WHL Players In NHL For The 2023-24 Season

Connor Bedard is the first overall pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The highly skillful ice hockey center was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Before he made his journey to the NHL, Connor Bedard WHL team was the Regina Pats. He played 3 seasons in the Western Hockey League.

Bedard won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the best rookie player in 2021. Moreover, he also got the WHL exceptional status in 2020.

In the following season in the league, the generational hockey talent became the youngest player ever to score 50 or more goals in a season.

Connor also won the Bob Clarke Trophy after topping the WHL scoring leaders 2022-23 chart. His 143 points became the most points in WHL during the season.

Bedard was also awarded the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as its most valuable player in the same season. Later, he earned the Canadian Hockey League's Top Scorer and Player of the Year honors.

Detroit Red Wings got Nate Danielson in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft with the 9th overall pick. He represented Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL.

In his first three seasons with the Wheat Kings in the WHL, Nate posted a record of 59 goals and 91 assists for 150 points in 145 games.

Danielson went on to become the team captain and led the team with 33 goals and 45 assists for 78 points during the 2022-23 season.

The ice hockey forward was selected to the WHL East Division's Second All-Star Team. He competed at the 2023 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Danielson has a great ability to move and carry the puck while skating at top speed. The fast skater can quickly generate speed using a long smooth stride and maintain a very strong edgework.

The 13th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Zach Benson played for Wenatchee Wild. The left winger was selected by the Buffalo Sabres.

Benson finished the WHL 2022–23 season recording 36 goals and 98 points in 60 games standing third, behind his fellow player Connor Bedard.

Growing up with Bedard has benefitted Benson really well. The two have experienced friendly competition and played in the same division during their course of WHL careers.

During his debut season with the Wild in the Western Hockey League, Zach scored 10/10 goals and assists for 20 points throughout 24 games.

Benson appeared in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2022. Moreover, he helped Canada to win gold notching two goals and five assists in five games.

He signed a 3-year entry-level contract with the Sabres on 18 July 2023. Zach has been included in the development camp roster of the Sabres.

Bryaden Yager was picked by the Penguins in the first round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He recently played for Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL. 

The Warriors drafted him in the 2020 Bantam Draft with the third overall pick. Yager made his major junior debut at the age of 15 without receiving the status of 'exceptional player'.

He made a record in the Warriors' franchise history for his 34 goals through 63 regular games by a 16-year-old during the 2021-22 season.

Yager was honored with the Canadian Hockey League's Rookie of the Year award for his exceptional play and became the first player of the Moose Jaw franchise to receive the award. He also clinched the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL's Rookie of the Year.

In his sophomore season in 2022-23, Bryaden was named an alternate captain of the team. He posted a career-high record with 78 points and 50 assists during the season. He was awarded the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy as WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player for the season.

Samuel Honzek represented the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the NHL 2023 Draft.

In 2022, the Slovak player came to North America to play in the WHL for the Vancouver Giants. In a total of 43 games played throughout the season, Honzek recorded 23 goals and 33 assists.

He was a finalist for the WHL's Rookie of the Year award. Prior to his WHL career, Samuel played for HK Dukla Trenčín of the Slovak Extraliga.

Throughout the 2021-22 season with the Dukla Trenčín, Honzek made a praiseworthy record of 10 goals and 4 assists, appearing in 49 games.

He has been part of the Slovakia team twice at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He participated in the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup as a member of the silver-winning Slovak team.

Honzek is a roster member of the Calgary Flames for the 2023-24 season. The franchise has signed him to an entry-level, three-year contract.

Tanner Molendyk was drafted in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft as the 24th overall by the Predators. He played for the Saskatoon Blades in WHL.

During the 2022–23 season, Molendyk appeared in 67 games for the Saskatoon Blades. The defenseman accumulated nine goals and 28 assists.

Tanner played in 18 playoff games and scored three goals and five assists in 18 games and helped the Blades reach the Eastern Conference finals.

The young star represented Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2022. He bagged one goal and three assists in five games to grab a gold medal.

The skilled skater possesses excellent agility and mobility. He is known for his strong transition with an accurate shot, which will come in handy.

Molendyk is signed with the Nashville Predators to a three-year, entry-level contract. The Predators franchise has selected him on the roster for the NHL 2023-24 season.

Power forward Nico Myatovic was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023 NHL Draft. Nico plays for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL.

During the WHL 2022-23 season, Myatovic had a record of 30 goals and 30 assists from a total of 68 games played. He clinched the coveted WHL championship title with the Thunderbirds.

He helped the Thunderbirds to advance to the Memorial Cup finals with his one goal and three assists in five games along the way.

In his debut season in the WHL in 2020-21, he scored 3 goals appearing in 12 games. The young player is the origin of British Columbia, Canada.

He started playing pro in the 2018-18 season with the Cariboo Cougars U17 AAA team of the British Columbia Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) U17.

Myatovic is selected in the Anaheim Ducks roster for the NHL 2023-24 season. He is desperately hoping to make a visible impact in the NHL.

Cristall spent the 2022-23 season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Kelowna Rockets. He led the team with 39 goals and 56 assists.

Throughout the season, his 1.76 points-per-game rate ranked fourth in the league, and his 39-56-95 record ranked sixth. He was selected as the Rockets' Most Valuable Player (MVP) and was named to the WHL B.C. Division First All-Star Team.

Left winger Andrew Cristall was picked in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft as the 40th overall pick by the Washington Capitals.

In the previous season, Andrew set a record in the Rockets franchise history for goals by a 16-year-old (28) and tied for points (69). In his career with the Kelowna, he posted a record of 69-100-169 with a total of 129 games played.

The native of Vancouver won a gold medal with Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He finished the tournament with a goal and five points.

Moreover, he was named an alternate captain of the team Canada at the 2023 Under-18 World Championship. Cristall registered 2 goals and 4 assists in 7 games to help Canada win the bronze.

The Red Deer Rebels player of the WHL, Kalan Lind was drafted by the Predators franchise in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Lind is signed to the team.

During the 2022-23 WHL season, he posted 16 goals and 28 assists across 43 games and aided the Rebels to reach the 2nd round of the playoffs.

At the conclusion of his WHL rookie campaign in 2021-22, his 20 goals ranked fourth, and 38 points ranked fifth on his team. He boasts 40 goals and 48 assists in his 119 career WHL contests, playing with the Red Deer.

Lind appeared in three seasons in the WHL with the Rockets, debuting in the 2020-21 season. He recorded 4 goals and 2 assists during his first season for 15 games.

Internationally, Lind won gold with Team Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The Predators have named the forward on the roster for the upcoming season of the NHL. Kalan participated in the franchise's 2023 development camp.

Talented goalie Carson Bjarnason currently plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2023 NHL Draft.

During his first season in 2021-22 with the Wheat Kings, he appeared in 23 games. He allowed only 76 goals with a total of 644 shots against.

In his next season, Bjarnason faced 1,405 shots throughout 47 games, 140 of which remained unsaved. With an excellent performance, he recorded a save percentage of impressive .900.

Bjarson started his professional playing career at Winnipeg AAA Hockey U15 with the Southwest Cougars U15 AAA. The goalie had a 3.19 goals against average and a .883 save percentage.

Carson represented Canada at the IIHF World U18 Championship in 2022-2023. He posted a record of 3.51 GAA and a .849 save percentage.

Just before the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Bjarnason was covered on the "NHL Draft Class" podcast among top goalie prospects.