2026 WHL Trade Deadline: Live Blog
Don’t miss a move as the 2025-26 Western Hockey League season heats up. The 2026 WHL Trade Deadline is Thursday, January 8, at 6:00 p.m. MT. Trades submitted to the league office before the deadline may be processed and announced after the 6:00 p.m. cutoff.
Tuesday, January 6
4:30 p.m. MT- Welcome to PA-radise, Braeden Cootes.
The East Division-leading Prince Albert Raiders landed the 2025 Vancouver Canucks first-round pick in a massive trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The deal sees Prince Albert bring in Cootes, a fourth and sixth-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft and a conditional second-round pick in 2028.
Seattle will receive forward Ethan Bibeau, the rights to Knox Burton, Tripp Fischer, Diego Gutierrez, a first and second-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, a third-round pick in 2027 and a first-round pick in 2028.
Cootes is fresh off winning bronze for Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minnesota.
The 6-foot, 183-pound centreman has 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 17 games for the T-Birds this season.
Since being selected by Seattle with the 10th overall pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, Cootes has piled up 50 goals and 72 assists for 122 points in 148 games, in addition to eight points (2G-6A) in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.
Cootes has captained the team since 2024-25, when he was only 17 years old.
On the international stage, he’s also captured gold at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship, where he captained Canada and bagged 12 points (6G-6A) in seven games to be named one of his country’s top three players, and finished first at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Vancouver selected the Sherwood Park, Alta. product with the 15th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
On October 9, 2025, Cootes became the third-youngest player to ever debut for the Canucks at just 18 years old.
He earned three games in the NHL before being returned to the WHL for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound forward from Winnipeg, Man. has one goal and four assists for five points in 15 tilts with the Raiders in his sophomore WHL season.
Bibeau was drafted by Prince Albert with the 120th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.
He’s accumulated 25 points (10G-15A) in 81 outings and registered one assist in 11 games in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.
The 2023 WHL Champion Thunderbirds will also acquire the rights to three drafted players.
Tripp Fischer, who was chosen 52nd overall in the third round of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, captured the CSSHL U15 Championship in 2024-25 and competed for Alberta at the 2025 WHL Cup.
The 15-year-old from Lloydminster, Alta. has put up 16 points (4G-12A) in 18 games with the AEHL’s U18AAA Lloydminster Lancers.
Six-foot-3, 190-pound forward Knox Burton has 26 points (16G-10A) in 18 games with the CSSHL’s Pilot Mound Academy as a 16-year-old.
The 2024 111th overall pick (fifth round) also earned a call-up to the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers, where he netted an assist in two appearances.
2027 NHL Draft-eligible Diego Gutierrez, a 6-foot-2, 187-pound defenceman, was chosen with the 31st overall pick in the second round of the 2024 WHL U.S. Priority Draft.
1:00 p.m. MT- The Kelowna Rockets have added Vancouver Canucks prospect Parker Alcos on the blueline, following a deal with the Edmonton Oil Kings Tuesday afternoon.
In exchange for the right-shot Alcos, a third-round pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft, and a seventh-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft, the Oil Kings have acquired Kelowna’s first-round pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft, a second-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft, and a third-round pick (Prince George Cougars) in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.
Alcos, a 19-year-old product of Port Moody, B.C., has appeared in 31 games with the Oil Kings this season, registering 14 points (2G-12A) and a plus-29 rating.
Selected by the Canucks in the sixth round (189th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft, the 6-foot-4, 186-pound Alcos is regarded as a smooth-skating, defensively responsible defenceman.
Undrafted into the WHL, Alcos represents a story of perseverance. After attending Oil Kings training camp on an invite, he signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Club on September 7, 2022. He made his WHL debut later that season on November 15, 2022, eventually playing in 12 games as a 16-year-old.
The 2023-24 campaign represented Alcos’ first full season with the Oil Kings, and he dressed in 67 contests, collecting 15 points (1G-14A) as a rookie. His quick ascent to reliability on the Oil Kings blueline ultimately led him to being selected by the Canucks in the NHL Draft that summer.
Over 167 career regular season games with the Oil Kings, Alcos has logged 44 points (4G-40A) and a plus-17 rating.
12:00 p.m. MT- Now there’s a giant pickup.
The Kelowna Rockets have acquired Vancouver Giants captain Ty Halaburda as part of their 2026 Memorial Cup-host squad.
Kelowna will also receive a second and fourth-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft.
In exchange, the Giants will receive Los Angeles Kings prospect Will Sharpe.
Halaburda, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward, has been a consistent scoring threat for five seasons.
The 20-year-old has 20 goals (including two game-winners) and 19 assists for 39 points in 40 games in 2025-26, sitting third on the team in points and second in goals (since Dallas Stars prospect Cameron Schmidt was dealt to Seattle on Monday, Halaburda ranks second and first in each category).
Halaburda has also shifted from wing to centre for much of the season, winning 452 faceoffs for a 52.6% percentage at the dot.
He’s surpassed 20 goals for four consecutive seasons, highlighted by a 29-goal, 33-assist run in 2024-25.
Halaburda is on milestone watch with 96 career goals and 124 assists for 220 points in 283 regular-season WHL games.
A second-round pick of the Giants in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft, Halaburda has earned the alternate captaincy twice before being named the 23rd captain in franchise history on November 6, 2025.
He ranks fifth in all-time games played for the Giants, sixth in goals, eighth in assists and fourth in points, sealing his reputation among the franchise greats.
The Victoria, B.C. product will reunite with former Vancouver captain and teammate Mazden Leslie in the Okanagan as the Rockets continue to push for a rise through the B.C. Division standings.
Kelowna is also guaranteed a berth in the 2026 Memorial Cup, which runs from May 21-31, 2026, at Prospera Place.
Heading the other way is 6-foot-1, 198-pound defenceman Will Sharpe, who comes from nearby Ladner, B.C., in the lower mainland.
The 18-year-old has put up three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 31 contests while bringing a high level of physicality to the Rockets’ blueline.
Originally selected by the Lethbridge Hurricanes with the 11th overall pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, Sharpe has played 157 games (16G-55A) over parts of five seasons with the Hurricanes and Rockets.
The Rockets brought in Sharpe as part of a massive deal for Seattle Kraken prospect Caden Price in 2024-25.
He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings with the 216th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2025 NHL Draft- memorably, with a Kings superfan being pulled up from the crowd to announce Sharpe’s name.
11:30 a.m. MT- The 2026 WHL Trade Deadline shakeup continues!
This time, it’s the Edmonton Oil Kings putting another jewel on the crown with the addition of rangy defenceman Carther Sotheran.
In exchange, the Portland Winterhawks gain blueliner Niko Tsakumis, a first-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2028.
Sotheran, 20, sits fourth on the Winterhawks in scoring with six goals and 31 assists for 37 points in 37 games.
He’s tied for sixth in points among all WHL defencemen and third in assists.
Clocking in at 6-foot-4, 199 pounds with a coveted right-hand shot, Sotheran is a former pick of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sotheran broke into the WHL as a fifth-round pick of the Winterhawks in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft and has racked up 133 points (29G-104) in 237 games over parts of four seasons in the Rose City.
He registered 11 points (4G-7A) and a +20 rating in 14 games to help Portland reach the 2024 WHL Championship Series, though he was held out of the Final by injury.
The Sanford, Man. product powered the Hawks to the 2025 Western Conference Championship with another six goals and nine assists in 18 games- including a two-goal, one assist effort in Game 3 of Portland’s first-round showdown against rival Prince George.
Monday, January 5
3:00 p.m. MT- Y’all want some Presto magic?
Projected 2026 NHL first-round pick Mathis Preston has been dealt to the Vancouver Giants, along with a conditional second-round pick in the 2029 WHL Prospects Draft.
In return, the Spokane Chiefs will receive 19-year-old defenceman Marek Howell, 2026 NHL Draft-eligible forward Tyus Sparks and a first-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.
Preston, a 5-foot-11, 177-pound forward, has tallied 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points in 36 games with the Chiefs, tying for second on the team in goals and third in points.
The Penticton, B.C. product also has three game-winning goals under his belt.
Preston was named Tempo WHL Player of the Week on December 22, 2025, after registering four points (2G-2A) and a +4 rating in a single game- tying his career his for points in one match.
He recently represented the CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge, where he added a goal and two assists.
The high-tempo forward brings valuable postseason experience to the table, having reached the 2025 WHL Championship Series with Spokane.
Preston racked up 16 points (9G-7A) in 20 postseason tilts as a 16-year-old.
On the international stage, he’s won gold at the 2024 U17 World Challenge (6G-1A), a bronze at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (4G-3A) and represented the Maple Leaf at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games (4G-2A)
Preston received an ‘A’ rating from NHL Central Scouting in the agency’s October preliminary list for the 2026 NHL Draft.
He’ll join fellow potential first-rounder and former international teammate Ryan Lin on the Giants- and at the upcoming WHL Prospects Game presented by Showpass, slated to be held at the Langley Events Centre.
Heading south is 6-foot-4, 206-pound defenceman Marek Howell.
The Calgary, Alta. native has been putting up career-best numbers with four goals and six assists in 40 games while playing top minutes and matchups against rival teams.
Howell is two games away from hitting 200 WHL appearances and has played parts of five seasons with the Giants and Moose Jaw Warriors.
He’s joined by Sparks, a 5-foot-11, 182-pound centreman.
Sparks has 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points- good for third on the Giants in goals and assists and fourth in points.
The Meridian, Idaho product had a career-best night against Preston and the Chiefs on December 14, 2024, with a two-goal, three-assist outing and is fresh off a seven-game point streak (6G-6A).
Sparks received a ‘C’ rating from NHL Central Scouting back in October.
3:00 p.m.- The WHL Trade winds are blowing Oli Chenier into the Bridge City.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have picked up the veteran forward in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.
Chenier, 18, has put up three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 30 contests in 2025-26.
Since being selected by the Raiders with the 60th overall pick in the third round of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, the 5-foot-10, 188-pound winger has suited up for nearly 150 games, tallying 48 points (17G-31A) in 146 outings.
3:00 p.m.- Noah Milford is Okanagan-bound.
The 17-year-old is joining the WHL’s newest franchise, with the Vees making their first WHL Trade Deadline move.
In exchange, the Red Deer Rebels will gain a fifth-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft.
Milford, from Okotoks, Alta., has four goals and six assists for 10 points in 28 games.
The 5-foot-11, 168-pound centreman was originally selected by the Rebels in the seventh round (150th overall) of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.
2:00 p.m. MT- Colton Alain is headed to Speedy Creek.
The 18-year-old defenceman will join Swift Current, with the Broncos sending a second-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft back to the Vancouver Giants in return.
Alain, from Victoria, B.C., has five points (1G-4A) for the Giants in 2025-26.
The towering 6-foot-5, 203-pound blueliner has played parts of four seasons with the G-men, piling up 18 points (2G-16A) over 163 regular-season games.
He also suited up for the Calgary Flames on a tryout basis at the 2025 NextGen Showcase, where he scored against the Edmonton Oilers young guns.
2:00 p.m. MT- The Langley Events Centre is about to get Iggy with it.
The Vancouver Giants have acquired 2026 NHL Draft-eligible forward Joe Iginla and a conditional third-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft in a swap with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Edmonton will gain another forward up for selection in 2026 in Aaron Obobaifo, as well as a conditional third-round pick in the 2029 WHL Prospects Draft.
Iginla, 17, has netted 11 goals (including one game-winner) and 10 assists for 21 points in 37 tilts with the Oil Kings in his sophomore season.
He’s currently tied for fifth in goals for Edmonton.
The 12th overall pick in the 2023 WHL Draft recently surpassed 100 career games with the Central Division heavyweights, garnering 42 points (23G-19A) in 103 regular-season contests.
Iginla, who clocks in at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, has been rated as a ‘C’ prospect, or potential fourth or fifth-round NHL selection, by NHL Central Scouting in the agency’s preliminary player list back in October.
The son of Hockey Hall-of-Famer and WHL great Jarome Iginla, Joe will also see his older brother, Kelowna Rockets alternate captain and Utah Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla, turn into a division rival with the Rockets and Giants slated to face each other four more times this regular season.
Obobaifo has racked up 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points in 37 matches for Vancouver in 2025-26.
The 18-year-old from Calgary, Alta., generated draft buzz last year after posting 10 points (6G-4A) in his first nine games, but his season was abruptly cut off by a long-term shoulder injury.
Still, he earned an invitation to the Vancouver Canucks 2025 Prospects Showcase (alongside his new Oil Kings teammate, defenceman Parker Alcos), where he scored a goal against the Seattle Kraken youngsters.
The 5-foot-10, 173-pound winger has piled up 54 career points (22G-32A) in 106 career games over parts of three seasons with the Giants.
Obobaifo was originally selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2022 WHL Draft.
2:00 p.m. MT- WHL Trade Deadline action is in full swing, and the Seattle Thunderbirds have entered the fray.
The 2023 WHL Champions have acquired Dallas Stars prospect Cameron Schmidt from the Vancouver Giants in a Monday blockbuster deal.
In return, the Giants will receive defenceman Kaleb Hartmann, a first-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, a second and fifth-round pick in 2027, a first-round pick in 2028 and a conditional 2028 fourth-round pick.
Schmidt, 18, sits second in points and goals among all WHL players with 27 goals and 33 assists for 60 points in 39 games.
He’s also tied for second in game-winning goals with six and has a pair of shorthanded tallies to his name.
The 5-foot-8, 158-pound winger is on pace for a career-best season with a dominant campaign that includes a hat trick, a four-goal game and a tie for the WHL record for fastest goal to start a game (five seconds).
Schmidt has never scored fewer than 30 goals in a full WHL season, potting 31 in his rookie run in 2023-24 and 40 in his draft year.
The Dallas Stars selected Schmidt with the 94th overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
He arrives in Seattle on milestone watch with 99 goals, 98 assists and 197 career points under his belt, while also in the midst of a league-best 20-game point streak (15G-19A).
The Prince George, B.C. product has also won gold medals at the 2023 U17 World Challenge (where he scored the title-clinching goal), 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship.
Notably, he’s competed alongside Seattle Thunderbirds captain and Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes at the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge, Hlinka Gretzky Cup and U18 Worlds.
Langley, B.C. product Hartmann is hometown-bound.
1:00 p.m. MT- Talk about a group that looks good in green and blue.
The Seattle Thunderbirds have traded Hyde Davidson, the rights to Cruise Armstrong and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft to Swift Current in exchange for Brennen Hocher and the rights to John Gramer.
Davidson, 19, was part of the T-Birds squad that hoisted the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL Champion back in the Spring of 2023.
The Edmonton, Alta.-born defenceman has four points (1G-3A) in 24 games this season and has made 168 appearances with Seattle over parts of five seasons since being selected in the second round (24th overall) of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.
Armstrong, the son of Red Deer Rebels alum Colby Armstrong, had his name called 15th overall in the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft.
The 15-year-old winger currently plays for Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island in the U.S. High School- Prep system.
Hocher, an 18-year-old rearguard from Calgary, has four assists in his first 34 WHL games under his belt.
Swift Current picked up the rights to Gramer with the 35th overall pick in the 2025 WHL. U.S. Priority Draft.
The winger from Moorhead, Minn. is a previous 14U Tier-1 National Champion and has 14 points (7G-7A) in 13 games for Moorhead High.
Friday, January 2
3:00 p.m. MT- Time for a changing of the Gard.
Seattle has added Philadelphia Flyers prospect Matthew Gard in a Friday swap with the Red Deer Rebels.
The deal sees the Rebels acquire forward Cameron Kuzma, a third-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft and conditional fourth-round selections in 2028 and 2029.
Gard, 18, has netted six goals (including one game-winner) and five assists for 11 points in 23 games with the Rebels in 2025-26.
He also stands among the league’s most consistent faceoff leaders with 233 wins (54.8%).
The 6-foot-5, 197-pound pivot led the Rebels with 36 points (19G-17A) in 66 regular-season games in 2024-25 and earned his first call to Team Canada for the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship in May.
Gard bagged a goal and three assists in seven games en route to a gold medal for the Canadian squad.
The breakout season led the Flyers to select him with the 57th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
Gard, A Winnipeg, Man. product, owns 65 points (32G-33A) in 144 career regular-season games.
Kuzma, from St. Albert, Alta., has four goals (including one game-winner) and six assists for 10 points in 32 contests with the T-Birds this season.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound 17-year-old was originally selected by the Regina Pats in the third round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft and played parts of two seasons in the Queen City before making tracks for Washington State.
He’s totalled 29 points (8G-21A) in 87 regular-season WHL games, in addition to five points (4G-1A) in nine playoff appearances.
Kuzma is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.
3:00 p.m. MT- Everett’s blueline just got a lot more intimidating.
The league-leading Silvertips have picked up Philadelphia Flyers prospect Luke Vlooswyk and a fifth-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft in a Friday trade with the Red Deer Rebels.
Heading to the Central Division are forward Cole Temple and rearguard Cameron Dillard.
Vlooswyk, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound right-shot defenceman, was selected by the Flyers with the 157th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
The Calgary, Alta. product has six assists and a +6 rating in 32 matches with the Rebels in 2025-26.
The Rebels originally chose Vlooswyk with the 17th overall pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.
He’s collected four goals and 21 assists for 25 points and a +14 rating in 108 games over parts of four seasons in Red Deer.
Vlooswyk,18, was also named a 2025 finalist for the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy for WHL Scholastic Player of the Year.
He’ll join a stacked stable of defensive talent that includes Anaheim Ducks prospect and ‘Tips captain Tarin Smith and exceptional-status defenceman Landon DuPont.
Temple, who hails from Brandon, Man., has nine points (1G-8A) in 43 contests for the Silvertips so far this season.
The 5-foot-10, 168-pound centreman has 24 goals and 46 assists for 70 points in 163 regular-season tilts, which have been played over parts of four seasons with the Silvertips and the Regina Pats, who picked him up with the fifth-overall pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.
Dillard, 17, is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.
The rookie from Flower Mound, Texas, has two goals and an assist in 17 appearances for the Silvertips and cuts a foreboding figure with the 6-foot-4, 218-pound frame.
3:00 p.m. MT- The 2026 Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets have beefed up their blueline with the acquisition of 6-foot-1, 197-pound rearguard Keith McInnis.
In return, the Red Deer Rebels will receive forward Kalder Varga, a sixth-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft and a third-round selection in 2028.
McInnis, 19, has six goals (including a game-winner) and 14 assists for 20 points in 34 games to lead all Rebels defencemen in scoring.
The Red Deer, Alta. product is in the midst of his first WHL season after winning a BCHL Championship in 2025.
McInnis will join a Kelowna defensive corps that includes the likes of 2025 WHL Defenceman of the Year finalist Mazden Leslie and Los Angeles Kings prospect Will Sharpe.
Heading the other way is 2025 NHL Draft-eligible Varga.
The 6-foot, 176-pound winger has put up eight goals (with one game-winner) and three assists for 11 points in 34 games in his sophomore season (he posted 10 goals and 14 assists in 58 matches in 2024-25).
Varga, who hails from Geneva, Illinois, is on the cusp of reaching 100 games played and is rated as a ‘C’ prospect, or projected fourth-to-fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
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