Well sports fans, the CCHL entry draft is done and what a wild ride it was. With the CCHL draft being held a few weeks before the NHL draft, teams did not have the luxury of seeing who was drafted in the NHL. This certainly creates a lot of uncertainty but also some excitement. Once the NHL draft is held, we could see some of the players drafted early in our CCHL draft end up being later round picks in the NHL, or vice versa, we could see some late round CCHL picks turn out to be early NHL draft gems! Of course, there is also the possibility that a player drafted in the CCHL will not be drafted in the NHL, which is a bummer, but we have seen this before.
With that background, Iceland set out to create their own draft list, scouring many draft sites and doing their own homework to come up with our draft list. As the draft unfolded, the expected early round picks went off the board, like Macklin Celebrini, Ivan Demidov, Tij Iginla, etc. As Iceland stepped up to the podium with the 12th pick, a pick they acquired in the dispersal draft, the best player available was dynamic offensive dman, Zayne Parekh. While Iceland did not have a strong need at D, Parekh was too good to pass up.
With subsequent picks, Iceland acquired some additional high-end dmen in Leo Sahlin Wallenius (from the land of the Wisborg Donuts) and Aron Kiviharju. Kiviharju was a bigger "swing for the fences" type of pick but if he continues to develop, could be a dynamic offensive dman in the NHL.
Iceland also acquired some talent and size up front, with Nikita Artamonov, Maxim Masse, Christian Humphreys, Jack Berglund and Topias Hynninen. Artamonov is particularly exciting with his skill. Humphreys came from the US National Development team and could be another "swing for the fences" type of pick. He is talended but a bit on the smaller side. Given the trend in the NHL to have exciting, smaller players, his size should not be a limiting factor.
Iceland also added to their goalie depth, drafting Eemil Vinni, the #1 ranked international goalie, from Finland, and Victor Ostman, also from the land of the Donuts.
The two most celebrated picks of the day were Ryder Korczak, who is a Rangers prospect, and Daniil Ustinkov, who is a nominee for the best name in the draft. He's no Ivan Ivan, but still pretty darn good!
With the depth of draft picks, Iceland also made a few trades, trading Justin Poirier to Amos for Simon Zether and Harrison Brunicke. Then, Iceland made a trade with Fort Erie, sending their last 3 picks for Fort Erie's 4th round pick in 2026.
All in all, Iceland drafted/acquired 5 dmen, 7 forwards and 2 goalies. That is a successful draft that should help keep the prospect pipeline in Iceland filled with shiny, new prospects!
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