Medicine Hat Tigers picks set for CHL Import Draft, sign first-round WHL Prospects Draft pick Osgood

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The Tigers have traded for a second-round pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft. (Image Credit: Medicine Hat Tigers)

The Tigers also have picks listed in round two at 120 and round three at 181, but can have just three import players during the 2026-27 season.

The CHL has updated rules to allow teams to select a 20-year-old import player in any round.

Import players who are 16 years old may also be selected, but only in the first round.

The CHL said in a statement that teams will be able to carry only one 16-year-old import player per season. That player can not be traded or replaced by another 16-year-old during the same season. If a club releases that player during the season, the team will be limited to two import players for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.

2026 selections were eligible to be traded until Monday.

Since the first CHL Import Draft was held in 1992, over 2,310 players from outside of Canada and the United States have been selected at this annual event.

In the 2025 CHL Import Draft, the Tigers selected forward Yaroslav Bryzgalov with the 60th overall pick.

The 2007-born Belarusian had a strong campaign in his first year in the WHL, compiling 55 points in 64 regular-season games with 13 goals and 43 assists. He also shone in the playoffs with 14 points in 15 games, including two goals and 12 assists.

Bryzgalov was rewarded for his efforts on Saturday as a fourth-round, 97th overall pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

He had committed to play NCAA Division I hockey at Merrimack College for 2026-27, but there is still a chance that he will return to the Tigers instead next season.

The Tigers’ 2024 Import Draft picks, Finnish defencemen Veeti Vaisanen and Niilopekka Muhonen, are both expected to move on to new opportunities. The 2006-born players are both signed to pro contracts.

Vaisanen has signed with JYP in Finland’s Liiga, and Muhonen is signed with the NHL’s Dallas Stars and is likely to play with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

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Max Osgood has signed with the Medicine Hat Tigers. (Image Credit: Medicine Hat Tigers)

Osgood signs with Tigers

The Tigers also signed their first-round pick from the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.

The 2011-born forward Max Osgood was selected 21st overall by the Tigers in early May.

From Plymouth, Mich., Osgood had 43 points in 20 games, with 15 goals and 28 assists, competing for the Little Caesars 14U AAA team in 2025-26, which concluded with a league championship.

“Osgood is a smart, agile forward with quickness and slippery skill. He’s hard on pucks, possesses strong vision, and reads the ice well. A detail-oriented player who competes at both ends of the rink,” Tigers Assistant General Manager Bobby Fox said in a statement from the team.

“We are really excited with this signing and see Max as a key piece to our team moving forward.”

Tigers General Manager and Head Coach Willie Desjardins also offered his assessment on Max.

“Max is an elite two-way player that we expect to be a big part of our future,” Desjardins said in a statement from the team.

“The Osgood name is a special name in Tigers history, and we are really excited to have Max sign with us.”

Max is the son of former Tigers and National Hockey League netminder Chris Osgood.

Chris coached Max during the 2025-26 season and last played in the NHL in 2010-11 with the Detroit Red Wings. He is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Chris also played in the Medicine Hat Minor Hockey system before playing parts of three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers between 1989 and 1992.

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat Tigers picks set for CHL Import Draft, sign first-round WHL Prospects Draft pick Osgood

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