pysyk, who is in his second year of European competition after making 521 NHL appearances for the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars. This will be the 37th<\/sup> year for the WHL Prospects Draft, since its debut in 1990.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s WHL Prospects Draft is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6 and Thursday, May 7, with first-round selections to be made Wednesday and subsequent rounds to be held Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013 Over the past 36 years, the list of hockey\u2019s best players has come to include quite a few who heard their names called early on the Western Hockey League\u2019s annual draft day. This season, the Wenatchee Wild will call one of those very first names. The Wild are excited to announce that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":54477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-54476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-53","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/03\/26123500\/2025-26-Milestone-3rd-Lottery-Pick.jpg",940,788,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":54468,"date":"2026-03-25T13:55:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54468"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:43:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:43:18","slug":"wenatchee-wild-set-for-2026-western-hockey-league-draft-lottery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/wenatchee-wild-set-for-2026-western-hockey-league-draft-lottery","title":{"rendered":"Wenatchee Wild Set for 2026 Western Hockey League Draft Lottery"},"content":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013<\/strong> In the Western Hockey League, teams are built first and foremost through the draft \u2013 many of a team\u2019s top players are acquired either through its own draft picks, or through selections acquired in trades with other teams.<\/p>\n

One of those top picks in this year\u2019s Western Hockey League Prospects Draft will belong to the Wenatchee Wild.<\/p>\n

The WHL will announce the results of its annual draft lottery Thursday at 6 p.m. Wenatchee time, with live streaming coverage on Victory+. Thanks to the club’s January 2024 trade with the Swift Current Broncos involving current Syracuse Crunch forward and first-round National Hockey League draft pick Conor Geekie<\/strong>, Wenatchee received the Broncos’ first-round selection in this year’s draft. Swift Current finished this season in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings and 22nd<\/sup> overall, guaranteeing the Wild a top-three selection in this year\u2019s WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

The lottery will be conducted by the selection of one ball in a random drawing \u2013 each of the seven teams that finished the season outside of this year’s WHL playoff field will receive a set of balls in the lottery corresponding to its finish in the WHL standings, and no team can move up more than two positions in the first round. All subsequent rounds will happen in reverse order of the league’s overall standings.<\/p>\n

Wenatchee comes into Thursday\u2019s WHL Draft Lottery with a 21.4 percent chance of receiving the top overall pick in the WHL Prospects Draft, and a 67.9 percent chance of receiving at least the second overall pick. The Wild cannot receive a top pick lower than third.<\/p>\n

A series of moves made during the WHL club’s previous era as the Winnipeg ICE would have left the club without a WHL Prospects Draft selection above the seventh round this season. However, trades made during Wenatchee\u2019s 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons involving Geekie, Matthew Savoie<\/strong>,\u00a0Daniel Hauser<\/strong> and\u00a0Miles Cooper\u00a0<\/strong>allowed the club to replenish its draft stock for this season, and for future seasons. Savoie and Geekie were themselves selected first and second, respectively, in the 2019 WHL Prospects Draft, and have combined to appear in 119 National Hockey League games over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n

The WHL Prospects Draft has been held each year since 1990, with a multitude of the sport’s top players hearing their names called in the top three on draft day, including future stars such as Connor Bedard (1st overall, 2020), Wade Redden (2nd overall, 1992) and Dan Blackburn (3rd overall, 1998).<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s WHL Prospects Draft is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6 and Thursday, May 7, with first-round selections to be made Wednesday and subsequent rounds to be held Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013 In the Western Hockey League, teams are built first and foremost through the draft \u2013 many of a team\u2019s top players are acquired either through its own draft picks, or through selections acquired in trades with other teams. One of those top picks in this year\u2019s Western Hockey League Prospects Draft will…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":54470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-54468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-53","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/03\/24160130\/2025-26-Milestone-Lottery-Teaser-1.jpg",940,788,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":54466,"date":"2026-03-23T17:55:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T21:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54466"},"modified":"2026-03-23T18:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T22:10:00","slug":"wenatchee-forward-sam-elliott-announces-ncaa-division-i-commitment-to-alaska-fairbanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/wenatchee-forward-sam-elliott-announces-ncaa-division-i-commitment-to-alaska-fairbanks","title":{"rendered":"Wenatchee Forward Sam Elliott Announces NCAA Division I Commitment to Alaska Fairbanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elliott spent only one season in Wenatchee, but made a sizable impact with the club on and off the ice. The White Rock, British Columbia native stepped onto the ice for his first Western Hockey League season as a 20-year-old and earned 16 points, including five goals, in 45 appearances. He came to the Wild from the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), where he spent two years and contributed 11 goals and 17 assists over 68 appearances. He signed with the Wild last June, one year removed from earning the Eagles\u2019 Scott Gomez Rookie of the Year award and helping Surrey win its first BCHL Fred Page Cup championship since 2013.<\/p>\n

The Alaska Nanooks recently celebrated their 100th<\/sup> anniversary as a collegiate hockey program, first taking to the ice in Fairbanks in the 1925-26 season. This year\u2019s team finished with 15 wins and won the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup, a de facto \u201cconference championship\u201d tournament played among the five independent NCAA Division I hockey institutions. 12 Nanooks players have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including St. Louis Blues defenseman and Olympic silver medalist Colton Parayko.<\/p>\n

Elliott becomes the eighth player to announce an NCAA Division I commitment while with the organization since Canadian Hockey League players were granted NCAA eligibility in November of 2024, and plans to pursue a business degree while in Fairbanks.<\/p>\n

The Wenatchee Wild congratulate Sam Elliott on his commitment to the NCAA Division I hockey program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and wish him all further success as he takes the next step in his hockey career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FAIRBANKS, Alaska \u2013 The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are excited to announce that 2005-born forward Sam Elliott has committed to continue his hockey career at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the 2026-27 season. The Alaska Nanooks compete as an independent NCAA Division I member. Elliott spent only one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":54467,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[{"term_id":131,"name":"Sam Elliott","slug":"sam-elliott","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":131,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"21"}],"class_list":["post-54466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-sam-elliott","category-53","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/03\/23151559\/2025-26-NCAA-Commitment-Sam-Elliott.jpg",940,788,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":54464,"date":"2026-03-23T15:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T19:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54464"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:59:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:59:02","slug":"wenatchee-wild-announce-signing-of-tate-hardacre-to-scholarship-development-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/wenatchee-wild-announce-signing-of-tate-hardacre-to-scholarship-development-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Wenatchee Wild Announce Signing of Tate Hardacre to Scholarship & Development Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013<\/strong> The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are excited to announce that 2007-born defenseman Tate Hardacre <\/strong>has signed a Scholarship & Development Agreement with the organization. A native of Chaska, Minnesota, Hardacre recently led his Minnetonka High School Skippers to second place in Minnesota\u2019s Class AA state tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cTate is a player we are very excited about having join our group,\u201d said Wenatchee Wild assistant general manager Chris Clark. \u201cHe\u2019s a big, strong defenseman who is hard to play against, but also has good offensive instincts. We feel he is someone who can impact the game in all three zones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hardacre picked up 28 points in 30 games this year as a Skipper, including a seven-game point streak in late January and early February. His efforts during his senior season did not go unnoticed, earning a nomination for the Reed Larson Award as the state\u2019s top high school defenseman and landing on the Class AA all-state tournament team. He previously spent three years on the Southwest Christian\/Richland roster, earning the captain\u2019s slot last year as a junior and leading his team in scoring with 42 points. He also carries seven games of junior experience into the Wild organization, playing briefly for the North American Hockey League\u2019s St. Cloud Norsemen during the 2024-25 campaign and scoring his first junior goal.<\/p>\n

He says he hangs his hat on the physical aspects of his game and his ability to contribute to his team\u2019s offense, but is looking forward to working with the Wenatchee coaching staff on improving his skating.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur defensive core was really special this year, and I think I was really solid back there,\u201d said Hardacre. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to me to lock down in the defensive zone and make sure nobody gets by me, and to box out in front of the net. The WHL is one of the fastest (junior) leagues, so it\u2019ll be good to learn some new skating abilities. I\u2019m excited to get there and contribute the best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wenatchee Wild congratulate Tate Hardacre on signing his Scholarship & Development Agreement with the club, and proudly welcome him to the Wild family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013 The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are excited to announce that 2007-born defenseman Tate Hardacre has signed a Scholarship & Development Agreement with the organization. A native of Chaska, Minnesota, Hardacre recently led his Minnetonka High School Skippers to second place in Minnesota\u2019s Class AA state tournament.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":54465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[{"term_id":152,"name":"Tate Hardacre","slug":"tate-hardacre","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":152,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"}],"class_list":["post-54464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-tate-hardacre","category-53","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/03\/23135613\/2025-26-Generic-Graphic-SDA-Signing-Tate-Hardacre.jpg",940,788,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":54462,"date":"2026-03-22T17:49:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T21:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/?p=54462"},"modified":"2026-03-22T17:49:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T21:49:35","slug":"10-wenatchee-wild-alumni-reach-ncaa-division-i-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-wild\/article\/10-wenatchee-wild-alumni-reach-ncaa-division-i-tournament","title":{"rendered":"10 Wenatchee Wild Alumni Reach NCAA Division I Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

WENATCHEE, Wash. \u2013<\/strong> The 2026 NCAA Division I men\u2019s hockey tournament will again feature a double-digit list of former Wenatchee Wild standouts for fans to follow. 10 former Wild players will step onto the ice in the 16-team tournament starting Thursday, representing eight NCAA institutions, following the announcement of this year\u2019s bracket Sunday afternoon. For the first time, Wenatchee will have players from its Western Hockey League era in the tournament, after an NCAA ruling in November of 2024 established eligibility for former WHL players.<\/p>\n

FAIRBANKS, Alaska \u2013 <\/strong>The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are excited to announce that 2005-born forward Sam Elliott <\/strong><\/a>has committed to continue his hockey career at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the 2026-27 season. The Alaska Nanooks compete as an independent NCAA Division I member.<\/p>\n