Wheat Kings to Select 5th Overall in the 2023 Prospects Draft; 6th Overall in US Prospects Draft
March 29, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release
Brandon, M.B. - The Western Hockey League announced today the Prince Albert Raiders will select first and second overall in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft following the completion of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery. The Raiders won the draft lottery, moving from fourth to second overall. The Raiders own the first-overall selection, having acquired it in a trade with the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Brandon Wheat Kings didn't move up or down in the Prospects draft and will stay put at #5 overall.
Wheat Kings selected 5th overall in previous Prospect Drafts including Nate Danielson in 2019 & Eric Fehr in 2000.
The 2023 WHL Prospects Draft is scheduled for Thursday, May 11, 2023, with first-round coverage streaming on WHL Live.
All six WHL Clubs that did not qualify for the 2023 WHL Playoffs participated in the lottery. The lottery proceedings determined the order of selection for the first six picks in the first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, with inverse order of standing from the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season determining the order of selection for the second round and all subsequent rounds.
2023 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT - FIRST ROUND ORDER OF SELECTION
1. Prince Albert Raiders (from Edmonton) 12. Edmonton (from Regina)
2. Prince Albert Raiders 13. Tri-City Americans
3. Spokane Chiefs 14. Lethbridge Hurricanes
4. Victoria Royals 15. Prince George Cougars
5. Brandon Wheat Kings 16. Moose Jaw Warriors
6. Vancouver (from Swift Current) 17. Portland Winterhawks
7. Prince Albert (from Kelowna) 18. Red Deer Rebels
8. Vancouver Giants 19. Brandon Wheat Kings (from Saskatoon)
9. Medicine Hat Tigers 20. Everett Silvertips (from Kamloops)
10. Everett Silvertips 21. Saskatoon Blades (from Seattle)
11. Calgary Hitmen 22. Spokane Chiefs (from Winnipeg)
The Prince Albert Raiders (via Edmonton), Spokane Chiefs, and Victoria Royals had the opportunity to obtain the first-overall selection in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. The process for the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery was administered by Juan Guzman from KPMG.
2023 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT - SECOND ROUND (AND SUBSEQUENT ROUNDS) ORDER OF SELECTION
1. Edmonton Oil Kings 12. Regina Pats
2. Spokane Chiefs 13. Tri-City Americans
3. Victoria Royals 14. Lethbridge Hurricanes
4. Kelowna Rockets 15. Prince George Cougars
5. Prince Albert Raiders 16. Moose Jaw Warriors
6. Brandon Wheat Kings 17. Portland Winterhawks
7. Vancouver Giants 18. Red Deer Rebels
8. Swift Current Broncos 19. Saskatoon Blades
9. Medicine Hat Tigers 20. Kamloops Blazers
10. Everett Silvertips 21. Seattle Thunderbirds
11. Calgary Hitmen 22. Winnipeg ICE
Players eligible for the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft will be 2008-born players who reside in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
US PRIORITY DRAFT LOTTERY RESULTS
The Wheat Kings will draft 6th overall in the US Prospects draft while the Spokane Chiefs will select first overall in the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft following the completion of the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft Lottery.
The 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft is scheduled for Wednesday, May 10, 2023, and will be conducted online at WHL.ca. The 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will consist of two rounds and 44 selections, with each WHL Club presented the opportunity to have two draft selections.
All six WHL Clubs that did not qualify for the 2023 WHL Playoffs participated in the lottery. The lottery proceedings determined the order of selection for the first six picks in the first round of the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft, with inverse order of standing from the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season determining the order of selection for the second round.
The Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs, Victoria Royals, Prince Albert Raiders, Brandon Wheat Kings, and Swift Current Broncos had the opportunity to obtain the first-overall selection in the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft. The process for the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft Lottery was administered by Juan Guzman from KPMG.
2023 WHL U.S. PRIORITY DRAFT - FIRST ROUND ORDER OF SELECTION
First Round Second Round
1. Spokane Chiefs 23. Edmonton Oil Kings
2. Victoria Royals 24. Spokane Chiefs
3. Edmonton Oil Kings 25. Victoria Royals
4. Swift Current Broncos 26. Kelowna Rockets
5. Prince Albert Raiders 27. Prince Albert Raiders
6. Brandon Wheat Kings 28. Brandon Wheat Kings
7. Kelowna Rockets 29. Vancouver Giants
8. Vancouver Giants 30. Swift Current Broncos
9. Medicine Hat Tigers 31. Medicine Hat Tigers
10. Everett Silvertips 32. Everett Silvertips
11. Calgary Hitmen 33. Calgary Hitmen
12. Regina Pats 34. Regina Pats
13. Tri-City Americans 35. Tri-City Americans
14. Lethbridge Hurricanes 36. Lethbridge Hurricanes
15. Prince George Cougars 37. Prince George Cougars
16. Moose Jaw Warriors 38. Moose Jaw Warriors
17. Portland Winterhawks 39. Portland Winterhawks
18. Red Deer Rebels 40. Red Deer Rebels
19. Saskatoon Blades 41. Saskatoon Blades
20. Kamloops Blazers 42. Kamloops Blazers
21. Seattle Thunderbirds 43. Seattle Thunderbirds
22. Winnipeg ICE 44. Winnipeg ICE
Players eligible for the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will be 2008-born players who reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Players not selected in the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will remain eligible to be selected in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday, May 11, 2023, or listed by a WHL Club at any time thereafter.
• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...
Western Hockey League Stories from March 29, 2023
- Silvertips to Pick 10th, 20th in 2023 Prospects Draft - Everett Silvertips
- Wheat Kings to Select 5th Overall in the 2023 Prospects Draft; 6th Overall in US Prospects Draft - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Chiefs to Select First Overall in 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Spokane Chiefs
- Oil Kings to Select Third Overall in 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Royals to Select 4th Overall in 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, 2nd in US Priority Draft - Victoria Royals
- Spokane Chiefs to Select First Overall in 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft - WHL
- Prince Albert Raiders to Select First Overall in 2023 WHL Prospects Draft - WHL
- Winterhawks Sign Forward Luke Myhre - Portland Winterhawks
- Series Preview: (5) Tri-City Americans vs. (4) Prince George Cougars - Tri-City Americans
- Blazers Start Playoffs at Home this Friday - Kamloops Blazers
- 'There's Something Special About Playoffs': Warriors Ready for Game 1 against the Hurricanes - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Dallas Stars Sign Matthew Seminoff to Three-Year Entry-Level Contract - Kamloops Blazers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
