CSSHL at the WHL Draft: 2016

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.