WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs News: Chiefs Hold 49th Pick in CHL Import Draft Tuesday

June 28, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


The Spokane Chiefs will have the 49th overall selection in the 2010 CHL Import Draft held throughout the day on Tuesday, June 29.

Each team in the CHL is permitted to carry two European Import players each season. Last year, the Chiefs featured defenseman Stefan Ulmer from Austria, who just finished a three-year career in a Spokane jersey, and Czech forward Dominik Uher, who will be entering his 18-year-old season next year.

Players are selected annually at the Import Draft, with the order of selection rotating through each of the three leagues in the CHL (the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) using an inverse order of their final regular season standings from the 2009-10 season.

The WHL's Prince George Cougars hold the first selection.

The 2010 CHL Import Draft order of selection as well as up to date picks on Tuesday can be followed online at http://chl.ca/importDraft.php.

SPOKANE CHIEFS IMPORT DRAFT HISTORY

2009

Dominik Uher

Uher, the youngest player selected in the 2009 Import Draft, finished his rookie season last year with four goals and 15 points in 53 games. Spokane took the forward from the Czech Republic with the 47th overall pick. Uher, who will turn 18 on December 31st, will return to Spokane next season and be eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

2008

Did not select a player

2007

Stefan Ulmer - In three seasons as a Chief, Ulmer played in 167 regular season games and another 40 during the playoffs. In March, Ulmer signed a professional contract with the Lugano Hockey Club in the Swiss National League and will play there next season. As a 17-year-old rookie he helped the Chiefs win the 2008 Memorial Cup. While in Spokane he twice played for Austria at world junior tournaments, winning the Best Defenseman award at the 2009 IIHF Group B World Junior Hockey Championship and appearing in the Group A tournament this past winter.

2006

Ondrej Roman - Roman was the fifth overall selection in the draft and played 174 games in three seasons in Spokane, scoring 29 goals and 141 points. Roman led the Chiefs in scoring in the 2008 playoffs with nine goals and 21 points in 21 games. Roman was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and signed with them this past winter.

2005

Johannes Salmonsson - Spokane selected Salmonsson, the Pittsburgh Penguins second round pick in 2004, with the 15th overall selection. Salmonsson scored 12 goals and 27 points in 54 games and played for Team Sweden at the World Junior Hockey Championships. Salmonsson spent just one season in Spokane and has played professionally in Europe for the past four seasons.

2004

Michael Grabner - Forward Michael Grabner was selected with the 22nd overall pick by the Chiefs in 2004 and became a first round NHL pick by the Vancouver Canucks in 2006. Grabner scored 88 goals in three seasons, including 30 in back-to-back seasons. He made his NHL debut this season recording his first career goal on October 21st, 2009 and a hat-trick at Anaheim on April 2nd.

2003

Gustav Engman - With their first round pick, 20th overall, the Chiefs took Swedish defenseman Gustav Engman. In his two seasons in Spokane, Engman appeared in 126 games, including 68 in 2004-05.

2002

Miroslav Stolc - Stolc was selected with the 36th selection in the draft and appeared in 47 games in his one season in Spokane.

Jakub Langhammer - Langhammer (50th overall) joined Stolc as a first round pick in the 2002 CHL Import Draft. In his rookie season of 2002-03, Langhammer scored 12 goals in 65 games and returned for a second season with 14 goals in 70 games. He has played the last five seasons in his native Czech Republic for Sparta Praha.

2001

1st round- Alexi Smirnov*

2nd round- Ivan Gracia

Gracia was the first ever Spaniard to be selected in the CHL Import Draft and play Major Junior Hockey in North America. In 17 games in 2001-02, Gracia scored three goals and four points.

2000

Rastislav Lipka

Lipka was the Chiefs lone selection in 2000 and registered four points in 35 games. Lipka was dealt in 2001 to the Prince Albert Raiders and scored 11 goals and 24 points in 67 games.

1999- Roman Tvrdon

Tvrdon averaged a point a game in his two-year career in Spokane totaling 54 goals, 78 assists and 132 points in 131 games. In 1999-2000, Tvrdon was the Chiefs co-Rookie of the Year and the WHL Western Conference Rookie of the Year. Tvrdon was a fifth round draft selection of the Washington Capitals.

1998- 1st round- Daniel Bohac

Bohac is the first Chief to lead the team in goals scored in back-to-back seasons. Bohac's 39 goals in the 1999-2000 season led the Chiefs Western Conference Champions and he finished his two year career in Spokane with 65 goals and 119 points. He has played professionally between the United States and Czech Republic for the last 10 seasons.

2nd round

Michal Travnicek*

1997

Petr Sykora*

1996

Marian Cisar

In two seasons, which included a franchise long nine game goal-scoring streak, Cisar tallied 64 goals and 139 points. Cisar was named the Chiefs rookie of the year in the 1996-97 season. Cisar, originally a second round pick of the LA Kings, became the first player under contract with Nashville and played 73 games in three seasons for the Predators.

1995

Martin Cerven

Cerven, the 19th overall pick in 1995, was traded during his rookie year to the Seattle Thunderbirds in favor of another import, Jan Hrdina. Cerven, a draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, scored 27 goals in the 1996-97 season for Seattle, while Hrdina registered 45 points in 36 games between the regular season and playoffs for Spokane.

1994

Tomas Pisa

Pisa was the 13th overall selection in the 1994 Import Draft and scored one goal in 21 games during the 1994-95 season, a game winner.

1993

Dmitri Leonov

Leonov appeared in 170 games in his three-year career in Spokane and led the 1995-96 Chiefs in scoring with 38-57-95. That Chiefs team played in the WHL Finals after a 50 win regular season.

1992

Maxim Bets

In just two seasons in Spokane, Bets registered back-to-back 100 point seasons and sits 15th on the Chiefs all-time scoring list. Bets holds the Chiefs rookie records for goals, assists and points.

* denotes players that were drafted but did not report to Spokane

Notable- Valeri Bure was a list player for the Chiefs, joining Spokane in 1991-92, a year before the CHL Import Draft was instituted. Bure stands as one of the highest scoring Chiefs ever averaging 1.67 points per game in Spokane. Bure holds the Chiefs single season record for goals scored with 68 in 1992-93 and stands fourth on the Chiefs all-time scoring list with 135 goals, 163 assists and 298 points.

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from June 28, 2010


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