LANGLEY, B.C. – The BCHL has announced the two rosters for the league’s 2023 Top Prospects Game Friday, Jan. 20 at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, B.C.
40 of the BCHL’s top NHL draft-eligible players, split into two teams, will compete against each other for 60 minutes to determine a winner in front of fans, pro scouts and NCAA coaches.
The rosters consist of players already chosen for the 60th Anniversary All-Star Tournament, selections by NHL Central Scouting and players chosen by B.C.-based NHL scouts.
2002-born players are not included since they are no longer draft eligible, while players already drafted by NHL teams were not considered either.
In addition to the game, an on-ice combine will be held on Thursday night with off-ice testing scheduled for Friday morning.
The rosters are split between Team West and Team East.
Team West
| Pos. | Name | Team | NCAA School |
| G | Oliver Auyeung-Ashton | Victoria Grizzlies | – |
| G | Eli Pulver | Surrey Eagles | – |
| D | Aaron Brown | Cowichan Valley Capitals | Quinnipiac |
| D | Jason Gallucci | Coquitlam Express | Penn State |
| D | Ethan Mistry | Nanaimo Clippers | Brown |
| D | Hoyt Stanley* | Victoria Grizzlies | Cornell |
| D | Tate Taylor | Surrey Eagles | Clarkson |
| D | Jax Wismer | Alberni Valley Bulldogs | Connecticut |
| F | Coco Armstrong | Coquitlam Express | – |
| F | Raoul Boilard | Alberni Valley Bulldogs | Nebraska-Omaha |
| F | Jake Bongo | Surrey Eagles | Sacred Heart |
| F | Ethan Bono | Alberni Valley Bulldogs | Merrimack |
| F | Mirko Buttazzoni | Coquitlam Express | Clarkson |
| F | Kai Daniells | Nanaimo Clippers | – |
| F | Ryden Evers | Surrey Eagles | Nebraska-Omaha |
| F | Diego Johnson | Merritt Centennials | Wisconsin |
| F | Jackson Krill | Merritt Centennials | – |
| F | AJ Lacroix* | Chilliwack Chiefs | Michigan State |
| F | Vitaly Levyy | Langley Rivermen | Sacred Heart |
| F | Karter McNarland | Powell River Kings | Alaska-Anchorage |
Team East
| Pos. | Name | Team | NCAA School |
| G | Justin Katz | West Kelowna Warriors | Cornell |
| G | Carter Richardson* | Salmon Arm Silverbacks | – |
| D | Dylan Compton* | Vernon Vipers | Northeastern |
| D | David Hejduk | Wenatchee Wild | Harvard |
| D | Ryan Hopkins | Penticton Vees | Maine |
| D | Gabriel Guilbault | Penticton Vees | – |
| D | Lukas McCloskey | Wenatchee Wild | – |
| D | Brady Smith* | Trail Smoke Eaters | Connecticut |
| F | Owen Beckner* | Salmon Arm Silverbacks | Colorado |
| F | Donovan Frias* | Cranbrook Bucks | Yale |
| F | Jaxon Fuder | Cranbrook Bucks | – |
| F | Hiroki Gojsic | Penticton Vees | – |
| F | Nathan Mackie | Salmon Arm Silverbacks | Michigan State |
| F | Reagan Milburn | Vernon Vipers | Lake Superior |
| F | Jaiden Moriello | West Kelowna Warriors | UMass-Lowell |
| F | Bradly Nadeau* | Penticton Vees | Maine |
| F | Josh Nadeau | Penticton Vees | Maine |
| F | Luca Primerano | Prince George Spruce Kings | New Hampshire |
| F | Jack Silich | Cranbrook Bucks | Quinnipiac |
| F | Aydar Suniev* | Penticton Vees | Massachusetts |
*Players on NHL Central Scouting’s Players to Watch list from October.
Nanaimo Clippers head coach Colin Birkas will be behind the bench for Team West, while Penticton Vees head coach Fred Harbinson will man the Team East bench.
The head coaches were determined by which team is leading their conference standings.
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About the BCHL:
Sending more players on to Division I college hockey every season than any other hockey league in Canada, the BCHL has established itself as a national leader in the development of young student athletes. Considering approximately a third of today’s NHL is made up of NCAA alumni, the BCHL has become a breeding ground for some the sport’s most elite and successful players. In 2021-22 alone, there were 196 BCHL players who received scholarships to top schools in the U.S. and Canada, including 173 with NCAA Division I commitments. The BCHL is also a leader in player safety, with a full-time Department of Player Safety, the toughest rules on fighting in North American junior hockey, as well as a league-wide independent Safe Sport Officer and an individual Athlete Advocate assigned to all 18 teams.
The BCHL is: Modern Hockey.
