Swift Current and Saskatoon each select two of the top talents outside of North America in the draft each year.
MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — The Canadian Hockey League's Import Player Draft took place Wednesday morning, with major junior teams from around the country seeking top talent from outside North America.
Five Saskatchewan-based Western Hockey League teams selected a total of seven players from the two-round competition, with the Swift Current Broncos and Saskatoon Blades selecting two players each.
Below is a summary of each team's selections, listed in order of first place overall.
Regina Patz
Vaclav Nestrasil8th place overall in the first round
Prague, Czech Republic
Forward, 17 years old, 6'4″, 172 lbs.
2024-25 — HC Sporta Prague U17 — 34 GP 29-21-50 World U17 — 7 GP 4-1-5
“We are excited to have selected Nestrasil in this morning's CHL Import Draft. Vaclav is a talented young player with great size, excellent skill, hockey sense and touch who is projected to be a top NHL Draft prospect. We look forward to discussing opportunities with Vaclav, his family and his agent with the Patriots.”
— Alan Miller, general manager, Regina
* Nestrasil attended the University of Massachusetts and played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL at the end of last season.
Prince Albert Raiders
Norwin Panocha1st round, 26th overall
Bayreuth, Germany
Defenseman, 19 years old, 6'2″, 192 lbs.
2024-25 — QMJHL Chicoutimi — 52 games 0-15-15 World U20 — 5 games 1-0-1
“We think he's a guy who will come in and not only be a good competitor, but also help out our young defense and add some good depth to our team. We think it's going to be a very smooth transition for him to come here and we're very excited about it.”
— Curtis Hunt, Prince Albert general manager
* Panocha was selected by Chicoutimi of the QMJHL and played last season but was waived prior to the 2024 CHL Import Draft.
Swift Current Broncos
Adam Krall50th place overall in the first round
Havlik brod, Czech Republic
Defenseman, 18 years old, 6'2″, 181 lbs.
2024-25 — Bili Tigri Liberec U20 — 50 GP 6-13-19 World U18 — 5 GP 0-0-0
“Adam is a big, well-skating defender who has represented his country on the international stage and will fit in our top-four pairing and be a player who will log significant minutes for the team.”
— Chad Leslie, General Manager, Swift Current
William Morin110th place overall in the second round
Boden, Sweden
Forward, 17 years old, 6'1″, 170 lbs.
2024-25 — Luleå HF — 41 GP 14-14-28 World U17 — 6 GP 0-0-0
“William is a good player with a good physique and a strong attacking ability. At the moment his lack of fitness is an issue, but I feel he still has a lot of potential in his game.”
–Leslie
Moose Jaw Warriors
Dominik Pavlik53rd place overall in the first round
Trutnov, Czech Republic
Forward, 17 years old, 6'1″, 187 lbs.
2024-25 — Karpat Finland — 40 games 21-13-35 World U17 — 8 games 2-1-3
“We're getting a big center man who plays a competitive game, has skill, can shoot the ball well and is a good skater. He complements our 2007 team and is a good player for us to build our future here.”
— Jason Ripplinger, Moose Jaw general manager
Saskatoon Blades
Vlastimir Blazek60th place overall in the first round
Czech Republic
Forward, 16 years old, 5'9″, 152 lbs.
2024-25 — HC Energi Karlovy Vary — 44 games 40-39-76
“Vlasti is a skilled and explosive player born in late 2007, meaning he is still two years away from his NHL draft year. I met with him over Zoom and was very reminded of the energy and passion of Egor Sidorov when I first met him. He scored two points per game in the Czech U-17 league last year and has started playing internationally for the Czech Republic. He already speaks fluent English and is very outgoing, so I think he will be able to adapt quicker than other European players coming to North America.”
— Colin Priestner, Saskatoon general manager
David Lewandowski120th place overall in the second round
Germany
Forward, 17 years old, 6'1″, 172 lbs.
2024-25 — Düsseldorf EG — 35 appearances, 16-37-53 World U18 Hlinka — 5 appearances, 2-5-7
“We believe David is perhaps the best German import draft prospect of the past two years. We felt he was Germany's best player at the Hlinka tournament last summer as an underage player and his potential is good enough to be a high pick in next June's NHL Draft.”
— Priestner
* Lewandowski is committed to start the 2024-25 season in Germany's elite league, but Saskatoon hopes he will join the Blades at some point.
