Another Western Hockey League Bantam Draft has come and gone, and once again, Minnesota prospects have figured prominently in several franchise futures. 

First, a little background.

The Western Hockey League is a Canadian Tier I junior league played in western Canada with franchises based in Washington and Oregon. American players drafted by Canadian junior leagues, namely, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, must come from specific territories.

These territories are made up of regionally appropriate sets of American states. The WHL pulls players from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

The WHL, along with the OHL and QMJHL make up the Canadian Hockey League. These leagues are viewed as the primary pipeline of talent to the NHL.  

33 WHL players were selected in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, making up 38 percent of CHL players drafted last summer. According to the WHL website, a total of 2,101 WHL players have been selected by the NHL since 1967, including 327 first-rounders.

This year, the players drafted are from the 2006 age group. 

On Wednesday, six Minnesota products saw their name emerge on the league's draft tracker, headlined by sixth overall pick John Whipple. Whipple, who has Deephaven listed as his hometown, is a defender for the Shattuck-St. Mary's 15-Only squad. Whipple has totaled 11 goals and 29 points in 25 games for the Sabres this season.

The rest of the Minnesota products selected are listed below.  

Celebrini goes No. 1 overall

Seattle held the first overall pick on Wednesday, and the Thunderbirds wasted little time before selecting Vancouver, B.C. native Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini was arguably the best all-around player for last year's Shattuck-St. Mary's 14U team that captured the USA Hockey Tier I National Championship.

After racking up 91 assists and 141 points in 50 games while playing on the nation's top 14U line (including Cole Eiserman and fellow WHL pick Aidan Park), Celebrini bumped up to the Sabres' Prep team this season. One of a handful players to make the transition from 14U to Prep, Celebrini has 20 goals and 42 points in 23 games so far.

Phoenix Rising

Wednesday was a banner day for the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes, as the organization saw seven players from its 15-Only team selected, including four among the first 15 picks. The youth program where Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews got his start, the Jr. Coyotes should benefit from the seven human advertisements that picked by WHL clubs. 

The Great Alaskan Pipeline 

A pair of Team Alaska 15's went No. 10 and No. 11 overall, with Kamloops selecting forward Mac Swanson (Anchorage) and Portland taking defenseman Gavin Ludwig (Eagle River). While both players recorded nice seasons for Team Alaska' 14U squad last year, they probably made their best mark at this past summer's USA Hockey Select 15 National Camp.