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QMJHL Charlottetown Islanders

Islanders to Pick 10th & 70th in the 2024 CHL Import Draft

July 2, 2024 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Charlottetown Islanders News Release


The Canadian Hockey League's (CHL) Import Draft is scheduled to begin tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. ADT.

The Val-d'Or Foreurs will be on the clock with the first overall selection; this marks the first time a QMJHL franchise will select first in three years.

Picking at 10th overall, this will be the highest selection the Islanders have ever made in the CHL Import Draft. The previous highest pick came in 2014 when the Islanders selected Filip Chlapik 11th overall.

Chlapik went on to play in 173 regular season games and tallied 220 points, adding another 30 across three postseason runs. If head coach and general manager Jim Hulton could hunt down a European player at 10th overall that can have a similar impact on the franchise as Chlapik did, the Islanders will be in a good spot.

The Islanders also hold the 70th pick in the CHL Import Draft and will still get to use the pick despite acquiring Egor Goriunov earlier in the off-season. This is due to Goriunov being eligible to count as an overage player. The Islanders will put him on that list to free up the second import spot.

With the Islanders set to use both their picks tomorrow in the CHL Import Draft, this will lead to both of last year's selections being released.

The Islanders took Ondrej Maruna 14th overall and Aksels Ozols 74th overall last year.

Maruna, a native of Piestany, Slovakia, played in 56 games for Charlottetown posting 16 points. Ozols on the otherhand, made 30 appearances between the pipes and finished with a .872 SV%. The Latvian ended the year with a 10-16 record.

Russian and Belarusian players will be eligible for selection in the 2024 CHL Import Draft and they will be able to play in the CHL as long as they are granted the necessary visa that they require to enter and play hockey in North America. In addition to this change to the CHL Import Draft, the CHL will permanently cancel the Canada-Russia Series as part of its annual calendar of events moving forward.

Check out the Charlottetown Islanders Statistics

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