{"id":653133,"date":"2026-05-07T05:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/653133\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T05:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:58:08","slug":"3-surrey-players-picked-in-1st-round-of-whl-prospects-draft-of-23-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/653133\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Surrey players picked in 1st round of WHL prospects draft of 23"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Western Hockey League completed the first round of its 2026 Prospects Draft on Wednesday evening, May 6.<\/p>\n<p>With the first-overall pick, Kelowna Rockets selected forward Madden Daneault, currently playing for Red Deer U15 AAA Rebels.<\/p>\n<p>Three players who list Surrey as hometown were picked in the first round including right-winger Parker McMillan (#2), defenceman Eli Vickers (#3) and Nathan Roberts (#23).<\/p>\n<p>McMillan, currently with Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep, went to Wenatchee Wild, who traded up to acquire the high-scoring winger. In the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL), he piled up 41 goals and 50 assists over just 25 regular-season games, then cranked out 10 more points in three games during the league\u2019s Western Championships in Penticton.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cParker just has that blend of size and competitiveness and hockey sense and physical abilities that, for us, was an absolute no-brainer,\u201d said Leigh Mendelson, Wenatchee Wild director of scouting, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oursportscentral.com\/services\/releases\/wenatchee-wild-make-pair-of-selections-in-first-round-of-2026-whl-prospects-draft\/n-6358341\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">a post on oursportscentral.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Having acquired the third-overall pick, Vancouver Giants added Vickers, now with Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep. A smooth-skating defenceman, Vickers led all U15 prep blueliners with 62 points in 30 games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst and foremost, Eli Vickers is a real fine young man,\u201d raved Giants head scout Terry Bonner. \u201cHe does everything really, really well. He wants the puck. He makes plays\u2026and he\u2019s second to none in his work ethic for the game. His awareness is really good. He angles, contains and finishes checks really well [and has] good gap control. He just plays hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At #23, Swift Current Broncos chose Roberts, who also plays defence for Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep.<\/p>\n<p>Of the 23 players selected in the draft, there were 16 forwards, six defencemen and one goaltender chosen. Of those, eight hailed from British Columbia, seven came from Alberta, five from Saskatchewan, two from Texas, one from Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>Players eligible for the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft are 2011-born players who reside in Alberta, British Columbia, 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.<\/p>\n<p>Players not selected in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft will remain eligible to be listed by WHL Clubs at any time thereafter.<\/p>\n<p>The second round of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft happens Thursday, May 7. Full results are posted on <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/draft\/whl\/2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">chl.ca\/whl\/draft\/whl\/2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>2026 WHL Prospects Draft \u2013 First Round:<\/p>\n<p>#1 \u2013 Kelowna Rockets (from Lethbridge)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Madden Daneault Position: Centre Hometown: Red Deer, Alta.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Red Deer U15 AAA Rebels<\/p>\n<p>#2 \u2013 Wenatchee Wild<\/p>\n<p>Name: Parker McMillan Position: Right Wing Hometown: Surrey, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#3 \u2013 Vancouver Giants (from Swift Current)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Eli Vickers Position: Defence Hometown: Surrey, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#4 \u2013 Vancouver Giants<\/p>\n<p>Name: Brayden Jugnauth Position: Centre Hometown: Kelowna, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Okanagan Rockets U18 AAA<\/p>\n<p>#5 \u2013 Wenatchee Wild (from Moose Jaw)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Jevin Morrison Position: Defence Hometown: Sylvan Lake, Alta.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Red Deer U15 AAA Rebels<\/p>\n<p>#6 \u2013 Tri-City Americans<\/p>\n<p>Name: Kenzo Gibson Position: Centre Hometown: North Vancouver, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Team: BWC Academy U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#7 \u2013 Seattle Thunderbirds (from Victoria)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Wyatt Jolleys Position: Centre Hometown: Calgary, Alta.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Calgary CBHA U15 AAA Bisons<\/p>\n<p>#8 \u2013 Kamloops Blazers (from Red Deer)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Micah Montgomery Position: Centre Hometown: Edmonton, Alta.<\/p>\n<p>Team: OHA Edmonton U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#9 \u2013 Regina Pats<\/p>\n<p>Name: Fletcher MacDonald Position: Goaltender Hometown: Edmonton, Alta.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Edmonton CAC U15 AAA<\/p>\n<p>#10 \u2013 Portland Winterhawks<\/p>\n<p>Name: Cullen Stephenson Position: Right Wing Hometown: Warman, Sask.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Warman Wildcats U15 AA<\/p>\n<p>#11 \u2013 Seattle Thunderbirds<\/p>\n<p>Name: Jax Bubnick Position: Defence Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Saskatoon Generals U15 AA<\/p>\n<p>#12 \u2013 Spokane Chiefs<\/p>\n<p>Name: Brody Antignani Position: Right Wing Hometown: Calgary, Alta.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Edge School U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#13 \u2013 Everett Silvertips (from Kamloops)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Wyatt Bitz Position: Defence Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Saskatoon Outlaws U15 AA<\/p>\n<p>#14 \u2013 Lethbridge Hurricanes (from Saskatoon)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Artello Forestal Position: Centre Hometown: Edmonton, Alta.<\/p>\n<p>Team: OHA Edmonton U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#15 \u2013 Saskatoon Blades (from Brandon)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Teagan Dernisky Position: Centre Hometown: Delta, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#16 \u2013 Spokane Chiefs (from Calgary)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Jack Arnold Position: Right Wing Hometown: North Richland Hills, Texas<\/p>\n<p>Team: Dallas Stars Elite 14U<\/p>\n<p>#17 \u2013 Red Deer Rebels (from Kelowna)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Danny Ramazanov Position: Left Wing Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Northern Albert Xtreme U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#18 \u2013 Brandon Wheat Kings (from Prince George)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Rylan Edwards Position: Centre Hometown: Regina, Sask.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#19 \u2013 Tri-City Americans (from Edmonton)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Ethan Zhang Position: Centre Hometown: Plano, Texas<\/p>\n<p>Team: Dallas Stars Elite 14U<\/p>\n<p>#20 \u2013 Penticton Vees<\/p>\n<p>Name: Liam Bordt Position: Right Wing Hometown: Langley, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#21 \u2013 Medicine Hat Tigers<\/p>\n<p>Name: Max Osgood Position: Centre Hometown: Plymouth, Mich.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Detroit Little Caesars 14U<\/p>\n<p>#22 \u2013 Swift Current Broncos (from Prince Albert)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Jacson Bradbeer Position: Defence Hometown: Maple Ridge, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/p>\n<p>#23 \u2013 Swift Current Broncos (from Everett)<\/p>\n<p>Name: Nathan Roberts Position: Defence Hometown: Surrey, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Team: Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Western Hockey League completed the first round of its 2026 Prospects Draft on Wednesday evening, May 6.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-653133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}