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Image - Courtesy of the Brandon Wheat Kings
The Western Hockey League announced today the lotteries to determine the order of the first six selections in the first rounds of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft and 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will be held Wednesday, March 29.
The WHL Prospects Draft Lottery will involve the six non-playoff Clubs – Edmonton, Spokane, Victoria, Prince Albert, Brandon and Swift Current – from the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season. A Club may only move up a maximum of two positions in the WHL Prospects Draft.
The WHL Prospects Draft Lottery will use a total of 21 balls, the allotment of which is as follows:
Edmonton – Six balls (pick traded to Prince Albert)
Spokane – Five balls
Victoria – Four balls
Prince Albert – Three balls
Brandon – Two balls
Swift Current – One ball (pick traded to Vancouver)
The lottery applies to the first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. For each round following, WHL Clubs shall draft based on the inverse order of final standings from the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season.
The results of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery will be available at WHL.ca and across WHL social media channels.
The Wheat Kings have had success in previous Drafts when they missed the playoffs. The Wheat Kings have drafted a total of 8 players in the past 22 years of the draft inside the top 6.
2021: The Wheat Kings selected D Charlie Elick & F Roger McQueen 3rd and 4th overall respectively with picks they acquired from the Victoria Royals and Moose Jaw Warriors.
2019: They drafted F Nate Danielson 5th overall and F Tyson Zimmer 6th overall. The Nate Danielson pick was originally the Kelowna Rockets 5th overall selection.
2014: Manitoba native F Stelio Mattheos went 1st overall.
2013: Manitoba native F Nolan Patrick went 4th overall with Kale Clague going 6th overall.
2000: Winkler, Manitoba native F Eric Fehr went 5th overall.
For the first time ever, the order of selection for the first six selections in the first round of the WHL U.S. Priority Draft will be determined by a lottery involving the six non-playoff Clubs – Edmonton, Spokane, Victoria, Prince Albert, Brandon and Swift Current. Each non-playoff Club will receive one (1) ball in the lottery. The remaining positions in the first round will be determined by inverse order of final standings from the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season. All selections in the second round will be made in inverse order of the final standings from the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season.
The 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will be held Wednesday, May 10 and the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft will be held Thursday, May 11. Players eligible for the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft are 2008-born players who reside in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, 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 Prospects Draft will remain eligible to be listed by WHL Clubs at any time thereafter. Players eligible for the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft are 2008-born players who reside in Alaska, 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 the following day in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.
(Article courtesy of the Brandon Wheat Kings https://wheatkings.com/ )
