WHL Western Hockey League

80 CHL Players Selected During 2023 NHL Draft

June 29, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL) News Release


NASHVILLE, TENN - The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to announce that a total of 80 CHL players were selected during the seven rounds of the 2023 NHL Draft, which was held over the last two days at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The 80 selections between rounds one through seven accounted for nearly 36% of the 224 picks that were made by the NHL's 32 clubs.

The first two rounds proved to be among the most successful for CHL prospects as 25 players were chosen within the first 64 picks of the draft. Connor Bedard (Regina Pats, C) led the way by being chosen first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks, one of six Western Hockey League (WHL) players to be drafted in the first round. Among Thursday's early selections was Ethan Gauthier (Drummondville Voltigeurs, RW). By being taken 37th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Gauthier was the first player from Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to have his name called at this year's draft. Developed by the Sherbrooke Phoenix, the 18-year-old forward finished third on his team in scoring with a career-high 69 points, having collected 30 goals and 39 assists in 66 appearances with the Phoenix this past season.

Much like the top two rounds, another 25 CHL players were selected between both the third and fourth rounds, before 12 were taken in both the fifth and sixth rounds, while six CHL skaters were chosen in the seventh round to cap off the event's two-day run. By position, the 2023 NHL Draft saw a total of 129 forwards selected of which 45 were from the CHL. There were also 69 defencemen chosen including 30 from the CHL, and 26 goaltenders highlighted by five from the CHL.

Of the players chosen, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) led the way with 35 drafted players, followed by the WHL with 33 and the QMJHL with 12. In total, 45 CHL clubs had a player picked in this draft led by the WHL Champion Seattle Thunderbirds, who had six of their players selected between both Wednesday and Thursday. Among the other clubs, the Flint Firebirds set a franchise record with four drafted players in 2023, while the London Knights extended the CHL's longest active draft streak. Dating back to 1969, the Knights have had at least one of their players chosen at an NHL Draft for 54 consecutive years.

30 of the NHL's 32 clubs drafted at least one CHL player with the Anaheim Ducks leading the way with seven. Following just behind them were the Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken who both made five CHL selections, while the Chicago Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals each drafted four CHL players to their squads.

37 of the CHL players chosen at this year's draft competed in the 2023 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game that took place back on January 25 in Langley, B.C. Both Quentin Musty and Samuel Honzek, who were unable to play in this game due to injury, were among the 40 CHL players originally chosen for this event. The Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is an annual showcase of draft-eligible talent and features future NHL stars from across the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. Next year, this event will take place in Moncton, N.B., on January 24, 2024.

Following the 2023 NHL Draft, a total of 5,937 CHL players have been selected since 1969.

80 CHL Players selected in the 2023 NHL Draft

Players with hyperlinked names have video profiles from the #MeetTheFuture series presented by Kubota Canada. Where a player doesn't have a video profile, a hyperlink is provided to their profile on their respective league's website.

*denotes players who competed in the 2023 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game

FIRST ROUND (11)

1. Connor Bedard (Regina Pats, C / WHL)* - Chicago Blackhawks

9. Nate Danielson (Brandon Wheat Kings, C / WHL)* - Detroit Red Wings

13. Zach Benson (Winnipeg ICE, LW / WHL)* - Buffalo Sabres

14. Brayden Yager (Moose Jaw Warriors, C / WHL)* - Pittsburgh Penguins

16. Samuel Honzek (Vancouver Giants, LW / WHL) - Calgary Flames

18. Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack, LW / OHL)* - Winnipeg Jets

22. Oliver Bonk (London Knights, D / OHL)* - Philadelphia Flyers

24. Tanner Molendyk (Saskatoon Blades, D / WHL)* - Nashville Predators

26. Quentin Musty (Sudbury Wolves, LW / OHL) - San Jose Sharks

27. Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals, C / OHL)* - Colorado Avalanche

28. Easton Cowan (London Knights, LW / OHL) - Toronto Maple Leafs

SECOND ROUND (14)

33. Nico Myatovic (Seattle Thunderbirds, LW / WHL)* - Anaheim Ducks

37. Ethan Gauthier (Drummondville Voltigeurs, RW / QMJHL)* - Tampa Bay Lightning (played last couple of seasons with Sherbrooke Phoenix)

40. Andrew Cristall (Kelowna Rockets, LW / WHL)* - Washington Capitals

42. Andrew Gibson (Soo Greyhounds, D / OHL) - Detroit Red Wings

46. Kalan Lind (Red Deer Rebels, LW / WHL)* - Nashville Predators

48. Étienne Morin (Moncton Wildcats, D / QMJHL)* - Calgary Flames

50. Carson Rehkopf (Kitchener Rangers, LW / OHL)* - Seattle Kraken

51. Carson Bjarnson (Brandon Wheat Kings, G / WHL)* - Philadelphia Flyers

56. Beau Akey (Barrie Colts, D / OHL)* - Edmonton Oilers

57. Lukas Dragicevic (Tri-City Americans, D / WHL)* - Seattle Kraken

59. Carey Terrance (Erie Otters, C / OHL)* - Anaheim Ducks

61. Tristan Bertucci (Flint Firebirds, D / OHL) - Dallas Stars

63. Gracyn Sawchyn (Seattle Thunderbirds, C / WHL)* - Florida Panthers

64. Riley Heidt (Prince George Cougars, C / WHL)* - Minnesota Wild

THIRD ROUND (12)

65. Coulson Pitre (Flint Firebirds, RW / OHL)* - Anaheim Ducks

67. Nick Lardis (Brantford Bulldogs, LW / OHL)* - Chicago Blackhawks

74. Quinton Burns (Kingston Frontenacs, D / OHL) - St. Louis Blues

75. Hunter Brzustewicz (Kitchener Rangers, D / OHL)* - Vancouver Canucks

77. Mathieu Cataford (Halifax Mooseheads, C / QMJHL)* - Vegas Golden Knights

78. Koehn Ziemmer (Prince George Cougars, RW / WHL)* - Los Angeles Kings

79. Brad Gardiner (Ottawa 67's, C / OHL) - Dallas Stars

83. Dylan Mackinnon (Halifax Mooseheads, D / QMJHL)* - Nashville Predators

84. Caden Price (Kelowna Rockets, D / WHL)* - Seattle Kraken

85. Egor Sidorov (Saskatoon Blades, LW / WHL) - Anaheim Ducks

89. Sawyer Mynio (Seattle Thunderbirds, D / WHL) - Vancouver Canucks

95. Denver Barkey (London Knights, C / OHL) - Philadelphia Flyers

FOURTH ROUND (13)

97. Konnor Smith (Peterborough Petes, D / OHL) - Anaheim Ducks

99. Alex Pharand (Sudbury Wolves, C / OHL)* - Chicago Blackhawks

101. Florian Xhekaj (Brantford Bulldogs, LW / OHL) - Montreal Canadiens

102. Terrell Goldsmith (Prince Albert Raiders, D / WHL) - Arizona Coyotes

104. Patrick Thomas (Brantford Bulldogs, C / OHL) - Washington Capitals

109. Ethan Miedema (Kingston Frontenacs, LW / OHL)* - Buffalo Sabres

111. Joey Willis (Saginaw Spirit, C / OHL) - Nashville Predators

112. Jaden Lipinski (Vancouver Giants, C / WHL)* - Calgary Flames

114. Luca Pinelli (Ottawa 67's, C / OHL)* - Columbus Blue Jackets

116. Andrei Loshko (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, C / QMJHL) - Seattle Kraken (played last two seasons with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens)

122. Cam Squires (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, RW / QMJHL) - New Jersey Devils

123. Luca Cagnoni (Portland Winterhawks, D / WHL)* - San Jose Sharks

128. Quentin Miller (Québec Remparts, G / QMJHL) - Montreal Canadiens

FIFTH ROUND (12)

129. Rodwin Dionicio (Windsor Spitfires, D / OHL) - Anaheim Ducks

131. Marcel Marcel (Gatineau Olympiques, LW / QMJHL) - Chicago Blackhawks

135. Carter Sotheran (Portland Winterhawks, D / WHL) - Philadelphia Flyers

136. Cameron Allen (Guelph Storm, D / OHL)* - Washington Capitals

140. Matthew Andonovski (Kitchener Rangers, D / OHL) - Ottawa Senators

141. Scott Ratzlaff (Seattle Thunderbirds, G / WHL)* - Buffalo Sabres

145. Justin Gill (Baie-Comeau Drakkar, C / QMJHL) - New York Islanders (played the better part of the last three seasons with the Sherbrooke Phoenix)

146. Jacob Julien (London Knights, C / OHL) - Winnipeg Jets

148. Kaden Hammell (Everett Silvertips, D / WHL) - Seattle Kraken

150. Matthew Mania (Sudbury Wolves, D / OHL) - Los Angeles Kings

151. Thomas Milic (Seattle Thunderbirds, G / WHL) - Winnipeg Jets

160. Justin Kipkie (Victoria Royals, D / WHL) - Arizona Coyotes

SIXTH ROUND (12)

161. Vojtech Port (Edmonton Oil Kings, D / WHL) - Anaheim Ducks

164. Cole Brown (Brantford Bulldogs, LW / OHL) - New Jersey Devils

170. Matthew Mayich (Ottawa 67's, D / OHL) - St. Louis Blues

174. Cooper Foster (Ottawa 67's, C / OHL) - Pittsburgh Penguins

175. Austin Roest (Everett Silvertips, C / WHL) - Nashville Predators

178. Dylan Roobroeck (Oshawa Generals, C / OHL) - New York Rangers

181. Kalem Parker (Victoria Royals, D / WHL) - Minnesota Wild

184. Nathaniel Day (Flint Firebirds, G / OHL) - Edmonton Oilers

185. Noah Chadwick (Lethbridge Hurricanes, D / WHL) - Toronto Maple Leafs

187. Jeremy Hanzel (Seattle Thunderbirds, D / WHL) - Colorado Avalanche

189. Angus Macdonell (Mississauga Steelheads, C / OHL) - Dallas Stars

191. Luke Coughlin (Rimouski Océanic, D / QMJHL) - Florida Panthers

SEVENTH ROUND (6)

199. Matteo Mann (Chicoutimi Saguenéens, D / QMJHL)* - Philadelphia Flyers

200. Brett Hyland (Brandon Wheat Kings, D / WHL) - Washington Capitals

201. Emmitt Finnie (Kamloops Blazers, C / WHL) - Detroit Red Wings

210. Connor Levis (Kamloops Blazers, RW / WHL)* - Winnipeg Jets

211. Ethan Hay (Flint Firebirds, C / OHL) - Tampa Bay Lightning

224. Tyler Peddle (Drummondville Voltigeurs, LW / QMJHL)* - Columbus Blue Jackets

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