The W-H-L’s Prospects Draft started off as expected Thursday morning with Everett choosing defenceman Landon Dupont with the first overall pick.

The 15-year-old Calgarian is expected to suit up next season with the Silvertips after being granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada. With the second and fourth overall selections, the Prince Albert Raiders chose defenceman Brock Cripps from Victoria and centre Ben Harvey from Edmonton, respectively. The first Saskatchewan product taken was Lanigan native and centre Kayden Stroeder by Edmonton fifth overall. The first of 10 Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association players taken was centre Cash Arcand-Vandale of the Saskatoon Bandits with the 30th overall pick in the second round by Red Deer. As for the Saskatoon Blades, they started the day not having a pick in the first five rounds, but a trio of trades netted them two selections in the third round and another in the fourth. The Blue and Gold chose centre Jagger John of Fort McMurray with the 61st overall pick from Kamloops, defenceman Julian Revel of Burnaby, B-C, with the 66th overall selection from Medicine Hat, via Kelowna and right winger Cohen Lewko of Sanford, Manitoba, with the 77th pick from Vancouver, via Victoria. In all, the Blades made 11 picks in the draft. Following are news releases from the W-H-L and Saskatoon…..

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE COMPLETES FIRST ROUND OF 2024 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2024

Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League completed first round of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft online today.

With the first-overall pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, the Everett Silvertips used the selection to take Exceptional Status defenceman Landon DuPont (Calgary, Alta. / Edge School U18 Prep).

With the second-overall pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, the Prince Albert Raiders selected Victoria product Brock Cripps, a defenceman from St. George’s School U15 Prep.

Choosing third overall in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, the Tri-City Americans selected defenceman Aden Bouchard (Airdrie, Alta. / Edge School U15 Prep).

Prince Albert wasn’t done after selecting Cripps second overall. The Raiders then traded up to acquire the fourth-overall selection from the Kelowna Rockets, using the pick to call the name of forward Ben Harvey (Edmonton, Alta. / Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep).

Of the 22 players selected, there were 15 forwards and seven defencemen chosen. Of those, nine came from Alberta, seven from Saskatchewan, four from Manitoba, and two came from British Columbia.

The top-three choices in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft were all defencemen.

A total of 10 players from Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) teams were selected in the first round, including an impressive five from the Edge School in Calgary – four from the U15 Prep program and one from the U18 Prep squad.

Players eligible for the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft were 2009-born players residing in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

CLICK HERE for a complete list of all players selected in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.

2024 WHL Prospects Draft Results – First Round

#1 – Everett Silvertips (from Kamloops)
Name: Landon DuPont Position: Defence Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
Team: Edge School U18 Prep Stats: 30GP – 19G-43A–62 points

#2 – Prince Albert Raiders (from Seattle)
Name: Brock Cripps Position: Defence Hometown: Victoria, B.C.
Team: St. George’s School U15 Prep Stats: 26GP – 25G-45A–70 points

#3 – Tri-City Americans
Name: Aden Bouchard Position: Defence Hometown: Airdrie, Alta.
Team: Edge School U15 Prep Stats: 27GP – 9G-27A–36 points

#4 – Prince Albert Raiders (from Regina)
Name: Ben Harvey Position: Forward Hometown: Edmonton, Alta.
Team: Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep Stats: 27GP – 19G-33A–52 points

#5 – Edmonton Oil Kings
Name: Kayden Stroeder Position: Forward Hometown: Lanigan, Sask.
Team: Humboldt Broncos U15 AA Stats: 27GP – 58G-69A–127 points

#6 – Calgary Hitmen
Name: Calder Hamilton Position: Defence Hometown: Martensville, Sask.
Team: Martensville Marauders U15 AA Stats: 28GP – 35G-51A–86 points

#7 – Spokane Chiefs
Name: Ossie McIntyre Position: Forward Hometown: St. Alberta, Alta.
Team: St. Albert Sabres U15 AAA Stats: 34GP – 55G-49A–104 points

#8 – Victoria Royals
Name: Jacob Schwartz Position: Forward Hometown: Vancouver, B.C.
Team: St. George’s School U15 Prep Stats: 26GP – 30G-26A–56 points

#9 – Kelowna Rockets (from Prince Albert)
Name: Owen Hayden Position: Defence Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
Team: Calgary NWCAA U15 AAA Flames Stats: 31GP – 1G-23A–24 points

#10 – Vancouver Giants
Name: Blake Chorney Position: Forward Hometown: Nipawin, Sask.
Team: Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep Stats: 24GP – 19G-23A–42 points

#11 – Seattle Thunderbirds (from Kelowna)
Name: Brock England Position: Forward Hometown: Airdrie, Alta.
Team: Edge School U15 Prep Stats: 24GP – 18G-22A–40 points

#12 – Wenatchee Wild
Name: Boston Tait Position: Defence Hometown: Estevan, Sask.
Team: Estevan Bruins U15 AA Stats: 24GP – 18G-22A–40 points

#13 – Lethbridge Hurricanes
Name: Tyden Lafournaise Position: Forward Hometown: Winnipeg, Man.
Team: Winnipeg Bruins U15 AAA Gold Stats: 32GP – 66G-60A–126 points

#14 – Brandon Wheat Kings
Name: Chase Surkan Position: Forward Hometown: Regina, Sask.
Team: Regina Pat Blues U15 AA Stats: 27GP – 73G-62A–135 points

#15 – Red Deer Rebels
Name: Graeme Pickering Position: Defence Hometown: St. Adolphe, Man.
Team: Rink Hockey Academy Winnipeg U5 Prep Stats: 27GP – 7G-29A–36 points

#16 – Medicine Hat Tigers
Name: Luke Ruptash Position: Forward Hometown: St. Albert, Alta.
Team: St. Albert U15 AAA Sabres Stats: 29GP – 28G-29A–57 points

#17– Swift Current Broncos
Name: Carter Moen Position: Forward Hometown: Swift Current, Sask.
Team: Swift Current Broncos U15 AA Stats: 25GP – 27G-20A–47 points

#18 – Victoria Royals (from Moose Jaw)
Name: Ludovic Perreault Position: Forward Hometown: Winnipeg, Man.
Team: Winnipeg Bruins U15 AAA Brown Stats: 32GP – 67G-25A–92 points

#19 – Everett Silvertips
Name: Mirco Dufour Position: Forward Hometown: Rocky View, Alta.
Team: Edge School U15 Prep Stats: 21GP – 21G-21A–42 points

#20 – Portland Winterhawks
Name: Jordin St. Louis Position: Forward Hometown: Airdrie, Alta.
Team: Edge School U15 Prep Stats: 27GP – 14G-27A–41 points

#21 – Prince George Cougars
Name: Dade Wotherspoon Position: Forward Hometown: Martensville, Sask.
Team: Martensville Marauders U15 AA Stats: 27GP – 53G-50A–103 points

#22 – Kamloops Blazers (from Saskatoon)
Name: Asher Gingras Position: Forward Hometown: Steinbach, Man.
Team: Eastman Selects U15 AAA Stats: 21GP – 30G-23A–53 points

May 9th: Blades, Blazers swap picks ahead of WHL Prospects Draft

Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades made their first deal during the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft by acquiring a 2024 third-round pick from the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick. The deal was made ahead of the third round of the draft.

May 9th: Blades swap picks with Rockets at 2024 WHL Prospects Draft

Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades acquired their second third-round pick of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday. The Blue and Gold traded for the Kelowna Rockets 61st overall pick (previously owned by the Medicine Hat Tigers) in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick (previously belonging to the Everett Silvertips) and a 2027 third-round pick (previously owned by the Spokane Chiefs). The deal was struck moments after the Blades acquired the Kamloops Blazers 2024 third-round pick.

May 9th: Blades acquire fourth-round pick from Royals at WHL Prospects Draft

Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades made their third trade of the day Thursday at the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. Saskatoon acquired a 2024 fourth-round pick (77th overall) from the Victoria Royals (originally belonging to the Vancouver Giants) in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick.

The deal came after the Blades picked up two third-round picks early in the draft. First was a pick-swap with the Kamloops Blazers, sending away a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick in exchange for the Blazers (originally Prince George Cougars) 66th overall pick this year. Saskatoon made another trade minutes later with the Kelowna Rockets for the 61st overall pick in this year’s draft in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick (Everett Silvertips) and a 2027 third-rounder (Spokane Chiefs).

Saskatoon went from zero picks in the first five rounds to selecting twice in the third and once in the fourth.

Third Round

· 61st (MH) – Jagger John (F)

· 66th (PG) – Julian Revel (D)

Fourth Round

· 77th (VAN) – Cohen Lewko (F)