The 2024 CHL Import Draft completed yesterday, bringing new talent as well as some noteworthy storylines. Here's a de-briefing of what happened at the 2024 CHL Import Draft, and what may be to come?

Major Storylines

Matvei Gridin

Amidst the rumours of de-committing from the University of Michigan, Russian right winger Matvei Gridin was selected with the first overall pick in the CHL import draft by the Val-d'Or Foreurs. 

As mentioned in our draft preview article, Gridin was interested in going to the CHL previously and was still deciding between college and major juniors. Furthermore, the lack of promotion from Michigan's socials of Gridin's selection in the first round of the 2024 NHL entry draft by the Calgary Flames, despite posting frequently about fellow commit Michael Hage's selection added fuel to the fire. 

His de-commitment from Michigan was confirmed by The Hockey News' Connor Earegood, who broke that Gridin's grades made him academically ineligible to play for Michigan. 

While the CHL was likely part of Gridin's plans, Val-d'Or wasn't, according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic His sources led him to believe that Gridin's camp was hoping to fall to the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, who sat at third overall.  Wheeler seems to believe that Val-d'Or will look to trade Gridin's rights to Rimouski once CHL training camps open. That said, Le Soleil's Mikael Lalancette is hearing that Rimouski may not end up as the landing spot, and RDS' Stephane Leroux is going so far as to name Shawinigan as the likely landing spot. All in all, this should make for an exciting off-season.

It's entirely possible that should a deal fall through, Gridin could remain with Muskegon where he led the entire USHL in scoring last year with 83 (38+45) points over 63 games.

Mikus Vecvenags

At the NHL draft, Martin Lapointe -- the Montreal Canadiens' director of player personnel and amateur scouting mentioned that the Latvian goaltender they selected in the fifth round, Mikus Vecvenags, willl report to Blainville next season. 

As it would turn out, that might not be the case as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan would select him 19th in the import draft -- just four spots ahead of Blainville. Bathurst has a notoriously 'gung-ho' approach to the import draft, having a tendency to swoop in and take players rumoured to report to the QMJHL with other teams. Last year they took Juraj Pekarcik with the second overall selection in the draft, who ended up going to the USHL over Bathurst despite being ineligible for NCAA.

Vecvenags would likely fill the hole in net that was left by departing import Antoine Keller after signing in Switzerland.

While it's possible that Blainville could swing a trade for him, they would likely have to throw in a sweetener

Notable Reaches

A vast number of the players drafted by teams early on in the import drafts tend to already have agreements in place that they will come over. There are some exceptions of course, notably listed above. Regardless, in the later rounds teams will tend to take swings on guys with dynamic potential or ability who may not come over but if they do, they would dominate.

The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada took a swing on Finnish defender Sebastian Soini with their second pick. Soini, 18, is coming off of playing 38 games of pro hockey in Finland split between the top league, Liiga, and the second league, Mestis. Soini, who was taken by the Minnesota Wild in the 5th round this year, is contracted with Ilves in Liiga next year. So, it is very unlikely he will make the move to the QMJHL. However, the Wild have a tendency of wanting their prospects to come over to North America so if they feel like he could benefit from the move to the CHL, we may very well see him on the ice in Blainville.

Soini isn't the only notable Wild pick that was a second round reach as the Moncton Wildcats took Finnish defenseman Aron Kiviharju. Kiviharju was long considered the best, or among the best prospects in the 2024 NHL draft class since he was a pre-teen. Now, because of injuries and a smaller frame, Kiviharju fell all the way to Minnesota's lap in the fourth round. The 18-year old was a fixture of Finland's U-18 team for the last three seasons, with 17 points over 16 games at that tournament. Kiviharju only played 7 regular season games last season due to injury with two points across them in the top Finnish men's league. Much like Soini, Kiviharju is contracted in Liiga next year with HIFK. Although again, if he feels as though he may not get the minutes he wishes or if the Wild thinks he could use the boost in confidence and adjustment to the North American game, Kiviharju would be a sight to see in Moncton. 

Transfers

The draft didn't just see new players enter the CHL, but also the movement of players who already played in the organizations three feeder leagues.

The Memorial Cup hosting Rimouski Océanic drafted Czech re-entry candidate Pavel Simek who spent the last two seasons with the Saint John Sea Dogs, scoring 38 points last season as a 19-year old. The Sea Dogs announced ahead of the draft that the and the club were parting ways -- so as his selection was a bit of a surprise, it was known he was available as a re-entry candidate.

The same cannot be said for German blueliner Norwin Panocha. The Sabres prospect was believed to be a lock for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens roster next season, already showing up on the team's 2024-25 EliteProspects page. That said, by the time of the draft the Sags must've changed their mind as he would end up getting re-drafted, this time by Prince Albert of the WHL. That being said, it would make sense to assume that Peteris Bulans -- the Saguenéens' other import at season's end -- to return to Chicoutimi.

Draft Results

Round 1

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Round 2

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