2025 WHL Draft Lottery results to be unveiled Thursday on Victory+
Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League announced today details for the 2025 WHL Draft Lotteries, to be conducted Thursday, April 10.
The results of the 2025 WHL Draft Lotteries will be unveiled Thursday, April 10 at 6 p.m. MT, streaming free on Victory+.
2025 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery
The 2025 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery will involve the six non-playoff Clubs – Red Deer, Wenatchee, Kamloops, Kelowna, Regina, and Moose Jaw – from the 2024-25 WHL Regular Season. A Club may only move up a maximum of two positions in the WHL Prospects Draft.
The Penticton Vees have been awarded the fourth-overall pick in the first round of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. Should the fifth- or sixth-place team win the lottery and move up two spots, Penticton will select fifth overall.
The WHL Prospects Draft Lottery will use a total of 21 balls, the allotment of which is as follows:
- Edmonton (via Moose Jaw) – Six balls
- Regina – Five balls
- Kelowna – Four balls
- Everett (via Kamloops) – Three balls
- Vancouver (via Wenatchee) – Two balls
- Red Deer – One ball
The lottery applies to the first round of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.
Starting with the second round, Penticton will receive the first pick. All other WHL Clubs shall draft based on the inverse order of the final standings from the 2024-25 WHL Regular Season.
2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft Lottery
The 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft Lottery will be executed in two stages.
The first stage of the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection of the six non-playoff Clubs – Red Deer, Wenatchee, Kamloops, Kelowna, Regina, and Moose Jaw – and the eight teams that are eliminated during the first round of the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien. The six non-playoff teams and eight teams that lost in the first round of the playoffs will each receive one ball in the lottery. The first ball drawn will determine the 15th-overall pick and the final ball drawn will represent the first-overall pick in the first round of the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft.
The Penticton Vees have been awarded the fourth-overall pick in the first round of the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft.
The second stage of the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection of the eight teams that win their first-round series of the 2025 WHL Playoffs. Each of the eight advancing Clubs will receive one ball in the lottery. The first ball drawn will determine the 23rd-overall pick and the final ball drawn will represent the 16th-overall pick in the first round.
The Penticton Vees will receive the fourth pick in the second round of the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft. The order of selection for the remaining teams in the second round of the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will be conducted in inverse order of the first round.
2025 WHL Drafts
The first round of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft will be held Wednesday, May 7 at 5 p.m. MT. The 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will be held Thursday, May 8 at 9 a.m. MT, with the remainder of the WHL Prospects Draft to follow.
Since 2000, numerous impactful players have heard their names called with the first-overall pick in the WHL Prospects Draft, including but not limited to Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips, 2024), Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert Raiders, 2023), Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers, 2022), Berkly Catton (Spokane Chiefs, 2021), Connor Bedard (Regina Pats, 2020), Matthew Savoie (Winnipeg ICE, 2019), Dylan Guenther (Edmonton Oil Kings, 2018), Kaiden Guhle (Prince Albert Raiders, 2017), Peyton Krebs (Kootenay ICE, 2016), Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds, 2012), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer Rebels, 2008), and Braydon Coburn (Portland Winterhawks, 2000).
Players eligible for the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft are 2010-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.
Players not selected in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft will remain eligible to be listed by WHL Clubs at any time thereafter.
The WHL U.S. Priority Draft began in 2020, with Florida Panthers prospect Gracyn Sawchyn selected first overall by the Red Deer Rebels. Since then, a number of impactful players have heard their names called in the WHL U.S. Priority Draft, including Alex Weiermair (Portland Winterhawks, 2020), Blake Fiddler (Edmonton Oil Kings, 2022), Lukas Sawchyn (Seattle Thunderbirds, 2022), Brandon Gorzynski (Calgary Hitmen, 2022), Jackson Gillespie (Kelowna Rockets, 2022), Brody Gillespie (Spokane Chiefs, 2023), Kalder Varga (Kelowna Rockets, 2023), and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll (Medicine Hat Tigers, 2023).
Players eligible for the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft are 2010-born players who have resided in the United States for two or more consecutive hockey seasons immediately preceding the WHL U.S. Priority Draft. Should a player’s family have moved from WHL territory in Canada to the U.S. for at least one complete season, the player will be eligible for the WHL U.S. Priority Draft. To be eligible for the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft, a player must reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming.
Players not selected in the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft will remain eligible to be selected in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, beginning in the second round.
For complete coverage of the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien and the 2025 WHL Drafts, please visit WHL.ca.
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alta. The WHL offers a world-class player experience featuring three key cornerstones: hockey development, education, and a safe and positive environment for all participants. A diverse and inclusive organization, the WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 16 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for close to 60 years. The WHL is also a leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.