NHL teams know full well that they have relatively little time to assess any prospects they draft out of the Canadian Hockey League.
In most cases, teams have four or five years to decide whether to sign any NCAA-bound players they draft. The timeline is usually around the same for players picked out of Sweden or Finland; for most Russian prospects, teams typically hold their rights in perpetuity.
The CHL is made up of three separate leagues: the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Teams hold the rights to any players they take out of one of these leagues for just two years. That’s it.
But there’s a catch. In most cases, those players are eligible to re-enter the draft if their original clubs don’t sign them. This has happened many, many times before.
Jarret Stoll is one example. The Calgary Flames initially selected him in the second round of the 2000 NHL Draft, but after going unsigned by the team, he became eligible to be picked again in 2002. The Edmonton Oilers did just that, picking him 10 spots ahead of where Calgary originally did — and the Flames ended up returning the favor with Matthew Lombardi that same year.
Both Stoll and Lombardi went on to have strong NHL careers. Other re-entry players, like Conner Bleackley in 2016, never make it to the show. Either way, it can be a worthwhile risk for teams to look at older junior players who are further along in their development, even if they were previously deemed unworthy of being signed.
Here are five players out of the Western Hockey League who are eligible to re-enter the draft this year if they don’t come to terms on contracts with their respective NHL clubs before June 1.
Brandon Lisowsky, LW (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Lisowsky was a seventh-round pick of the Leafs back in 2022 who has made gradual improvements over the last two seasons. The 5’9″ winger been a remarkably consistent goal-scorer for a strong Saskatoon Blades team, following up his 38 goals in 65 games in 2022–23 with 38 goals in 65 games this year (while also serving as an alternate captain). Although his overall production with the Blades certainly hasn’t been overwhelming for a guy of his stature, it was a bit surprising that Lisowsky fell all the way to No. 218 overall to begin with and it’d be worth seeing whether his finishing ability can translate to the AHL level. At worst, he’d be quality organizational depth for any team.
Reid Dyck, G (Boston Bruins)
Stature certainly isn’t an issue for Dyck, who comes in at 6’4″ and 194 pounds for the Swift Current Broncos. The Winkler, Manitoba product has played a pretty significant role in the Broncos’ second-half surge up the WHL standings, posting a sparkling 16-3-1 record in his last 20 games. On the 2023–24 season as a whole, Dyck has a 24-7-2 record with a .911 save percentage and two shutouts. Conor Geekie (AZ) deserves a lot of the credit for Swift Current’s recent success, but Dyck has done an admirable job in a league not typically dominated by its goaltenders. That .911 save percentage ranks fifth in the entire WHL this year. The Bruins originally selected Dyck in the sixth round (No. 183 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Graham Sward, D (Colorado Avalanche)
Sward played for the final iteration of the storied but short-lived Winnipeg Ice WHL club before following the franchise to Wenatchee, WA as a result of its summer relocation. The 20-year-old left-handed defender is in the midst of a superb season with the Wenatchee Wild, picking up a lot of the offensive slack — particularly in the wake of the team trading Geekie and Matt Savoie (BUF) to recoup some much-needed assets. The 2022 fifth-round pick (No. 146 overall) ranks second to Luca Cagnoni (SJ) among all WHL defenders this season with 79 points in 63 games. He leads the Wild with 64 assists and ranks sixth on the team with 15 goals. It’s definitely worth checking out whether the 6’3″ Sward can quarterback a power play at the next level.
Connor Hvidston, RW (Anaheim Ducks)
Hvidston is a strong two-way forward who appeared in seven AHL games with the San Diego Gulls just last season. He’s also very young, having only made the cutoff for the 2022 NHL Draft by four days. The Ducks selected Hvidston in the fifth round (No. 139 overall) that year and he’s been an integral part of both special-teams units for the Swift Current Broncos ever since. Over the last two seasons, Hvidston has 19 power-play goals, four shorthanded goals, and nine game-winning goals. He’s not the most prolific scorer — the likes of Geekie, Josh Filmon (NJ), and Clarke Caswell (2024) outshine him in Speedy Creek — but he’s a reliable player who plays a pro-tailored game.
Mats Lindgren, D (Buffalo Sabres)
Nobody on this list was drafted higher than Lindgren, who went to the Sabres in the fourth round (No. 106 overall) in 2022. His father, also named Mats Lindgren, was a big center who scored 54 goals and 128 points in 387 NHL games with the Oilers, Islanders, and Canucks during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The younger Lindgren is an average-sized left-handed defender who has put up solid offensive numbers while logging big minutes since being drafted for a so-so Red Deer Rebels team. He leads all Rebels defenders with 39 points in 60 games this season and serves as one of the team’s alternate captains. In his draft year, Lindgren was regarded by some analysts — including TSN’s Bob McKenzie — as a potential second-round pick. While his game may not have taken off in the years since, Lindgren could garner legitimate consideration from NHL clubs as a re-entry in this year’s draft — or as a free agent.
More must-reads: