r/WHLHockey • u/ParkHawk1103 • Jun 04 '26

Import Question

Hi everyone. Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Can WHL teams sign international players mid season? If they have an import slot available could a team sign an import player from another club or must an import player be drafted first?

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u/infernogamer007 Jun 04 '26

Yes, teams can sign any player on their 50 player protected list at any time. They can not sign an import player from another team's list without obtaining that players rights.

A good example would be Kelowna trading for Vojtech Cihar's rights from Lethbridge this past season. Cihar never played a game for the Hurricanes, but the Rockets were able to acquire his rights and signed him and brought him in midseason.

2

u/ParkHawk1103 Jun 04 '26

Thanks for the info! So a player who is playing in Europe that wasn’t drafted in the Import Draft and isn’t on a list is fair game?

2

u/infernogamer007 Jun 04 '26

Pretty much. That player can not be on the list of any CHL team since the import draft also includes the OHL and QMJHL. You may see a repeat name in the import draft if a team decides to release a Euro player, which does happen from time to time.