Tigers sign 15-year-old undrafted Edmonton prospect out os U.S. league

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on June 24, 2025.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

The Medicine Hat Tigers put pen to paper with a forward prospect Monday afternoon.

The Tigers announced the signing of 2009-born forward Jaxson Craig of Edmonton. The 15-year-old has spent that past three seasons playing in the United States with the Dallas Stars Elite Hockey Club. Craig was undrafted into the WHL, listed by the Tigers last summer.

Last season, with the U16AAA Stars, he had 16 goals and 33 points in 58 games.

“Jaxson is a competitive two-way forward with strong offensive instincts. He drives the net, thrives in small areas and shows poise under pressure,” Tigers director of player personnel Bobby Fox said in a release.

Oil Kings, Rockets bolster rosters with Monday trades

The WHL trade market heated up Monday afternoon with a pair of trades across the league.

The Edmonton Oil Kings acquired forward Max Curran from the Tri-City Americans in exchange for four draft picks. Edmonton sent the Ams a first-round, 37th overall pick in the 2025 CHL Import Draft, a first-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2027 WHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2029 WHL Draft.

The Colorado Avalanche prospect put up 22 goals and 74 points in 65 games in 2024-25, leading Tri-City in points and assists, while tying for third on the team in goals.

The 18-year-old Curran was the recipient of the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy as the 2024-25 WHL scholastic player of the year.

This is the first CHL Import draft where teams from the WHL, OHL and QMJHL can trade picks ahead of the July 2 draft, a rule change utilized by the Kelowna Rockets.

The 2026 Memorial Cup hosts continued their efforts to build a host-quality roster, acquiring the first overall pick for the 2025 CHL Import Draft from the Moose Jaw Warriors. In exchange, they sent Moose Jaw a second-round pick in the Import Draft (71st overall) and two WHL Draft picks, a first-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

With the trade, Kelowna will have three picks for the draft, also a new rule change this season with teams able to roster three import players, up one from previous years. They hold the first, seventh and 132nd overall picks.

The Rockets, who finished the 2024-25 WHL season third last in the league with a 18-44-4-2 record, signed goaltender Harrison Boettiger. The 17-year-old was acquired by Kelowna in January from the Lethbridge Hurricanes as part of the Caden Price trade, which also brought in defenceman William Sharpe and multiple draft picks.

The fourth overall pick in the 2022 WHL U.S. Draft spent the 2024-25 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program, suiting up for both the U17 and U18 national squads. In 24 games with the U18 team, Boettiger had a 3.61 goals-against average and .884 save percentage.

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