Wenatchee Wild 2025 Draft + WHL Finals Preview

The Wenatchee Wild’s draft cupboard was bone dry when the team moved from Winnipeg in the summer of 2023. The Winnipeg Ice’s front office went into extreme win-now mode, hoping to land a WHL Championship in the 2022-23 season. The talent haul might have gotten them to the WHL finals, but they shot off both feet moving forward for many years to come.

Wenatchee General Manager, Bliss Littler, had to make the difficult but necessary decision to trade away some very high-caliber players to earn back some needed draft picks in the coming years. 

Let's boil it down to this scary fact.

If the Wild didn’t make the recent difficult trades, Wenatchee's first two draft picks would have come in the 5th and 10th rounds in this year's draft.

Wenatchee Wild’s 2025 WHL Prospects Draft - Round by Round

NOTE: Just like last year's WHL Prospects draft, the Wenatchee war room will get active. Wild general manager Bliss Littler’s cell phone will buzz tomorrow with GMs around the league pitching deals.

The Wild’s draft order could (and probably will) change on draft day.

Round 1 - 10th pick (obtained from Swift Current)

Round 2 - 10th pick (33rd overall, obtained from Swift Current)

Round 2 - 19th pick (42nd overall, obtained from Victoria)

Round 3 - 15th pick (61st overall, obtained from Brandon)

Round 3 - 22nd pick (68th overall, obtained from Medicine Hat)

Round 4 - No picks

Round 5 - 6th pick (98th overall)

Round 6 - No picks

Round 7 - No picks

Round 8 - No picks

Round 9 - No picks

Round 10 - 6th pick (213th overall)

Round 11 - 6th pick (236th overall)

Round 12 - 6th pick (259th overall)

How you can follow along with the WHL 20025 Prospects Draft

‘The first round of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft will take place on Wednesday, May 7th at 5pm Mountain (4pm Pacific) on Victory+, the WHL's new streaming platform.’ -Western Hockey League

More Wenatchee Wild Random Notes

The Wild have been busy signing a few scholarship & development agreements.

• 2007-born defenseman, Drew Smith, from the Arizona Jr. Coyotes development program.
• 2007-born defenseman Josh Toll, from Minnesota’s Rosemount High School Irish 
• 2008-born forward Mathias Silaba, Okanagan Hockey (Denver, Colorado)
• 2009-born goaltender Mark Djomo from the Dallas Stars Elite AAA program
• 2007-born defenseman Brandon Mickelson, from Moorhead High School (Minnesota)

The WHL Finals start this weekend.

The Western Hockey League Championship Series will feature the Spokane Chiefs and the Medicine Hat Tigers. 

Game 1 kicks off this Friday in Alberta at the sold-out Medicine Hat Co-Op Place. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. Pacific time. Canadians will watch on Sportsnet for free all over North America, including here in the States on the Victory Plus app.

The scorching hot Medicine Hat Tigers

Since New Year's Day, Medicine Hat has a 39-4-0-1 record (including 12-1 in the playoffs). Medicine Hat swept the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the recent WHL Eastern Conference finals.

Gavin McKenna has been on a tear.

The 17-year-old Medicine Hat left winger has created 35 points in 13 playoff games. In the first three rounds, the Whitehorse, Yukon native has scored eight goals and 27 assists. Gavin McKenna has scored a point in 53 straight outings. He is rumored to leave the WHL and play his 18-year-old season in NCAA hockey for the Michigan Wolverines. 

McKenna has had some help.

The Medicine Hat Tigers have also had some great production from 20-year-old overager Oasiz Wiesblatt, who has scored in every playoff game, compiling 14 goals and 12 assists. Goalie Harrison Meneghin (10-0) has not lost a playoff game this year.

Spokane Delivered with their first trip to the finals since 2008

Spokane advanced with a four-game sweep and outscored the Portland Winterhawks 30-18 in the Western Conference Final. The Chiefs enter the WHL final round, going 12-3 through three rounds of play.

The Chiefs' Roster Has Some Lethal Weapons

Spokane’s monstrous first line of Shea Van Olm, Andrew Cristall, and Berkly Catton has combined for 99 points during the postseason. 

Spokane is also getting valuable depth scoring from 16-year-old Mathis Preston, veteran forwards Chase Harrington and Sam Oremba, and Swedish import Rasmus Ekstrom and Kazakhstan import Assanali Sarkenov. Goaltender Dawson Cowan has been solid in 14 playoff appearances. Spokane’s balance of power and skill helped land Chief General Manager Matt Bardsley win the 2025 WHL Executive of the Year award.

Post regular season Requires Some scheduling juggling. 

This year's WHL finals will feature a 2-3-2 format. It will get interesting if the two teams need to progress beyond game four.  Arena availability will alter when we see a game five. 

Spokane will travel to Medicine Hat for the first two games, Friday and Sunday, in Co-Op Place. Games three and four in Spokane must be shoehorned on Tuesday and Wednesday. The players will have to endure playing three games in four nights. 

Why? 

If Game 5 is needed, it should probably be on Sunday, May 18, because Spokane Memorial Arena already has the Rocky Mountain Rodeo scheduled for Friday, May 16th, and Saturday, May 17th.��