2026 CHL Import Draft

[StormWatcher]

You hope it is. Regina took Pradel last year after the kid indicated he was interested in coming and then he stayed where he was and is now off to Colorado College, so it isn't foolproof.

Not foolproof by any means, but you have to shoot your shot if you're Guelph given the Mem Cup, they're being aggressive in the offseason so they can start the season with a contender and only tweak at the deadline. At the rate they're going, there will be little desirable players left at the January deadline for other teams. I think they benefit greatly for hosting in a year that the NCAA has robbed the CHL of older players.

 

[Krammeh]

How likely is it that either Juho Piiparinen or Malte Gustafsson are candidates to come over, given they both struggled in limited icetime + healthy scratches at the LIIGA/SHL levels (Juho on a deep LIIGA championship roster and Malte on a team struggling against relegation). I don't know a lick about the actual import process, but I would love to know if there are comparables in recent years

 

[galixon97]

It's only "pre-set" by agents to a certain extent. As soon as one team's player gets taken before their pick, they often end up taking someone else guy and it's just a domino effect from there.

Team's have been stealing other teams players a lot more in recent years in general too

 

[Bra Wavers]

It's great that these picks can get traded to add an extra wrinkle to this draft

 

[StingUpdates]

I commented this in Sarnia's thread, but I guess it can go here. Here are some euros expected to go in the middle rounds of the NHL draft next week that could be on teams radar for the import draft.

No idea their commitments & what not.

Adam Andersson - 6'4" C from Sweden. Ranked as a late 2nd, early 3rd rounder. Known as a big, physical 2way C who's a good playmaker with great vision. As of now EP says he's slated to play for a U20 team in Sweden. Maybe he'd prefer CHL?

Lavr Gashilov - 6'2" C/W from Russia. Known as an elite playmaker. Divided opinions on him as his skating is a weak point, but some have him ranked 2nd round, others 3-4. Played 3 KHL games, but apparently the org he's in is very stingy for letting kids play. Maybe his NHL team prefers CHL?

Linus Loob Trygg - 6'1" RW from Norway. Not committed for anywhere next year. Athletic says "Loob Trygg has been a highly productive junior player in Sweden for the last two seasons. Loob Trygg is more of a pass-first player with good vision.

Matvei Kotkov - 5'11" Russian winger. Playing in the MHL. Athletic says ' He's a winger who can beat defenders wide and often takes pucks to the net. He has good playmaking skills and has been a highly productive junior."

Alan Shaikhlislamov - 6'1" Russian winger. Athletic says - "Shaikhlislamov is a fast winger whose game is full of tempo. He’s able to create offense in a direct style in how he takes pucks wide past defenders with speed. He’s also a creative playmaker with the instincts to generate off the perimeter."

Malcom Gastrin - 6'0" winger from Sweden. Labeled as - 'A cerebral play connector who utilizes elite anticipation and smart checking to build a versatile middle-si
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