The WHL draft is an extremely underrated annual sports event. Yes, it’s only the allocation of a bunch of 15-year-old hockey players to a league of junior teams in western Canada, but where else do you learn so many spellings of “Brayden?”
Each draft provides a revealing look at the naming customs in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia in a given year (with a few Americans sprinkled in). The year’s draft is for players born in 2004, so with any luck by 2025 the NHL will be full of guys named Cayden, Kaden and Kayden, plus Jaden, Jadon and Jayden.