Spokane Chiefs select five players on second day of WHL prospects draft | WHL hockey
The Spokane Chiefs entered day two of the Western Hockey League prospect draft for 2011-born players on the clock with the first pick of the second round and selected defenseman Braydon Lynam from Sherwood Park, Alberta 24th overall.
Lynam (6-foot, 190 pounds) played for OHA Edmonton U15 Prep this season and scored 6 goals with 35 assists and 48 penalty minutes in 30 regular season games. He was rated the No. 26 prospect entering the draft by EliteProspects.com and is described as “well-rounded, tall, and physically developed.”
In the fourth round, the Chiefs added defenseman Matthew Tranby, out of Blaine, Minnesota (81st overall), then Chiefs traded up to 84th overall to select fellow Minnesotan Owen Moulton.
Tranby is a 6-foot-3 left-handed shooting defenseman who played with the Minnesota Green Giants 14U, while Moulton is a 5-10 right-shooting center/right wing who scored 41 goals with 77 assists and 78 penalty minutes for Shattuck-St. Mary’s 14U.
Both players were ranked in the top three American players available in the draft by EliteProspects.com.
“Our draft philosophy is to be aggressive, and when an opportunity arises to make a move to select a player we are passionate about, we will pursue it,” Chiefs director of player personnel George Ross said. “To be able to draft an elite player like Owen was a rare opportunity that we could not pass up, and we are very excited how it worked out.”
The Chiefs selected forward center Donovan Klin 119th overall (Eden Prairie, Minnesota) and traded the 129th overall pick to Penticton for a future fourth round selection in 2030.
Spokane’s final pick was goaltender Jordan Bigelow (Burnaby, B.C.) at 173rd overall out of BWC Academy U15 Prep.
In total, the Chiefs made seven picks in the draft, including three from Minnesota, one from Texas, two from Alberta, and one from British Columbia.
Players selected in this year’s WHL Draft are first eligible to join the Chiefs as full-time players during the 2027-28 season and can play up to 10 games as affiliate players in 2026-27.
“I could not be prouder of our scouting staff for the work they put in this season,” said Ross.
“The amount of time they spend watching games and away from their families is integral for us to bring talented hockey players and first-class people into our organization. And we feel we were able to do that this week with the group of players we selected.”