The lack of a National Hockey League draft to help sort things out certainly doesn’t help, and combined with myriad question marks as to whether there will even be a season in the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things get even more difficult when it comes to players making the journey to North America.
Regardless, the three leagues will go about their business on June 30, and the Moose Jaw Warriors will have a solid chance at landing a top player.
The Warriors will select sixth overall, their highest since choosing fifth overall in 2009 and landing Czech forward Antonin Honejsek.
Their pick won’t be the highest from the WHL, though – the Swift Current Broncos carried the worst record in the league last season at 10-48-2-3, and as a result have the third-overall selection. The Tri-City Americans (17-40-4-2) round out the WHL teams with top 10 picks, as they’ll chose ninth overall.
The OHL’s North Bay Centennials (17-41-4-0) hold the first overall pick, the 2018 Memorial Cup champion Acadia-Bathurst Titan (12-40-8-4) carried the worst record in the QMJHL and will pick second.
Ten teams, including the 2019-20 WHL Scotty Munro Trophy-winning Portland Winterhawks and the Everett Silvertips, have opted not to make a pick in the 2020 Import Draft, as their selections the past two seasons continue to play on their respective teams.
A further 42 teams – including the Moose Jaw Warriors, who have high scoring forward Martin Lang from the Czech Republic on their roster – will only pick once.
All told, 68 players from outside North America will be selected.
Be sure to click here for a complete rundown of picks for the Import Draft, and check out the drop-down menu for year-by-year pick results.
