Chiefs forward Chase Harrington drafted 36th overall by Calgary; Tyus Sparks goes to Washington | NHL Draft
The Spokane Chiefs had two players selected on the second day of the 2026 NHL draft on Saturday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Winger Chase Harrington was taken with the fourth pick in the second round, 36th overall, by the Calgary Flames while center Tyus Sparks was selected with the fifth pick in the fourth round (101 overall) by the Washington Capitals.
Harrington, a 6-foot-1 winger from Prince George, British Columbia, recorded a career-high 28 goals and 57 points in 61 games during the 2025-26 WHL season. He led the Chiefs with 105 penalty minutes and has recorded 130 points and 173 PIMs in 194 career regular season games for Spokane. He was named the Chiefs co-player of the year last season.
Harrington was the top-rated U.S.-division player in the final predraft rankings, 26th among North American skaters. He was originally Spokane’s eighth-overall pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects draft.
“I bring grit, I bring physicality, I bring compete,” Harrington told WHL.com. “I can put pucks in the net. I’ll be a physical presence out there.”
Harrington thanked the Chiefs for helping him get to this point in his career.
“It’s a first-class organization,” he said. “I can’t say enough good things about Spokane. It’s a really pro-style. (Head coach) Brad Lauer coached in the NHL a long time. He’s got a lot of insight on what it takes to be a pro and how to get better in different areas of your game.”
Sparks, a 6-foot forward from Meridian, Idaho, joined the Chiefs in a midseason trade in January and led the team with 28 goals and 65 points. In 29 games with the Chiefs, Sparks scored 12 times and helped on 16 others.
He becomes the second-highest selected Idaho-born player in NHL draft history, just the fifth player born in the state to be drafted, and the first since former Chiefs player Bear Hughes (148th overall in 2020 by Washington).
“You’ve got to keep working and put the hours in that no one sees,” Sparks told WashingtonCaps.com. “There’s a thousand guys out there, and you’ve got to be the hungriest one.”
Sparks scored twice for Team West in the inaugural WHL Prospects game in Langley, British Columbia, earlier this year, the only player to score more than once in the showcase. He was originally selected eighth overall by Vancouver in the 2023 WHL U.S. Prospect draft. He finished 37th among North American skaters in the final NHL CSS rankings.
Sparks was obtained by the Chiefs in a trade with Vancouver in January for Mathis Preston, who was taken 50th overall by Anaheim.