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By Scott Roblin

Top pick

Tigers win WHL Draft Lottery, will select first overall in May

Apr 21, 2022 | 2:28 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – For just the third time in franchise history, the Medicine Hat Tigers will hold the first overall pick in the WHL Prospects Draft.

The Tigers saw the lottery balls fall their way on Thursday, winning the 2022 WHL Draft Lottery after one of the most trying seasons in franchise history.

Medicine Hat finished last in the WHL with an 11-53-3-1 record, marking their fewest wins and fewest points (26) in a season going back over five decades.

Due to finishing last in the league however, the Tigers were afforded the best odds of winning the lottery at roughly 28.5 percent and saw one of their six balls selected on Thursday afternoon.

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It marks the first time that Medicine Hat has held the number one overall selection since the team selected Jay Bouwmeester and Ryan Hollweg in back-to-back drafts in 1998 and 1999.

Of the 2007-born draft class, the prospect receiving the most attention this season has been forward Gavin McKenna out of Kelowna’s Rink Hockey Academy program.

McKenna, who turned 14 years old back in December, led the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s U18 Prep division in scoring with 65 points in 35 games despite being significantly younger than most of his competition.

Along with the first overall pick, the Tigers also hold a second first round selection acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds in December’s Lukas Svejkovsky trade.

The Tigers will be first on the clock when the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft gets underway on May 19.