Erie Otters Select Forward Paul Schuster #19 Overall in 2026 CHL Import Draft
OHL Erie Otters

Erie Otters Select Forward Paul Schuster #19 Overall in 2026 CHL Import Draft

Published on June 30, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


Erie, Pennsylvania -- The CHL Import Draft is a fantastic way for clubs to bolster their lineups and add another talented piece to the puzzle and today the Erie Otters would hold the #19 overall selection in the 2026 version of the draft.

With the #19 overall selection, the Erie Otters were thrilled to select Austrian forward Paul Schuster from the Red Bull Hockey Juniors program in his home country.

The native of Wien, Austria becomes the first ever Austrian-born player to be selected by Erie in the CHL Import Draft.

In his native country a season ago, Schuster would suit-up in 42 games between the EC Salzburg U20 program and the RB Hockey Juniors program in the Alps Hockey League. In those games, he would tally a total of 34 points (14G+20A).

The 5'10, 2009-born right-shot winger was one of two regular 16-year-old players on his RB Juniors team last season and stood out in his time there.

Schuster is also no-stranger to the Austria National Team program, having played 18 games wearing his country's colors between both the U18 and U20 teams. During his stint with the U18 program, he wore an 'A' as Alternate Captain.

Otters Director of Hockey Operations Scott Grieve spoke on the addition of Schuster and what he brings to the organization.

"We are very excited to welcome Paul and the Schuster family to the Otters," Grieve said. "Paul has national team and pro experience at 16 years old. We are excited to add his skill and speed to our lineup next season."

The CHL Import Draft - first implemented in 1992 - provides the opportunity for the Ontario, Quebec, and Western Hockey Leagues to break outside of their region-locked North American scouting waters to find hockey talent abroad. This is the only draft every year that involves all three Major Junior hockey leagues simultaneously and collaboratively, and is the only crossover between leagues outside of the Memorial Cup. As well, this is the final CHL event of the 2025-26 season, with the end of the Import Draft marking the official start of the new season across the league(s). This season, teams are allowed to carry up to three import players, expanding the draft to three rounds from the previous two. This was the first time in franchise history that the Otters held the 19th pick in the draft.

Last season, the Otters held three players whom they selected in the CHL Import Draft, goaltender Noah Erliden (2024, 30th overall), forward Alex Misiak (2025, 32nd overall) and defenseman Julius Saari (2025, 93rd overall), the latter of which will be back with the club this season as an Alternate Captain.

ALL-TIME CHL IMPORT DRAFT SELECTIONS (incl. 2026 pick):

2023 1 1 Martin Misiak 6.02 198 2004-09-30 RW Youngstown Phantoms Slovakian

2007 1 2 Jaroslav Janus 6.00 187 1989-09-21 G Bratislava Slovan Jr. Slovakian

2012 1 3 Oscar Dansk 6.02.5 187 1995-02-28 G Brynas IF Jr. Swedish

2008 1 4 Edgar Rybakov 6.01 185 1991-05-02 C Moscow HC CSKA-2 Lithuanian

2013 1 5 Andre Burakovsky 6.01 178 1995-02-09 LW Malmo IF Redhawks Swedish

1998 1 5 Nikita Alexeyev 6.06 227 1981-12-27 RW Krylia Sovetov Moskva-2 Russian

2022 1 5 Ondrej Molnar 5.11 161 2005-02-08 LW Nitra HK Slovakian

2019 1 8 Marat Khusnutdinov 5.09 154 2002-07-12 C Podolsk Vityaz U18 Russian

2003 1 12 Ilya Yakolev 6.02 180 1986-07-24 F Chelyabinsk Traktor-2 Russian

2018 1 12 Petr Cajka 6.00 163 2000-12-11 C Zug EV Jr. Czech

2006 1 12 Stanislav Polodna 6.00 176 1989-04-03 RW Ceske Budejovice Jr. Czech

2026 1 19 Paul Schuster 5.10 185 2009-07-06 RW RB Juniors Austrian

1996 1 21 Arvids Rekis 6.00 216 1979-01-01 RD Dubuque Fighting Saints Latvian

2020 1 22 Alexei Kolosov 6.00 165 2002-01-04 G Team Belarus U20 Belarusian

2005 1 28 Ivan Maximkin 6.02 183 1988-03-05 LD Togliatti Lada-2 Russian

2000 1 28 Lubor Dibelka 6.03 183 1983-02-22 RW Zlin Jr. Czech

2010 1 29 Timofey Tankeev 6.02 180 1993-02-17 F St. Louis Jr. Blues Russian

2024 1 30 Noah Erliden 5.10 167 2005-09-09 G HV71 Swedish

2011 1 31 Sondre Olden 6.04 180 1992-08-29 LW Modo Jr. Norwegian

2004 1 31 Vladimir Tyufyakov 6.02 195 1987-05-17 LW Novosibirsk Sibir U18 Russian

2025 1 32 Alex Misiak 6.00 183 2007-06-22 LW Waterloo Black Hawks Slovakian

2021 1 33 Jiri Tichacek 5.09 170 2003-01-30 LD Rytiri Kladno Jr. Czech

2009 1 36 Ramis Sadikov 5.02 220 1991-02-26 G Rus Moskva Russian

2011 1 37 Vladimir Tkachyov 6.00 182 1993-10-05 C Kazan Irbis Russian

2001 1 46 Alexander Karaulchuk 6.01 187 1983-07-27 C Kiev Sokol Ukranian

2014 1 48 Anton Karlsson 6.01.25 187 1996-08-03 LW Vastra Frolunda HC Jr. Swedish

2015 1 49 Erik Cernak 6.03.5 211 1997-05-28 RD Kosice HC Slovakian

1996 1 50 Vadim Sharapov 5.10 179 1978-01-13 LW CSKA Moskva-2 Russian

2002 1 51 Tomas Galasek 6.02 225 1985-09-09 LW Olomouc Jr. Czech

2016 1 53 German Poddubnyi 5.10 142 1999-06-09 C Philadelphia Jr. Flyers 16U Russian

2001 1 53 Michal Kokavec 6.05 209 1983-03-01 LW Zilina Jr. Slovakian

2017 1 57 Stephane Patry 5.10 161 2000-02-18 LW Geneve-Servette Jr. Swiss

1999 1 59 Ivan Huml 6.02 198 1981-09-06 RW Rytiri Kladno U20 Czech

2012 2 62 Artem Kuleshov 5.11 162 1995-04-20 LD Moscow Krylya Sovetov U17 Russian

2005 2 70 Christian Olsen 6.02 202 1987-10-08 RW Malmo IF Redhawks Jr. Danish

2014 2 71 Igor Vladykovskyi 6.02 200 1995-07-01 F Springfield Jr. Blues American

2009 2 71 Viktor Perezhogin 6.01 190 1992-04-01 LW Omsk Avangard Junior Russian

2015 1 75 Jakob Mayenschein 5.11 167 1997-04-01 C Landshut EV Jr. German

2020 2 82 Artyom Kulakov 6.02 174 2003-02-14 LD St. Petersburg Spartak U17 Russian

2021 2 90 Juraj Slafkovsky 6.03 216 2004-03-30 RW TPS Turku U20 Slovakian

2025 2 93 Julius Saari 6.02 187 2007-03-07 LD Jokerit Finnish

The Erie Otters are thrilled to welcome Paul Schuster home to the Flagship City and are looking forward to having him join the team in the fall.

Keep up with all the Otters draft picks and results on OttersHockey.com or across the Otters' social media. For all results of the 2026 CHL Import Draft, please head to CHL.ca.

For the latest Otters news, visit OttersHockey.com, or follow the team on Facebook (Facebook.com/erieottershockey), Twitter (@ErieOtters), and Instagram (@ErieOtters).

Check out the Erie Otters Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from June 30, 2026


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