CHL releases top-10 preseason rankings
Published
The Canadian Hockey League has announced the preseason edition of its top-10 rankings for the 2024-25 campaign.
The Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers top the list, followed by the Ontario Hockey League's Brampton Steelheads at No. 2 and London Knights at No. 3.
Medicine Hat is led by phenom Gavin McKenna, who had 34 goals and 97 points in 61 games last season. Also on the roster are six NHL draft picks, including forward Cayden Lindstrom, who went fourth overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets and winger Andrew Basha, who was selected in the second round by the Calgary Flames.
The Steelheads, who moved from Mississauga to Brampton this off-season, boast top 2025 draft prospect Porter Martone and 52-goal scorer Carson Rehkopf up front with U18 and Hlinka Gretzky gold medalist Jack Ivankovic in net.
While Easton Cowan has a good chance to stick with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, the Knights will have a strong roster with or without him. The Knights have three other first-round picks on the roster, including defencemen Sam Dickinson (San Jose) and Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia) and forward Sam O'Reilly (Edmonton). London captured the J. Ross Robertson Cup last season as OHL champions.
The four through six spots on the list all belong to QMJHL teams with the Moncton Wildcats, Rimouski Oceanic and Cape Breton Eagles representing the league on the list.
Rounding out the top 10 are the Prince George Cougars, Oshawa Generals, Brantford Bulldogs and Kelowna Rockets.
The preseason rankings were determined with input from NHL Central Scouting. The CHL regular season kicks off on Friday, Sept. 20.