The Canadian Hockey League schedule is barely out of its opening stretch, but the scoring sheets already carry a strong Western Conference NHL imprint. From Red Deer to Victoriaville, drafted forwards are driving top lines, piling up multi-point nights and, in a few cases, changing the direction of clubs that needed a faster start.
Colorado has two of the sharpest early performers. Red Deer center Beckett Hamilton opened with a three-goal outing on Sept. 25 and has kept rolling, posting 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists through 10 WHL games. The 18-year-old has recorded multiple points eight times, with four games of three or more points. Colorado took Hamilton in the third round, 74th overall, at the 2026 NHL Draft.
Avalanche prospect Egor Shilov has been equally important in the QMJHL. The Victoriaville center collected two assists in Thursday’s 4-2 win over Sherbrooke, extending his point streak to five games. Shilov has six goals and 11 assists in 12 games, tying him for the Tigres lead in scoring, and has produced a point in nine of those outings. Victoriaville is 8-3-1 after requiring 21 games to reach eight wins a season ago. Shilov, 18, was chosen 43rd overall in the 2026 draft.
Calgary’s Chase Harrington is off to the strongest opening run of his five WHL seasons with Spokane. The left wing exploded for three goals and five points in a 7-1 win over Everett on Oct. 13, and he was named WHL Player of the Week on Oct. 19. Harrington has six goals, nine assists and 15 points in nine games, leading the Chiefs after registering points in seven of his first eight contests. The Flames selected him 36th overall in 2026.
Edmonton prospect David Lewandowski made an immediate habit of settling games. The Saskatoon left wing scored the winner in each of his first two games, Sept. 25 and 26, before assembling a seven-game point streak worth 13 points. He had five multi-point performances during that run, including a goal and two assists in a 5-3 loss at Swift Current on Oct. 16. Lewandowski has four goals and 10 assists in nine games; the Oilers drafted him 117th overall in 2025.
In Flint, Kings prospect Jimmy Lombardi has set the pace for the Firebirds with 15 points in nine OHL games. His signature night came Oct. 4 at London, where he supplied a goal and four assists in a 7-2 victory. That performance launched a six-game stretch in which the 19-year-old center collected four goals and eight assists, producing multiple points four times. Los Angeles selected Lombardi in the fourth round, 125th overall, in 2025.
Big offensive starts across the CHL
Vancouver’s Adam Novotny returned to Peterborough after spending extended time at Canucks camp and quickly resumed control of the Petes attack. The 18-year-old left wing put up his first five-point game, scoring three times and adding two assists in a 6-0 win against Barrie on Oct. 17. He had set that up by assisting on Peterborough’s first two goals against North Bay two nights earlier, then added two more assists, including one on the tying goal, in Thursday’s 5-4 win over Oshawa. Novotny leads Peterborough with seven goals and 11 assists in 12 games. Vancouver made him the 24th pick of the 2026 draft.
Anaheim’s Mathis Preston has moved to the front of Vancouver Giants scoring race. The right wing completed his first WHL hat trick with a third-period goal in Tuesday’s 5-2 win at Prince George, bringing him to 10 goals and 16 points in 12 games. He also scored the equalizer when the Giants erased a three-goal deficit at Kamloops before falling 4-3 in a shootout Friday. Preston went to the Ducks with the 50th selection in 2026.
Chicago prospect Ryan Roobroeck has supplied the goals for a Guelph club that spent three straight weeks atop the CHL Top 10 rankings. The 19-year-old left wing began the season with a goal in four consecutive games and ran a points streak to seven games, totaling seven goals and five assists over that span. He has nine goals in 10 games, though his first short-handed goal in two seasons came Friday in a 6-3 loss at Kitchener that snapped Guelph’s nine-game winning streak. The Blackhawks chose Roobroeck 35th overall in 2026.
Dallas prospect Cameron Schmidt has brought his scoring touch to Victoria after leading the WHL with 51 goals last season. He scored twice and added an assist, including the winner, in his Royals debut, a 5-4 victory over Swift Current on Oct. 2. A goal and an assist in Friday’s 5-4 shootout win against Kelowna gave Schmidt an eight-game season-opening point streak, with five goals and eight assists. Schmidt produced 100 points in 72 games last season with Vancouver and Seattle, after scoring 40 goals in 61 games for Vancouver in 2024-25. Dallas drafted the 19-year-old right wing 94th overall in 2025.
Utah’s Florent Houle needed only a few games to find his finishing after missing Sherbrooke’s first four contests. The 19-year-old right wing scored twice in an Oct. 2 loss to Rimouski, then repeated the two-goal showing Oct. 17 at Chicoutimi. His power-play winner in the third period helped Sherbrooke earn a 5-3 road victory, and the performance marked his fourth multi-point effort in five games. Houle has five goals and four assists, and the Mammoth selected him 147th overall in the 2026 draft.
