2024 WHL Graduates – Wenatchee Wild
Over the summer, the Western Hockey League will be celebrating the WHL Graduates from the 2023-24 season in a 22-part, team-by-team series.
We continue with the graduating players from the Wenatchee Wild.
Karter Prosofsky (D)
Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask.
WHL Career Stats: 176 GP – 18G-64A – 82 points
WHL Draft: 2018 – Second Round, 26th Overall (Kootenay ICE)
When it comes to playing in the Western Hockey League, defenceman Karter Prosofsky saved his best for last. The product of Saskatoon, Sask. boasted a career year in goals, assists, points, and his plus/minus rating after migrating to Wenatchee, Wash. with his then-Winnipeg ICE teammates. Racking up 45 points (14 goals–31 assists) in 59 points, Prosofsky nearly tripled his previous high in points (17) set during the 2022-23 season and posted his highest points-per-game average (0.76) across his entire six-season stint in the Western League. Prosofsky first got his WHL debut on November 1, 2018, after hearing his name called by the Kootenay ICE at the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft. He spent his entire career with the same team, collecting 37 points (four goals–33 assists) in 117 regular season games with the Winnipeg/Kootenay before moving to Washington State. The blueliner made his first appearance with the Wild on September 22, 2023, netting an assist during the team’s opening game against the Portland Winterhawks. In total, Prosofsky amassed 82 points (18 goals–64 assists) in 176 regular season games. Now, the recently-turned WHL Graduate is confirmed to suit up for HC Gherdëina of the ALPS Hockey League for the 2024-25 season.
IT'S TEDDY BEAR TIME IN THE 509! Karter Prosofsky does the honors!#RestoreTheRoarWHLstyle pic.twitter.com/39D3kgKbqQ
— Wenatchee Wild (@WHLwild_) December 2, 2023
Graham Sward (D)
Hometown: Abbotsford, B.C.
WHL Career Stats: 250 GP – 33G-147A – 180 points
WHL Draft: 2018 – First Round, 17th Overall (Spokane Chiefs)
NHL Draft: 2022 – Fifth Round, 146th Overall (Nashville Predators)
Not only was Graham Sward’s junior hockey career lengthy, it was also successful. Having banked a total of 250 regular season games in the WHL, the 20-year-old graduates the League as a veteran from the Wenatchee Wild. However, Sward didn’t start his career in Wenatchee. Instead, he broke onto the WHL scene just 275 kilometres east of Wenatchee – hearing his name called by the Spokane Chiefs with the 17th overall selection at the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft. Initially a member of the Chiefs organization, Sward made his debut on January 5, 2019. It was the same night that the blueliner collected his first point – a goal in an 8-4 victory over the Kootenay ICE. Sward played parts of five seasons in Spokane, collecting 66 points (14 goals–52 assists) in 132 appearances. In October 2022, Sward was acquired by the Winnipeg ICE, as the club looked to make a deep run during the 2023 WHL Playoffs. Netting 33 points (four goals–29 assists) in 52 regular season games, Sward helped the ICE reach the 2023 WHL Championship Series, before falling to the Seattle Thunderbirds. He then returned to the WHL’s U.S. Division as the ICE relocated to Wenatchee, Wash. The move to Washington State was a crucial one for Sward, as he concluded his tenure in the WHL as one of the best defencemen in the League. Posting a career-high 81 points (15 goals–66 assists) in 66 regular season appearances, Sward was named the U.S. Division’s Defenceman of the Year and a finalist for the WHL’s Defenceman of the Year. Sward also heard his name called by the Nashville Predators in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, and, in March 2024, his rights were acquired by the Colorado Avalanche.
Silky Sward. @WHLwild_ | @PredsNHL pic.twitter.com/8r1ZnxHYnb
— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 15, 2024
Briley Wood (F)
Hometown: Rivers, Man.
WHL Career Stats: 151 GP – 32G-37A – 69 points
WHL Draft: Listed (Lethbridge Hurricanes)
No member of the then-Winnipeg ICE embraced the relocation to Wenatchee, Wash. more the Briley Wood. Wood spent much of his junior hockey career crawling and battling up the ranks after going undrafted at the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft. Initially listed on the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ protected list, Wood signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the club on October 4, 2019. He made his Hurricanes debut on November 2, 2019, but waited until February 18, 2022, to collect his first career goal. Wood spent three seasons in Lethbridge, Alta. – collecting five points (two goals–three assists) in 78 appearances – before being dealt to his home province of Manitoba. The forward then made 13 appearances with the ICE during the 2022-23 season, where he recorded just two goals. Treating the franchise’s move to Wenatchee as a breath of fresh air, Wood entered his fifth and final season in the WHL with everything to prove – and did he ever. Reborn and revitalized, the forward began collecting points instantly and at will. He started his final campaign on a nine-game point streak and ended his 60-game regular season with 62 points (28 goals–34 assists) in hand. This bested his previous season-high of five points (two goals–three assists) in 58 appearances. The 2024 WHL Playoffs were no different, as Wood hit the 13-point mark (six goals–seven assists) in only six post-season skates. In total, Wood exits the WHL following a 151-game, 69-point career.
Hat-trick + 1 for Briley Wood!@WHLwild_ | #WHLHatTricks | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/kWMXKEoKXW
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 30, 2024
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