NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll carries the puck up ice in the first period of a 6-0 win at Co-op Place over the Regina Pats on March 10. Gordon-Carroll was selected ninth overall by the Tigers in the 2023 U.S. Priority Draft. The WHL announced Wednesday the U.S. Draft will be amalgamated with the Prospects Draft ahead of the Draft Lottery tonight.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
In an ever-changing junior hockey landscape, the Western Hockey League has made a change to its drafts.
The league announced Wednesday the WHL Prospects Draft will feature players born in the United States, with players from 20 States eligible to be chosen.
Those players were previously primarily selected in the U.S. Priority Draft. The U.S. Draft, introduced in 2020, will no longer be held and the WHL will only hold the Prospects Draft.
The first round of the 2026 WHL Draft will be held May 6, with the remainder of all draft rounds to be held May 7.
Previously, U.S.-born players unselected in the U.S. Draft were eligible to be selected in the Prospects Draft. Now, players from the six Western Canadian provinces and the 20 States will be available in the same draft and, if unselected, eligible to be listed.
Medicine Hat Tigers assistant general manager Bobby Fox liked the U.S. Draft and he says they, and all WHL teams, will have to adjust their draft strategies moving forward.
“With the U.S. draft, I was focused on getting the best player possible and we’ll let our program do the talking, we’ll do our best to recruit that player,” Fox said. “Now with U.S.-born players mixed in Canadians, there’s just a lot of good players everywhere.
“You have to put guys where, in the long run you have to protect your franchise and make sure you’re able to draft appropriate prospects who are going to be in your lineup, probably as soon as possible.”
Fox says U.S.-born players have plenty of options, one being the USHL, whose teams also develop well. He says teams will have to do a lot more homework, gauging players’ interest in the Western League.
“That’s the battle every Western Hockey League team is going to have to face with the draft, they’re going to have to make decisions best for their program,” Fox said. “Where do you pick those guys? So every team is going to have a different philosophy going in and we’re going to have a plan as well.”
The Tigers have two players on their roster who were selected in the 2023 U.S. Draft, forwards Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll (ninth overall) and Noah Davidson (31st overall). They also signed 2024 16th overall pick Owen Hayes in May 2025.
Since the NCAA rule change that has allowed Jr. hockey players to play Div. I hockey, more U.S.-born players have joined the WHL and CHL ranks.
The Tigers replenished their championship roster in the offseason with a flurry of U.S. signings, seeing three U.S.-born players on their roster, forwards Kade Stengrim and Gavin Kor and goaltender Carter Casey, all who put pen to paper after the announced NCAA rule change.
They signed a total of seven U.S. players in the offseason, including defenceman Kyle Heger who was traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for Luke Cozens in January. The other signings were Jaxson Craig and 2025 second-round pick Luke Warrener.
Fox says they’ve been working throughout the year in preparation for the 2026 offseason.
“We have protected-list guys, both Canadian and American, and there’s players who can step into our lineup next year and help us,” Fox said. “That’s been a constant focus of the whole staff. We’ve had numerous meetings with prospects and we’re going to make sure we can fill any hole that may pop up and be ready to compete at the highest level.”
Lottery Draft tonight
The draft order for the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft will be decided tonight with the annual Draft Lottery.
The lottery, which applies to the first round of the Draft, will involve the seven non-playoff clubs, Lethbridge, Swift Current, Vancouver, Wenatchee, Moose Jaw, Tri-City and Victoria. Only three of those clubs hold their draft pick.
The Kelowna Rockets have Lethbridge’s first-round pick from the Caden Price trade last season and will see seven balls in the lottery draft. The Wenatchee Wild have Swift Current’s pick, from the 2024 Conor Geekie trade, and have six balls in the lottery.
Vancouver holds their own pick (five balls) and Wenatchee’s (2023 Zach Ostapchuk trade, four balls). The Victoria Royals have Moose Jaw’s first-round pick from the 2024 Kalem Parker/Brayden Schuurman trade, and have three balls in the lottery.
The Tri-City Americans (two balls) and Royals (one ball) hold their own pick.
A club may only move up a maximum of two positions in the WHL Draft. The Draft Lottery will be streamed on Victory+ starting at 7 p.m.
