Medicine Hat did not have the luck of the draw when the WHL made their lottery picks for the 2021 CHL Import Draft. The team was granted the 55th overall and the 71st overall picks at this year’s edition of the annual event.
With their first pick, the Tigers headed to Russia and will hope to bring 2003-born defenceman Gleb Ivanov over to play in the Western Hockey League. The Moskva, RUS native played 50 games in Russia’s MHL with MHK Dynamo Moskva in 2020-21, where he registered two goals and added six assists.
Ivanov also played in two games at the 2021 U18 World Championships for Russia. He is listed at 6-foot, 176-pounds.
With their second pick at 71st overall, the Tigers took another defenceman, 2003-born, Jelgava, Lativa native Bogdans Hodass.
Hodass moved to Finland to play the 2020-21 season with Sport U20 of the U20 SM-sarja. He registered seven goals and nine assists in 39 games with the team. He also represented Latvia at the U18 World Championships, registering one assist in two games.
The 6-foot-3, 194-pound defenceman is eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft held July 23 and 24th this year.
