2026 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery

The Vancouver Giants will hold the second and fourth overall selections in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.

The results of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery were unveiled Thursday evening on Victory+.

The Vancouver Giants won the draft lottery, moving from fourth to second overall with a pick originally belonging to the Wenatchee Wild. 

As a result, the Kelowna Rockets maintain the first overall selection (via Lethbridge) and the Wenatchee Wild are bumped down to third overall from second (via Swift Current). Vancouver’s own first-round pick shifts from third to fourth overall as a result of the lottery outcome.

The Giants have not selected this high in the WHL Prospects Draft since selecting Tyler Benson first overall in 2013. Last year, Vancouver selected Louis-Oscar Holowaychuk sixth overall and Crosby Mateychuk 13th overall.

This represents just the second time in franchise history the Vancouver Giants will select second overall. 

The only other time they selected second in the draft was in 2002, when they held the first and second overall picks, taking Gilbert Brulé first and Dan Bertram second. 

This will also be the first time since 2002 that the Giants will hold two picks in the top four overall.

The first round of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft will be held Wednesday, May 6, with live coverage streaming free on Victory+. 

The remainder of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft will be held Thursday, May 7.

2026 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT – FIRST ROUND ORDER OF SELECTION

The Kelowna Rockets (via Lethbridge), Wenatchee Wild (via Swift Current), and Vancouver Giants (via Wenatchee) had the opportunity to obtain the first-overall selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. 

The process for the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery was administered by Raymond Tran of KPMG.

The 2026 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery involved the seven non-playoff Clubs from the 2025-26 WHL Regular Season – Lethbridge, Swift Current, Vancouver, Wenatchee, Moose Jaw, Tri-City, and Victoria. 

A Club could only move up a maximum of two positions in the WHL Prospects Draft, with inverse order of standing from the 2025-26 WHL Regular Season determining the order of selection for the remainder of the first round.

2026 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT – SECOND ROUND (AND SUBSEQUENT) ORDER OF SELECTION

Players born in the United States will be eligible for the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. Previously, U.S. born players have been selected by WHL Clubs primarily through the WHL U.S. Priority Draft. The WHL will only host the WHL Prospects Draft in 2026.

Since 2000, numerous impactful players have heard their names called with the first-overall pick in the WHL Prospects Draft, including Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips, 2024), Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert Raiders, 2023), Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers, 2022), Berkly Catton (Spokane Chiefs, 2021), and Connor Bedard (Regina Pats, 2020).

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.

Players not selected in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft will remain eligible to be listed by WHL Clubs at any time thereafter.

For complete coverage of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft and the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, please visit WHL.ca.