FIVE MINUTE NAJOR Canadian Hockey League (CHL) top 10 rankings, trades and more.

It’s a brand new week and there’s been a lot of news in the major junior hockey world. There are the regular Canadian Hockey League (CHL) top 10 rankings, trades and more. Perhaps the biggest news is that beginning next season, CHL players can go to the NCAA. In the past, CHL players have only been able to go to USports in Canada if they don’t go professional.

When the news broke, the CHL put out a statement Thursday, Nov. 7 saying that they thought it’s a positive development that will provide their players with continuing their hockey and academic careers after their time in the CHL. The press release also stated the decision will give young players and their families more options in choosing their developmental path. Because of the additional option now to go the NCAA route, they also expect to pull more players from the 16–20-year-old pool. 

This week’s CHL top 10 rankings saw the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) check in with four teams, one shy of last week. The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) both checked in with three teams each.

The Moncton Wildcats stayed atop the rankings at number one while the Drummondville Voltigeurs checked in at three, Rimouski Oceanic at seven and the Chicoutimi Saguenéens at 10 to round it out for the QMJHL. It was the Wildcats’ fifth week in a row that they claimed the number one spot atop the CHL.In the OHL, the London Knights checked in at two, Windsor Spitfires at six and the Kitchener Rangers at nine. Meanwhile in the WHL, the Prince George Cougars slotted in at four, the Everett Silvertips at five and the Tri-City Americans made their debut at eight. The Americans made their debut as they’ve seen much success recently. They’re currently on the longest winning streak in the CHL at 12.

Prince George made headlines this week with the WHL Player of the Week. Forward Koehn Ziemmer was awarded the honor for his performance ending the week of Nov. 10. The 19-year-old Los Angeles Kings prospect exploded for seven goals and an assist for eight points in three games. This included his second hat trick in 10 days.

The CHL had a strong and successful presence at the U17 World Hockey Challenge as 41 of the players came from the major junior level.

In trade news, the Wenatchee Wild made another deal this past week. This time it was with the Tri-City Americans. It was announced Monday, Nov. 11 the Wild had acquired 2005-born forward Shaun Rios from Tri-City in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft. He’s originally from San Jose, California and is in his first WHL season. Through nine games for Tri-City so far this season, he has nine goals.

He was selected by Tri-City in the first round of the 2020 U.S. Priority Draft and enjoyed an extensive career at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minnesota. He would play three seasons there before moving on to the WHL for this season. Two of those years were spent on the school’s prep roster. During that time, he tallied 142 points in 111 games and helped the team reach the USA Hockey national tournament in the spring of 2023 and 2024.