WHL set to welcome 2023 import class Wednesday

WHL Clubs are set to welcome the next wave of import talent this week during the 2023 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.

The online draft, featuring all 60 CHL teams, will be conducted this coming Wednesday, July 5 at 9:00 a.m. MT.

WHL Clubs are permitted to select a maximum of two players born in 2004, 2005 or 2006 during the CHL Import Draft; the Edmonton Oil Kings hold the top WHL pick, selecting third-overall Wednesday morning.

Edmonton is joined in the top 10 of Wednesday’s CHL Import Draft by the Spokane Chiefs (sixth-overall) and Victoria Royals (ninth-overall), while the Wenatchee Wild are slated to make their first CHL Import Draft selection by closing out the first round with the 60th-overall pick.

As Clubs are able to carry a maximum of two import players on the active roster, not every WHL team is expected to use its full complement of picks. Of the 22 WHL Clubs participating in Wednesday’s CHL Import Draft, only the Prince George Cougars intend to keep both import players who played in the WHL during the 2022-23 season, meaning they are not expected to make a selection in the 2023 CHL Import Draft.

The 2022 CHL Import Draft featured several big contributors to WHL Clubs, headlined by Calgary Flames prospect Samuel Honzek. The Slovak forward was selected by the Vancouver Giants with the 10th-overall pick last year, and proceeded to be taken 16th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft after collecting 56 points in 43 games.

Joining Honzek as key import contributors in the Western Conference last season were forwards Adam Mechura of the Tri-City Americans (26G-26A in 58 GP), Spokane Chiefs forward Tommaso De Luca (16G-33A in 65 GP) and goaltender Jan Spunar of the Portland Winterhawks (17-7-2-1, .908 SV%) while the aforementioned Prince George Cougars duo of forward Ondrej Becher (38 points) and defenceman Viliam Kmec (32 points) helped their Club reach the Second Round of the WHL Playoffs for the first time in 16 years.

In the Eastern Conference, new Anaheim Ducks draftee Vojtech Port earned 17 points on the Edmonton Oil Kings’ blue line after initially being selected by the Red Deer Rebels, while fellow rearguards Tomas Zizka (Saskatoon Blades) and Andrei Malyavin of the Brandon Wheat Kings (6G-21A) impressed in their first WHL campaigns.

A total of three WHL import players were also selected by NHL Clubs last week at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville.

Honzek earned first-round billing thanks to his 16th-overall selection by the Calgary Flames, while the Anaheim Ducks selected two European-born WHLers in 40-goal man Egor Sidorov (Saskatoon Blades) and Czech blueliner Port.

The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League hold the first-overall selection in Wednesday’s CHL Import Draft.

To follow the 2023 CHL Import Draft online, click here.

2023 CHL IMPORT DRAFT
WHL Order of Selection – First Round

3 – Edmonton Oil Kings
6 – Spokane Chiefs
9 – Victoria Royals
12 – Kelowna Rockets
15 – Prince Albert Raiders
18 – Brandon Wheat Kings
21 – Vancouver Giants
24 – Swift Current Broncos
27 – Medicine Hat Tigers
30 – Everett Silvertips
33 – Calgary Hitmen
36 – Regina Pats
39 – Tri-City Americans
42 – Lethbridge Hurricanes
45 – Prince George Cougars
48 – Moose Jaw Warriors
51 – Portland Winterhawks
54 – Red Deer Rebels
56 – Saskatoon Blades
58 – Kamloops Blazers
59 – Seattle Thunderbirds
60 – Wenatchee Wild