2024 NHL Draft player profile: Colton Roberts, Vancouver Giants
Colton Roberts has been a supporter of the Vancouver Giants long before he got a chance to suit up for the team himself.
Growing up in Maple Ridge, B.C., the blueliner was attending Giants games back when the team was based in the Pacific Coliseum and followed them out to the team’s new home, the Langley Events Centre, where he watched stars like Buffalo Sabres defenceman Bowen Byram ply their trade.
Now, Roberts looks to join Byram as the only Giants defenceman drafted to the NHL in the last 10 years.
“It’s an honour,” Roberts said. “It’s cool that that could happen for me, to follow in the foot footsteps of him.”
In a draft class steeped with defensive talent, NHL Central Scouting has ranked Roberts 36th among all North American skaters- placing him 11th among all defenceman available.
“You look at his stature, his size, the way he skates, and, more importantly, his hockey IQ, you know, there’s a real good opportunity that eventually this guy is going to play for a number of years in the National Hockey League,” Giants Head Coach Manny Viveiros said. “I think we’re just seeing the tip of the offensive abilities that he’s going to have here and I expect that over the next couple of years, he’s really going to blossom into a top offensive player.”
In his second full WHL season, Roberts improved his offensive output with seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 62 games.
He also netted a highlight reel-worthy pair of assists at the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
Now, the towering 6-foot-4, 195-pound right shot defenceman is looking to embrace his size (he’s grown at least five inches over the last few years) and sure up his play in his own zone.
“My awareness in the d-zone is I’ve been working on lots,” Roberts explained. “I know for me making the next step, I need to really dial in, so that’s been a focus throughout the whole year and this summer that I want to bring it into next year.”
Viveiros, a former WHL Coach of the Year who has worked at the NHL and AHL levels, says establishing that defensive game is one of the most difficult- and most important- elements of making the jump from the junior to professional ranks.
“It’s something that has evolved throughout the season,” Viveiros added. “He’s just learning how strong he is and stuff like how he can position his body in battles. For us, we want him to be more assertive in the defensive zone, instead of sitting back and letting the play come to him when he has the opportunity to go in. We say, kill plays in the corner as far as not letting anybody get out of the corner and that’s something where he’s made really a big improvement towards the end of the year.”
The 18-year-old also got an extra chance to meet with NHL brass as one of the 100 top prospects invited to the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y. in early June.
Roberts finished in the top 20 of four fitness tests at the combine, including a pair of top-three finishes (pull-ups and right-hand grip strength) while meeting with 16 NHL teams.
He also got one heck of a parting gift from NHL Central Scouting Director Dan Marr.
“He’s like, ‘Oh, come in my office,” Roberts recalled. “I was worried, like am I in trouble here? What did I do? Then he’s asking me ‘What is on the eighth?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, we have fitness testing and I go home.’ He’s like, ‘What else?’ And I’m like, ‘Am I missing something?’ Then he says, ‘It’s your birthday’ and then hands me a cake. It was pretty cool, him doing that.”
Of course, the real gift will be hearing his name call at the NHL Entry Draft, which runs from June 28-29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Roberts will be attending with his parents and younger brother, Spokane Chiefs prospect Bryson Roberts.
But no matter where his name is called, he knows the work has just begun.
