CSSHL Alumni Break Records at 2021 NHL Entry Draft

It was a historic weekend for Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) alumni as a record 23 former student-athletes were selected at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, surpassing the previous record of 21 set last year.

Among the 23 alumni selected, 5 were picked in the first round, also a CSSHL record. 13 CSSHL alumni had previously been selected in the first round, with 4 of those coming in 2019. The CSSHL has now seen 81 alumni selected in the NHL Entry Draft since 2012.

The Columbus Blue Jackets used all three of their first-round picks on players with CSSHL ties selecting Kent Johnson (BWC Academy) fifth overall, Cole Sillinger (Okanagan Hockey Academy) 12^th, and Corson Ceulemans (OHA Edmonton) 25^th.

At fifth overall Johnson, became the second highest ever CSSHL alumni NHL Draft pick, tied with Ottawa Senators 2020 first rounder Jake Sanderson. Yale Hockey Academy alum Bowen Byram holds the honour of the highest ever CSSHL selection after the Colorado Avalanche drafted him fourth overall in 2019.

2018 Western Hockey League (WHL) first overall pick Dylan Guenther was selected ninth overall by the Arizona Coyotes, the seventh ever CSSHL alumni selected inside the Top 10. 2018 WHL second overall pick Carson Lambos rounded out the first round, going 26^th overall to the Minnesota Wild.

The Wild were the first team to ever selected a player with CSSHL roots when they drafted Matt Dumba seventh overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

With a total of 223 players picked, CSSHL alumni made up more than 10% of the players drafted. 89 Canadian born players were selected with one in four of those players having played in the CSSHL.

Six NHL teams; Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota, and the Ottawa Senators, selected multiple former CSSHL student-athletes. Overall, 15 NHL teams selected CSSHL alumni.

10 different CSSHL teams saw a former player selected in this year’s draft: BWC Academy, Delta Hockey Academy, Northern Alberta Xtreme (NAX), Notre Dame Hounds, Okanagan Hockey Academy (OHA), OHA Edmonton, Prairie Hockey Academy (PHA), RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna (RHA Kelowna), RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg (RHA Winnipeg), and Yale Hockey Academy.

This was the first time in program history Prairie Hockey Academy has had a player selected in the NHL Draft. Prairie joined the CSSHL in 2018/19.

Congratulations to the following players selected in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft: