Tigers hold two picks in CHL Import Draft

By JAMES TUBB on July 2, 2024.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The CHL’s Import Draft is on Wednesday and the Medicine Hat Tigers will be on the clock twice.

Medicine Hat has the 47th and 107th picks in Wednesday’s draft, which gets underway at 9 a.m. This year’s draft marks the return of Russian and Belarusian players eligible for selection. They will be able to play in the CHL as long as they are granted the necessary visa they require to enter and play hockey in North America.

It’s the second year in a row the Tigers will make two selections in the CHL’s draft, selecting Latvian defenceman Bruno Petrovics 27th and Czechia forward Vasyl Spilka 87th last season.

Spilka was the only 2023 Import Draft selection to play for the Tigers, as they held onto 20-year-old Latvian defenceman Bogdans Hodass. Petrovics did not make the team out of training camp, playing 19 games for the South Alberta Hockey Academy in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.

Spilka suited up in 46 games for the Tigers, notching seven goals and 16 points. He played in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Red Deer Rebels before an injury finished his season. The 18-year-old missed multiple stretches throughout the year due to injury, with his arrival to the club delayed by injury as well.

Tigers head coach and general manger Willie Desjardins says Spilka will not return next season. He says they’ll try to find two players who fill the roles they have open.

“There’s lots of competition out for guys, it’s not easy to get good players,” Desjardins said. “We’ll miss Hodass for sure, he was a real good player for us. But we have to find guys to replace them and that’s what we need to do.”

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