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2025 WHL Prospects Draft First-Round Recap

2025 WHL Prospects Draft First-Round Recap

Yahoo08-05-2025

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The first round of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft is now complete. 23 players heard their names called, including Maddox Schultz, who went first overall to the Regina Pats. Here is a look at which players were selected in the first round.
1st Overall:
Regina Pats: Maddox Schultz, Forward, Regina Pat Canadians U18 AAA
2nd Overall:
Edmonton Oil Kings: Holden Wouters, Defenceman, St. George's School U15 Prep
3rd Overall:
Regina Pats: Liam Pue, Forward, Langley Hockey Academy U18
4th Overall:
Penticton Vees: Thor Liffiton, Defenceman, Calgary Northstars U15 AAA
5th Overall:
Everett Silvertips: Reid Nicol, Forward, Brandon Wheat Kings U18 AAA
6th Overall:
Vancouver Giants: Louis-Oscar Holowaychuk, Forward, St. George's School U15 Prep
7th Overall:
Red Deer Rebels: Nolan Wolitski, Defenceman, Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep
8th Overall:
Edmonton Oil Kings: Christopher Kokkoris, Defenceman, Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep
9th Overall:
Tri-City Americans: Ben Oliverio, Forward, Calgary Northstars U15 AAA
10th Overall:
Wenatchee Wild: Kalen Miles, Forward, Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep
11th Overall:
Kamloops Blazers: Mateo Ferreira, Defenceman, Winnipeg Bruins U15 AAA
12th Overall:
Brandon Wheat Kings: Cruz Jim, Defenceman, Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep
13th Overall:
Vancouver Giants: Crosby Mateychuk, Defenceman, Eastman Selects U15 AAA
14th Overall:
Kamloops Blazers: Teagen Bouchard, Forward, Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep
15th Overall:
Saskatoon Blades: Kain Martinuik, Forward, Shattuck St. Mary's 14U AAA
16th Overall:
Prince Albert Raiders: Athens Shingoose, Forward, RINK HA Winnipeg U15 Prep
17th Overall:
Prince George Cougars: Cohen Baker, Forward, Burnaby Winter Club U15 Prep
18th Overall:
Moose Jaw Warriors: Kash Elke, Forward, Humboldt Broncos U15 AA
19th Overall:
Victoria Royals: Roan Greschuk, Defenceman, St. Albert Sabres U15 AAA
20th Overall:
Kelowna Rockets: Will Kelts, Defenceman, Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep
21st Overall:
Seattle Thunderbirds: Brook Haile, Defenceman, Calgary Northstars U15 AAA
22nd Overall:
Swift Current Broncos: Cohenn Rotar, Forward, Grande Peace Storm U15 AAA
23rd Overall:
Regina Pats: Logan Henry, Forward, Burnaby Winter Club U15 Prep
Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
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Red Bull told Verstappen to give the position back, in an effort to avoid a potential penalty — one that the stewards later determined 'we would take no further action in relation to that incident.' Verstappen didn't hide how he felt about the team's request, and approaching Turn 5 on a subsequent lap, he slowed down and appeared to be letting Russell by. The Mercedes driver got ahead and was braking at the entry of Turn 5 when Verstappen accelerated before the two collided at the apex. Found at fault, Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points, making it 11 in 12 months. The thing about F1 penalties is that precedents are set and held over the years. The regulations provide a guideline to help the stewards – appointed to be independent by the FIA – determine how to judge an incident and what penalties are available. But it's up to their discretion on exactly what to choose, which is where precedent comes into play. 'When I saw it, it was like, 'Yeah, 10 seconds it's all right because it wasn't right but it wasn't too bad,'' former Haas team boss turned F1 TV pundit Guenther Steiner recently told The Athletic. Steiner has plenty of experience with drivers under his watch in F1 getting involved in controversial incidents. Advertisement 'But then afterwards I thought about it, 'What have we done? We have set a precedent.' And that is my comment now. Would it not have been better to disqualify him so it doesn't happen again? In the end, Max would not have lost a lot more, one point, exactly. If you get disqualified, you wouldn't get the three penalty points. He got his penalty not for being disqualified. And in the future now, basically it is all right to do what he did.' There are also questions of whether the stewards are punishing the consequences of incidents, which will vary depending on the scenario, and if they are taking mitigating factors into consideration. 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In Verstappen's Jeddah incident – where again he was racing Piastri – the Red Bull driver did not have any penalty points added to his super license. This could be worth remembering if Verstappen gets involved in any contentious moves without contact at the upcoming races in Canada and Austria. He won't automatically be banned if he does. (Top image: Jure Makovec / AFP / Getty Images)

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