Every year feels a little different, a little special, or a little wonky. This year established some very brazen changes with the cancelling of the US Draft and the changing in NCAA rules. It feels like the combination of those two things radically shifted how this draft unfolded and before we get into articles in particular breaking down the players and what teams are getting to add, it feels necessary to just notice trends and shifts in the landscape.
Here is a snapshot of a few things to consider:
– 206 players drafted total – Down from 271 and 283 years before
– 60 US players – Was a total of 66 last season with combo US and Reg draft
– 85 players from the CSSHL U15 Prep – 82 last season
– 44 BC – 54 AB – 33 SK – 15 MB
– Minnesota kids from 12 in 2024 to 34 in 2025 and 35 in 2026
Cancellation of the US Draft
As you can see, the number of players drafted from the US fell by 6 players total and I’d imagine this was because teams who might be forced to take a swing on players in the US Draft are now choosing their options differently when it comes to the combined draft. The rise in Minnesota kids’ drafted remained steady from last year too as teams are more willing to try and convince those players to make WHL an option before potential NCAA adventures. It feels like teams are investing in those MN views too as more often I hear of scouts making that region a priority.
There were five teams who drafted four players from the US:
– Calgary, Penticton, Prince Albert, Prince George, and Spokane
– Spokane had the highest percentage as 4 of their 7 picks were from the US
– Calgary was next with 4 of 8.
Moose Jaw was the only team to draft 0 players from the US. Four other teams only drafted one which was Brandon, Regina, Seattle, and Swift Current.
I think if there was an expectation, some of the prairie teams might lean to scoop up some players closer to home than try and convince players to come play in their markets.
The overall amount of kids drafted is down a huge amount. It means that each team most likely added one or three more players to their listed spots hoping to recruit, which left them having to stop drafting a round or two earlier than they may have in the past. The drop from 283 total two years ago to 206 is a massive number though.
From Province to Province
I think the ratio from BC, SK, and AB is at least closer to what we’ve seen in the past. Often some of the later round swings in the draft are Manitoba players and since the overall numbers are down, it makes the draft look a little worse from the province. In 2025, there were 39 players taken from Manitoba. There were 33 the year before and 38 the year before that. Having only 15 players taken from the province is definitely a lower number.
Saskatchewan is down a touch at 33 as they’ve had 35 and 45 in previous years. However, there were 8 SK kids drafted in the top 29. Five of those players didn’t attend the Sask First camps.
BC is down at 44 where they’ve been at 54 and 50 in years past.
Alberta took a big hit as well with having 94 players drafted two years ago, dropping to 75 last year, and now 54 this season.
First Round Expectations
At the top of the draft, we did see trades and players going in spots that made sense for them to go. The first eight players were all in our ranked top-13 available. While Brayden Jugnauth and Parker McMillan might end up being wingers in the future, I expect Parker will be moved back to C for next season potentially and Brayden could play C as well. It means that while teams were bypassing some wingers we had ranked potentially higher for players who can play up the middle.
This is common as bigger defenders and C are often prioritized because getting what you hope will be a minutes eater or a top line C potentially are the first checks that teams want to make. It is sometimes as simple as GMs/Owners asking “Who is the top C available? We want them.” Although, I haven’t heard any of the teams in this year’s draft put it as simply as that.
The wingers dominated the back half of the draft as Stephenson, Antignani, Forestal, Dernisky, Arnold, Ramazanov, Edwards, and Bordt went off the board. I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the players that had the highest variance from list to list. I’ve already heard of people surprised that Artello Forestal was available at 14.
There was also talk around if or when the first American might come off the board. In the past, teams have expressed that they do not want to waste a 1st round pick so picking someone who isn’t entirely committed seems foolish. In 2026, we saw the first player go at 16 to Spokane and others go to Tri-City and Medicine Hat. Each of these teams has had success recruiting Americans.
The goalie. The trend of taking goaltenders in the first round has been cooling off over the last number of years with the last taken in 2023 (Carter Esler). Esler has gone on to represent Team Canada multiple times with U16 through U18 posting excellent numbers in those appearances. You have to go back to 2018 to find the last first round tender taken in round one as Tyler Brennan went, and then Garin Bjorklund went in 2017. 2016 was the last time we saw a goalie in the top-10 as Taylor Gauthier went at 10th and there were five goalies taken in the top-25. Regina went against the trend in a huge way with new GM Dale Derkatch at the helm as they drafted Fletcher MacDonald 9th Overall.
Overall Thoughts
This draft gave many scouts fits. The uncertainty of how to approach it was widespread. Some scouts were excited. Others were quite nervous.
I know people came into this draft thinking that the biggest impact would be with the where, when, how, and why of the US players coming into effect. I had some scouts thinking teams might wait until later swings to target players while a majority figured it would come very heavily starting in round two. Yes, teams were more willing to draft US players but with the total numbers of players drafted dropping from 271 last year to 206 this year simply means that teams have less spots available in total. The rise of US players added to lists is real. The rise in percentage of US players drafted is certainly real too.
29% of players drafted in the 2026 WHL Draft were Americans. That is up from 24% last year with the US Draft included and 18% in the 2024 WHL Drafts.
What does this mean? It means more US players are being listed, more US players are open to coming, more US players are signing, and there is more competition for roster spots. I often talk about the WHL Draft and say that if you were drafted in rounds 6 or beyond then you have as equal a chance of playing in the WHL as a player that went undrafted. The margins just got even tighter now too.
If you were a player from Western Canada who was drafted later than you were expecting, just know there are many factors at play. It doesn’t change the fact that a spot will have to be earned. Play with the same joy and determination and things will unfold how they will. It also might end up changing how Junior A leagues approach the future too.
If you were a player from Western Canada and you’re surprised you weren’t drafted, just know that teams took almost three rounds less of players in this draft than they normally do. It doesn’t make the sting hurt any less but it is an explanation. I love hearing the stories of scouts who they wished they had drafted in rounds 7 and beyond. Each scout in that room has a list of 2-3 players who went undrafted that they wish they had another pick or two for. I’ve already heard it from multiple people around the league.
I think as the draft unfolds in years to come, I don’t expect the numbers to be as low as they were this year but you never know. Success in recruiting is arguably more important than success in drafting now, to an extent. Now that teams have filled up listed spots, I think they will certainly wish they had at least one or two more selections come draft day.