Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú

CSSHL at the WHL Draft: 2023

For the second straight year, and seventh time out of the last nine, a Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú (CSSHL) student-athlete was selected first overall at the Western Hockey League (WHL) Prospects Draft.

Daxon Rudolph (Northern Alberta Xtreme) became the seventh CSSHL student-athlete in league history to be selected first overall joining Gavin McKenna (RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna & South Alberta Hockey Academy/2022), Connor Bedard (West Van Academy/2020), Matthew Savoie (Northern Alberta Xtreme & RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg/2019), Dylan Guenther (Northern Alberta Xtreme/2018), Kaiden Guhle (OHA Edmonton/2017), and Ty Smith (Delta Hockey Academy/2015).

2023 would also mark the first time in the U.S. Priority Draft’s four year history that a current CSSHL student-athlete was selected first overall as the Spokane Chiefs selected Brody Gillespie (RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna). Former Okanagan Hockey Academy (OHA) student-athlete Blake Fiddler was the first player selected at the 2022 U.S. Priority Draft.

Along with Gillespie, RHA Kelowna teammate Cruz Waltze (2nd overall/Victoria Royals) and Yale Hockey Academy netminder Aiden Eskit (4th overall/Swift Current Broncos) were also selected in the U.S. Priority Draft.

By the Numbers

Program Breakdown:
Northern Alberta Xtreme (NAX) – 11
RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna – 10 (+ 2 US Draft)
Edge School – 9
Okanagan Hockey Academy (OHA) – 9
Delta Hockey Academy – 8
RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg – 8
Yale Hockey Academy – 8 (+ US Draft)
St. George’s School – 6
OHA Edmonton – 5
BWC Academy – 4
Pilot Mound Hockey Academy – 3
Notre Dame – 2
Pacific Coast Hockey Academy (PCHA) – 1

WHL Prospects Draft Round Breakdown:
First Round: 12/22
Second Round: 8/22
Third Round: 10/22
Fourth Round: 11/22
Fifth Round: 9/22
Sixth Round: 8/22
Seventh Round: 6/22
Eighth Round: 6/22
Ninth Round: 5/21
Tenth Round: 3/17
Eleventh Round: 4/10
Twelfth Round: 2/5
Thirteenth Round: 0/1
Total: 84/230

WHL U.S. Priority Draft

Round Overall WHL Team Player Position CSSHL Team
1 1 Spokane Chiefs Brody Gillespie F RHA Kelowna
1 2 Victoria Royals Cruz Waltze F RHA Kelowna
1 4 Swift Current Broncos Aiden Eskit G Yale Hockey Academy


WHL Prospects Draft

Round Overall WHL Team Player Position CSSHL Team
1 1 Prince Albert Raiders Daxon Rudolph D NAX
1 3 Spokane Chiefs Mathis Preston F OHA
1 4 Victoria Royals Keaton Verhoeff D RHA Kelowna
1 6 Vancouver Giants Ryan Lin D Delta Hockey Academy
1 9 Medicine Hat Tigers Liam Ruck F OHA
1 10 Everett Silvertips Brek Liske D NAX
1 11 Calgary Hitmen Noah Kosick F PCHA
1 12 Edmonton Oil Kings Joe Iginla F RHA Kelowna
1 13 Tri-City Americans Cruz Pavao F Edge School
1 15 Prince George Cougars Carson Carels D PMHA
1 19 Brandon Wheat Kings Giorgos Pantelas D RHA Kelowna
1 21 Medicine Hat Tigers Markus Ruck F OHA
2 26 Kelowna Rockets Eli Barrett F St. George’s School
2 29 Saskatoon Blades Zachery Olsen F Edge School
2 30 Swift Current Broncos Sawyer Dingman F NAX
2 31 Calgary Hitmen Eric Tu G St. George’s School
2 35 Edmonton Oil Kings Parker Snell G NAX
2 36 Lethbridge Hurricanes Gavin Lesiuk F OHA
2 37 Prince George Cougars Kayden Lemire F OHA Edmonton
2 39 Portland Winterhawks Jordan Duguay F NAX
3 45 Edmonton Oil Kings Joshua Lee D Delta Hockey Academy
3 48 Kelowna Rockets Kanjyu Gojsic F St. George’s School
3 49 Prince Albert Raiders Steele Bass G RHA Kelowna
3 50 Kelowna Rockets Jacob Henderson D Yale Hockey Academy
3 52 Swift Current Broncos Daxon Yerex D RHA Winnipeg
3 53 Medicine Hat Tigers Koray Bozkaya D Yale Hockey Academy
3 57 Edmonton Oil Kings Cage Smith F RHA Kelowna
3 59 Portland Winterhawks Owen Chapman F NAX
3 62 Victoria Royals Cole Prelusky G Edge School
3 63 Prince George Cougars Patrick Sopiarz F OHA Edmonton
4 69 Victoria Royals Owen McCarthy D RHA Kelowna
4 70 Saskatoon Blades Nathan Guenther D NAX
4 73 Lethbridge Hurricanes William Scott D OHA
4 74 Swift Current Broncos Nathan Gray D Delta Hockey Academy
4 75 Red Deer Rebels Nickolas Kovich F Delta Hockey Academy
4 77 Calgary Hitmen Koy Funk F RHA Winnipeg
4 78 Regina Pats Zachary Lansard F RHA Winnipeg
4 81 Victoria Royals Harshaan Kaila F St. George’s School
4 82 Moose Jaw Warriors Tyson Schamehorn F OHA
4 84 Saskatoon Blades Matthew Dowdall F Yale Hockey Academy
4 86 Everett Silvertips Lukas Lima F Delta Hockey Academy
5 89 Seattle Thunderbirds ÌýTracen Ashley D Edge School
5 94 Brandon Wheat Kings Ryan Boyce F Edge School
5 95 Brandon Wheat Kings Knox Bendera F NAX
5 96 Regina Pats ÌýJett Deschamps D RHA Winnipeg
5 99 Calgary Hitmen Logan Lepinski D BWC Academy
5 100 Red Deer Rebels Peyton Shore G RHA Winnipeg
5 101 Tri-City Americans ÌýBrock Heidecker D RHA Kelowna
5 104 Victoria Royals Nolan Stewart F NAX
5 110 Winnipeg Ice Radislav Dimitrov D OHA Edmonton
6 113 Victoria Royals Kadyn O’Brien F OHA
6 114 Everett Silvertips Owen Cooper F Edge School
6 117 Vancouver Giants Kai Anderson F BWC Academy
6 119 Medicine Hat Tigers Brayden Ryan-Mackay F Yale Hockey Academy
6 127 Medicine Hat Tigers Riley Steen D OHA
6 130 Kamloops Blazers Ty Bonkowski F BWC Academy
6 131 Saskatoon Blades Benjamin Bowtell F RHA Kelowna
6 132 Winnipeg Ice Nathaniel Danielson F Delta Hockey Academy
7 135 Winnipeg Ice Nathan Barclay D Delta Hockey Academy
7 136 Kelowna Rockets Ben MacBeath D Yale Hockey Academy
7 137 Kamloops Blazers Noah Chadi D OHA Edmonton
7 142 Brandon Wheat Kings Maddox Gandha F RHA Kelowna
7 152 Kamloops Blazers Lucas Benn F St. George’s School
7 153 Seattle Thunderbirds Brendan Rudolph F Edge School
8 157 Victoria Royals William Ren D BWC Academy
8 166 Prince Albert Raiders Darius Hordal D NAX
8 167 Edmonton Oil Kings Seth Castronuovo F Yale Hockey Academy
8 169 Prince George Cougars Ryan Pedersen D Notre Dame
8 173 Regina Pats Maddox Malmquist F RHA Winnipeg
8 174 Kamloops Blazers Ryker Swanson F Yale Hockey Academy
9 181 Moose Jaw Warriors Benson Hirst D PMHA
9 183 Vancouver Giants Max Malinousky F Delta Hockey Academy
9 185 Medicine Hat Tigers Liam Chartrand F PMHA
9 194 Red Deer Rebels Nate Yellowaga D Edge School
9 197 Seattle Thunderbirds Keegan Bailey F OHA
10 214 Moose Jaw Warriors William Chabot D Notre Dame
10 216 Red Deer Rebels Nolan Schmidt F OHA Edmonton
10 218 Kamloops Blazers Theo Salikhov F RHA Kelowna
11 223 Victoria Royals Henry Liu D St. George’s School
11 228 Swift Current Broncos ÌýJayden Oleskiw F Yale Hockey Academy
11 233 Tri-City Americans Wyatt Kelman D RHA Winnipeg
11 238 Red Deer Rebels Saul Astill D NAX
12 250 Swift Current Broncos ÌýJoshua Shaganya D RHA Winnipeg
12 258 Moose Jaw Warriors Dylan Deets D Edge School