[{"id":268501,"date":"2026-06-27T09:32:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T15:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=268501"},"modified":"2026-06-27T09:32:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T15:32:35","slug":"gavin-mckenna-micd-up-2026-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/video\/gavin-mckenna-micd-up-2026-nhl-draft","title":{"rendered":"Gavin McKenna Mic\u2019d Up | 2026 NHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":614,"featured_media":268502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[{"term_id":1421,"name":"Toronto Maple Leafs","slug":"toronto-maple-leafs","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1421,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"919"},{"term_id":1301,"name":"2026 NHL Draft","slug":"2026-nhl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1301,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":127,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1029"},{"term_id":1179,"name":"Gavin McKenna","slug":"gavin-mckenna","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1179,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":96,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1151"},{"term_id":30,"name":"medicine hat tigers","slug":"medicine-hat-tigers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":185,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1237,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1787"}],"class_list":["post-268501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-2026-nhl-draft","tag-gavin-mckenna","tag-medicine-hat-tigers","video-channels-2026-nhl-draft","video-channels-medicine-hat-tigers","category-1113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/27093211\/Screenshot-2026-06-27-at-9.17.13-AM-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2711049","partner_id":"31014","player_id":"47902","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/sd\/2711049.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/ld\/2711049.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/hsd\/2711049.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/fhd\/2711049.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/streaming\/2711049\/2711049.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31014\/webp\/2711049.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":268499,"date":"2026-06-26T22:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T04:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=268499"},"modified":"2026-06-26T23:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T05:42:45","slug":"whl-leads-all-development-leagues-with-four-players-selected-in-top-10-of-2026-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/whl-leads-all-development-leagues-with-four-players-selected-in-top-10-of-2026-nhl-draft","title":{"rendered":"WHL leads all development leagues with four players selected in top 10 of 2026 NHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

TIGERS ALUMNUS MCKENNA GOES FIRST OVERALL TO TORONTO; RAIDERS DEFENCEMAN RUDOLPH IS FIRST BLUELINER SELECTED AS WHL FINISHES WITH SEVEN PLAYERS IN FIRST ROUND<\/em><\/p>\n

Buffalo, N.Y. \u2013<\/strong> The Western Hockey League announced today seven players developed in the WHL have been selected in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, held Friday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.<\/p>\n

For the second time in three drafts, the WHL boasts four players selected in the top 10 of the NHL Draft. This also serves as the second consecutive NHL Draft in which the WHL has led or tied for the most first-round players selected among any development league. The 2025 NHL Draft featured nine WHL players chosen in the first round.<\/p>\n

Former WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers) was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, followed by Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Daxon Rudolph going to the Buffalo Sabres with the fourth pick. Prince George Cougars blueliner Carson Carels was called by the Calgary Flames with the sixth-overall selection and former Victoria Royals rearguard Keaton Verhoeff rounded out the group after being chosen ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks.<\/p>\n

PLAYER ASSETS<\/a> \u2013 ACTION PHOTOS & HIGHLIGHTS
\nPHOTOS<\/a> \u2013 2026 NHL Draft (Credit to Natalie Shaver \/ CHL)
\nMEDIA AVAILS<\/a><\/p>\n

2026 NHL Draft<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 WHL Developed Players<\/p>\n

Overall \u2013 Player (Pos.) \u2013 NHL Team; WHL Team; Hometown<\/strong><\/p>\n

#1 \u2013 Gavin McKenna (F) \u2013 Toronto Maple Leafs; Medicine Hat Tigers*; Whitehorse, Yukon
\n#4 \u2013 Daxon Rudolph (D) \u2013 Buffalo Sabres; Prince Albert Raiders; Lacombe, Alta.
\n#6 \u2013 Carson Carels (D) \u2013 Calgary Flames; Prince George Cougars; Cypress River, Man.
\n#9 \u2013 Keaton Verhoeff (D) \u2013 San Jose Sharks; Victoria Royals*; Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
\n#21 \u2013 Ryan Lin (D) \u2013 San Jose Sharks; Vancouver Giants; Richmond, B.C.
\n#22 \u2013 Liam Ruck (F) \u2013 Pittsburgh Penguins; Medicine Hat Tigers; Osoyoos, B.C.
\n#23 \u2013 JP Hurlbert (F) \u2013 Detroit Red Wings; Kamloops Blazers; Allen, Texas<\/p>\n

* = last played in WHL during 2024-25 season<\/em><\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound McKenna, who helped the Medicine Hat Tigers win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2025, became the first player developed by the Club to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft. He also goes into the history books as the 10th player developed in the WHL to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

McKenna represents the second WHL player chosen first overall by the Maple Leafs, following Wendel Clark of the Saskatoon Blades, who was the top choice in the 1985 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Rudolph was the first defenceman taken off the board when the Buffalo Sabres called him fourth overall. The 6-foot-2, 206-pound rearguard helped the Raiders advance to the 2026 WHL Championship after posting 78 points (28G-50A) in 68 games. A finalist for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL Defenceman of the Year, Rudolph also captained Team East at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game in Langley. This marks the second consecutive draft in which the Sabres have chosen a WHL defencemen in the first round, after Seattle Thunderbirds rearguard Radim Mrtka went ninth overall in 2025.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-2, 202-pound Carels followed shortly after \u2013 the second defenceman selected in the draft \u2013 going sixth overall to the Flames. Another finalist for the WHL\u2019s Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy, Carels enjoyed a career season, collecting 73 points (20G-53A) in 58 games with the Cougars. The product of Cypress River, Man., led Team West as captain at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game in Langley. This represents the third consecutive draft in which the Flames have used a first-round pick on a WHL player after the selection of Cole Reschny of the Victoria Royals in 2025.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-4, 208-pound Verhoeff served as the third WHL-developed defenceman off the board, when he was selected ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks. The former Victoria Royals phenom lands in San Jose after putting up 21 goals in 63 games on Vancouver Island during the 2024-25 WHL season.<\/p>\n

Lin was the fourth defenceman having come through the WHL to hear his name called, going 21st overall to the San Jose Sharks. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound blueliner represented Team CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge, coming off the 2024-25 season in which he was named a finalist for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL\u2019s Rookie of the Year. That season, the hometown product set a Vancouver Giants record for points by a rookie defenceman when he registered 53 (5G-48A) in 60 games \u2013 making him one of only two WHL rookie blueliners to surpass the 50-point plateau.<\/p>\n

Ruck was the second Tiger taken in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, joining McKenna. The sharp-shooting winger was selected 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins on the heels of securing an impressive 104 points (45G-59A) in 68 games., which was good enough for second in the entire Canadian Hockey League \u2013 trailing only his twin brother Markus (108 points). Ruck was named a finalist for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL\u2019s Player of the Year. He helped the Tigers claim the 2025 WHL Championship. This marks the second consecutive draft in which the Penguins have used a first-round pick on a player from the WHL, following the selection of Ben Kindel with the 11th overall pick in 2025.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the WHL contingent in the first round was Hurlbert, who went 23rd overall to the Red Wings. Detroit moved on from former Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender Sebastian Cossa, trading the up-and-coming netminder to the Utah Mammoth in order to acquire the pick used to select Hurlbert. The 6-foot, 182-pound product of Allen, Texas, enjoyed an outstanding campaign with the Kamloops Blazers, rattling off 97 points (42G-55A) in 68 games to take home the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the WHL Rookie of the Year. This marks the third time in four NHL Drafts the Red Wings have used a first-round pick on a WHL player, following the selection of Carter Bear in 2025 and Nate Danielson in 2023.<\/p>\n

The 2026 NHL Draft serves as the 18th time in the past 20 years the WHL has seen five or more players selected in the first round of the NHL Draft. With seven players selected in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, the WHL\u2019s all-time number of first-round picks sits at 360 since the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft.<\/p>\n

In total, 16 players from the CHL were selected in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft \u2013 including seven from the WHL, seven from the Ontario Hockey League, and two from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.<\/p>\n

The 2026 NHL Draft resumes Saturday morning at 9 a.m. MT \/ 11 a.m. ET. For more information on WHL players at the 2026 NHL Draft, please visit WHL.ca.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss your opportunity to own a piece of WHL history from the 2026 WHL Prospects Game. Fans can bid on event-worn memorabilia bundles featuring 2026 NHL Draft stars. Visit DASH Auctions<\/a> for complete details.<\/em><\/p>\n

About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regarded as the world\u2019s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six 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\u2019s National Junior Hockey Team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the second time in three drafts, the WHL boasts four players selected in the top 10 of the NHL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":268500,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2164,"name":"JP Hurlbert","slug":"jp-hurlbert","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2164,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":27,"filter":"raw","term_order":"211"},{"term_id":1518,"name":"Ryan Lin","slug":"ryan-lin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1518,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":32,"filter":"raw","term_order":"841"},{"term_id":1517,"name":"Keaton Verhoeff","slug":"keaton-verhoeff","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1517,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":28,"filter":"raw","term_order":"843"},{"term_id":1510,"name":"Carson Carels","slug":"carson-carels","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1510,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":34,"filter":"raw","term_order":"848"},{"term_id":1494,"name":"Daxon Rudolph","slug":"daxon-rudolph","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1494,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":43,"filter":"raw","term_order":"857"},{"term_id":1478,"name":"Liam Ruck","slug":"liam-ruck","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1478,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":39,"filter":"raw","term_order":"870"},{"term_id":1301,"name":"2026 NHL Draft","slug":"2026-nhl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1301,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":127,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1029"},{"term_id":1179,"name":"Gavin McKenna","slug":"gavin-mckenna","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1179,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":96,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1151"}],"class_list":["post-268499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-jp-hurlbert","tag-ryan-lin","tag-keaton-verhoeff","tag-carson-carels","tag-daxon-rudolph","tag-liam-ruck","tag-2026-nhl-draft","tag-gavin-mckenna","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/26224730\/260626_NHL_Draft_Rd1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":268497,"date":"2026-06-26T17:18:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T23:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=268497"},"modified":"2026-06-26T17:18:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T23:18:40","slug":"medicine-hat-tigers-alumnus-gavin-mckenna-selected-first-overall-by-toronto-maple-leafs-in-2026-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/medicine-hat-tigers-alumnus-gavin-mckenna-selected-first-overall-by-toronto-maple-leafs-in-2026-nhl-draft","title":{"rendered":"Medicine Hat Tigers alumnus Gavin McKenna selected first overall by Toronto Maple Leafs in 2026 NHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buffalo, N.Y. \u2013<\/strong> Medicine Hat Tigers alumnus Gavin McKenna \u2013 2025 WHL Champion and WHL Player of the Year \u2013 was the first-overall selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.<\/p>\n

McKenna, who helped the Medicine Hat Tigers win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2025, became the first player developed by the Club to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft. He also goes into the history books as the 10th player developed in the WHL to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

McKenna represents the second WHL player chosen first overall by the Maple Leafs, following Wendel Clark of the Saskatoon Blades, who was the top choice in the 1985 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

McKenna\u2019s time in the WHL was well decorated.<\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound product of Whitehorse, Yukon, finished his time in the WHL by winning the WHL Championship along with the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL Player of the Year and the CHL\u2019s David Branch Player of the Year Award following a 129-point campaign in 2024-25.<\/p>\n

Selected first overall by the Tigers in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, McKenna played 133 WHL regular season games in Medicine Hat, tallying 244 points (79G-165A). He added another 45 points (12G-33A) in 25 WHL Playoff games. From 2022 through 2025, McKenna played a total of 158 games across the WHL regular season and playoffs, collecting 289 points (91G-198A).<\/p>\n

During the 2023-24 season, he recorded 63 assists to lead all WHL rookies en route to winning the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the WHL Rookie of the Year. McKenna was also awarded CHL Rookie of the Year honours for his impressive effort. That same season, he was named to the WHL\u2019s Central Division First All-Star Team and also earned nods on the CHL Third All-Star Team and CHL All-Rookie Team.<\/p>\n

Prior to McKenna, the highest selection in Medicine Hat Tigers franchise history was second overall \u2013 Trevor Linden to the Vancouver Canucks in 1988, Barry Dean to the Kansas City Scouts in 1975, and Tom Lysiak to the Atlanta Flames in 1973.<\/p>\n

McKenna joins WHL legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald as the second Medicine Hat Tiger to be selected by the Maple Leafs in the top five of the NHL Draft. McDonald went fourth overall to Toronto in the 1973 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Finally, McKenna becomes the first Medicine Hat Tiger selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs since Dan Turner went 172nd overall in the ninth round of the 1984 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

On 11 occasions, the Maple Leafs have used a top 10 pick to select a player from the WHL:<\/p>\n