The 2016 WHL Draft saw 42 Canadian Sport School Hockey League student athletes selected, including five in the first round.
The Yale Hockey Academy saw three student athletes off the board first as Josh Williams went fifth overall to the Medicine Hat Tigers, Rhett Rhinehart was selected 13th overall by the Prince Albert Raiders and Jackson Van de Leest was the 16th overall selection, going to the Calgary Hitmen.
Shawnigan Lake School’s Jacson Alexander went 17th overall to the Swift Current Broncos, while the steal of the draft was Dylan Cozens of the Delta Hockey Academy going 19th overall to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Cozens has gone on to dominate the WHL, with 223 points (95-128-223) in 179 career regular season games. The Whitehorse, YT product was selected seventh overall by the Buffalo Sabres at the 2019 NHL Draft and was a star for Team Canada at the 2020 World Juniors where he won the gold medal after posting nine points (2-7-9) in seven games.
Tyus Gent made it two consecutive drafts that a student athlete from the CSSHL’s U15 Division was selected, as he went 88th overall to the Victoria Royals.
All six CSSHL teams had at least three student athletes selected, while all but one WHL team made at least one selection from the CSSHL, with the Vancouver Giants leading the way with five picks. The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Tri-City Americans each took four student athletes from the CSSHL.
|
ROUND |
OVERALL |
TEAM |
STUDENT ATHLETE |
CSSHL PROGRAM |
|
1 |
5 |
Medicine Hat Tigers | Josh Williams | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
1 |
13 |
Prince Albert Raiders | Rhett Rhinehart | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
1 |
16 |
Calgary Hitmen | Jackson van de Leest | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
1 |
17 |
Swift Current Broncos | Jacson Alexander | Shawnigan Lake School |
|
1 |
19 |
Lethbridge Hurricanes | Dylan Cozens | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
2 |
29 |
Tri-City Americans | Mitchell Brown | Okanagan Hockey Academy |
|
2 |
31 |
Vancouver Giants | Harrison Blaisdell | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
2 |
36 |
Vancouver Giants | Lukas Svejkovsky | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
2 |
43 |
Brandon Wheat Kings | Ben McCartney | Okanagan Hockey Academy |
|
3 |
52 |
Lethbridge Hurricanes | Kirby Proctor | Pursuit of Excellence |
|
3 |
61 |
Swift Current Broncos | Connor Horning | Pursuit of Excellence |
|
3 |
62 |
Seattle Thunderbirds | Alex Swetlikoff | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
3 |
63 |
Medicine Hat Tigers | Jalen Price | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
3 |
64 |
Kelowna Rockets | Roman Basran | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
3 |
65 |
Moose Jaw Warriors | Austin Herron | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
4 |
70 |
Kootenay Ice | Kabore Dunn | Shawnigan Lake School |
|
4 |
71 |
Swift Current Broncos | Nolan Corrado | Pursuit of Excellence |
|
4 |
77 |
Regina Pats | Kjell Kjemhus | Pursuit of Excellence |
|
4 |
80 |
Edmonton Oil Kings | Boston Bilous | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
4 |
88 |
Victoria Royals | Tyus Gent | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
5 |
95 |
Tri-City Americans | Kash Rasmussen | Edge School |
|
5 |
98 |
Prince George Cougars | Keegan Craik | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
5 |
99 |
Lethbridge Hurricanes | Alex Cotton | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
6 |
113 |
Vancouver Giants | Aidan Barfoot | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
6 |
115 |
Vancouver Giants | Max Bulawka | Pursuit of Excellence |
|
7 |
137 |
Edmonton Oil Kings | Jaden Senkoe | Okanagan Hockey Academy |
|
7 |
138 |
Medicine Hat Tigers | Corson Hopwo | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
7 |
147 |
Saskatoon Blades | Nicholas Kent | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
8 |
155 |
Kootenay Ice | Cody Shepheard | Shawnigan Lake School |
|
8 |
156 |
Vancouver Giants | Lukas Konashuk | Okanagan Hockey Academy |
|
8 |
160 |
Spokane Chiefs | Ethan Leyh | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
8 |
161 |
Tri-City Americans | Connor Bouchard | Okanagan Hockey Academy |
|
8 |
165 |
Regina Pats | Logan Nijhoff | Okanagan Hockey Academy |
|
8 |
169 |
Kamloops Blazers | Blake Wood | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
8 |
173 |
Lethbridge Hurricanes | Carter Wickson | Pursuit of Excellence |
|
9 |
181 |
Edmonton Oil Kings | Ben Wozney | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
9 |
183 |
Tri-City Americans | Zach Okabe | Edge School |
|
9 |
192 |
Calgary Hitmen | Alex Rolfe | Yale Hockey Academy |
|
10 |
208 |
Prince George Cougars | Francis La Loue | Delta Hockey Academy |
|
10 |
216 |
Seattle Thunderbirds | Cole Schwebius | Okanagan Hockey Academy |
|
10 |
219 |
Brandon Wheat Kings | Timber Lewis | Okanagan Hockey Academy |
|
11 |
229 |
Portland Winterhawks | Holden Kodak | Yale Hockey Academy |