4 Current Giants, 2 Prospects Listed on NHL Central Scouting’s Final Draft Rankings
Langley, B.C. – The Vancouver Giants are excited to announce that four roster players have been listed by NHL Central Scouting on their Final rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft: forward Cameron Schmidt, defenceman Mazden Leslie and goaltender Burke Hood, plus forward Aaron Obobaifo, who was listed under the ‘limited viewing’ category.
The Giants are also pleased to recognize two prospects that were ranked: American forwards Mason West and Cooper Simpson.
NHL Central Scouting announced the final list of the top North American skaters and goalies, along with the top International skaters and goalies, on Tuesday morning.
Below is where the current roster players were ranked:
| Rank (N.A. Skaters) | Last Name | First Name | Hometown | Team | Ht | Wt | Pos |
| 43rd | Schmidt | Cameron | Prince George, B.C. | Vancouver Giants | 5’7″ | 161 | RW |
| 133rd | Leslie | Mazden | Lloydminster, Alta. | Vancouver Giants | 6’0″ | 200 | D |
| LV | Obobaifo | Aaron | Calgary, Alta. | Vancouver Giants | 5’10” | 183 | LW |
| 15th (Goalies) | Hood | Burke | Brandon, Man. | Vancouver Giants | 6’3″ | 197 | G |
CLICK FOR THE N.A. SKATERS LIST | CLICK FOR THE N.A. GOALIES LIST
Schmidt (Prince George, B.C.) was ranked 43rd among North American skaters. This season he became just the sixth Giant skater ever to score 40 or more goals in a single season and he did so in just his second year in the league. Schmidt, Evander Kane and Brendan Gallagher are the only Giants to ever score at least 40 goals as a 17-year-old.
The craft winger is also the first player younger than 18 to lead the Giants in scoring (78 points in 61 games) since 2012-13, when a 17-year-old Jackson Houck had 57 points to lead Vancouver. Schmidt has represented Canada on the international stage on multiple occasions, scoring the golden goal at the 2023 U17 World Challenge, and winning gold at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He is currently attending camp for Hockey Canada’s U18 World Championship team.
After being ranked 196th on the mid-term rankings, Leslie (Lloydminster, Alta.) is now ranked 133rd. He finished second in scoring among all WHL defencemen with 72 points (21G-51A) in 66 games this season. The 6-foot-0, 200-pound blueliner was named a First-Team WHL All-Star by WHL General Managers and has been nominated for the WHL Defenceman of the Year.
The recently turned 20-year-old product of Lloydminster, Alta. became the Giants franchise leader for career goals by a defencemen with 57 this year, which is now eight more than Jonathon Blum’s previous bench mark of 49. His 72 points this year also tied Kevin Connauton for the most in a single season by a Giants defenceman.
Hood (Brandon, Man.) is the 15th ranked North American goaltender on the rankings, up 10 spots from his mid-term ranking. He was named the WHL Goaltender of the Week twice in the second half of the season and finished the year T-5th in the WHL in overall save percentage among goalies with 25 or more games played (.910). The rookie netminder had a .923 save percentage in 30 appearances since Dec. 1, with a 16-9-3 record. According to SportLogiq, Hood ranked third in the WHL in Goals Saved Above Expected (20.7), which factors in the quality of shots he faced.
Despite only playing 13 games this season due to injury, Obobaifo (Calgary, Alta.) was listed under the ‘limited viewing’ category, which does not give a numerical ranking. The 17-year-old started the season on fire with six goals and four assists in his first nine games.
In addition to the four current Giants listed on the final rankings, American prospects West and Simpson were both inside the top 75 skaters in North America: West is ranked 27th, while Simpson is 74th among N.A. skaters.
| Rank (N.A. Skaters) | Last Name | First Name | Hometown | Team | Ht | Wt | Pos |
| 27th | West | Mason | Edina, MN | Vancouver Giants | 6’6″ | 215 | C |
| 74th | Simpson | Cooper | Shakopee, MN | Vancouver Giants | 6’0″ | 180 | LW |
A total of 67 Western Hockey League players were listed on the final rankings, while the Ontario Hockey League has 64 and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has 39.
Nine WHL skaters were included in the first round of North American skaters, including Mrtka, Roger McQueen (Saskatoon, Sask. / Brandon Wheat Kings), Carter Bear (West St. Paul, Man. / Everett Silvertips), Jackson Smith (Calgary, Alta. / Tri-City Americans), 2024 WHL Champion Lynden Lakovic (Moose Jaw Warriors), Braeden Cootes (Sherwood Park, Alta. / Seattle Thunderbirds), Benjamin Kindel (Coquitlam, B.C. / Calgary Hitmen), Cole Reschny (Macklin, Sask. / Victoria Royals) and Blake Fiddler (Frisco, Texas / Edmonton Oil Kings).
2025 NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings – WHL Players
| Rank | Last Name | First Name | Hometown | Team | Height | Weight | Position |
| 5 | Mrtka | Radim | Havlickuv, Cze. | Seattle | 6’5.75 | 207 | D |
| 8 | McQueen | Roger | Saskatoon, Sask. | Brandon | 6’5.25 | 197 | C |
| 10 | Bear | Carter | West St. Paul, Man. | Everett | 6’0 | 179 | LW |
| 13 | Smith | Jackson | Calgary, Alta. | Tri-City | 6’3.25 | 195 | D |
| 14 | Lakovic | Lynden | West Kelowna, B.C. | Moose Jaw | 6’4.25 | 190 | LW |
| 20 | Cootes | Braeden | Sherwood Park, Alta. | Seattle | 5’11.25 | 183 | C |
| 21 | Kindel | Benjamin | Coquitlam, B.C. | Calgary | 5’10 | 176 | C |
| 25 | Reschny | Cole | Macklin, Sask. | Victoria | 5’10.5 | 183 | C |
| 26 | Fiddler | Blake | Frisco, Texas | Edmonton | 6’4 | 209 | D |
| 37 | Gard | Matthew | Winnipeg, Man. | Red Deer | 6’4.75 | 192 | C |
| 38 | Paupanekis | Hayden | Winnipeg, Man. | Kelowna | 6’4.25 | 196 | C |
| 39 | Kettles | Peyton | Winnipeg, Man. | Swift Current | 6’5.25 | 190 | D |
| 40 | Psenicka | Max | Prague, Cze. | Portland | 6’5 | 177 | D |
| 43 | Schmidt | Cameron | Prince George, B.C. | Vancouver | 5’7.25 | 161 | RW |
| 44 | Behm | Nathan | Calgary, Alta. | Kamloops | 6’1.5 | 192 | RW |
| 50 | Gorzynski | Brandon | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Calgary | 6’1.5 | 185 | C |
| 51 | Lewandowski | David | Dusseldorf, Ger. | Saskatoon | 6’1.25 | 177 | LW |
| 54 | Martin | Owen | Oakbank, Man. | Spokane | 5’11.75 | 185 | C |
| 57 | Lafreniere | Tommy | Hornby Island, B.C. | Kamloops | 5’11 | 172 | RW |
| 60 | Miller | Ryan | Medicine Hat, Alta. | Portland | 5’11.75 | 177 | C |
| 69 | Sawchyn | Lukas | Grande Prairie, Alta. | Edmonton | 5’9.75 | 168 | LW |
| 72 | Vlooswyk | Luke | Calgary, Alta. | Red Deer | 6’4.5 | 200 | D |
| 76 | Sharpe | Will | Ladner, B.C. | Kelowna | 6’0 | 195 | D |
| 88 | Klippenstein | Carter | Lethbridge, Alta. | Brandon | 6’2.5 | 180 | C |
| 89 | Foster | Aiden | Lloydminster, Alta. | Prince George | 6’2 | 182 | C |
| 93 | Mistelbacher | Luke | Steinbach, Man. | Swift Current | 5’11.75 | 196 | RW |
| 99 | Gerwing | Dawson | Meadow Lake, Sask. | Kelowna | 6’3 | 225 | LW |
| 100 | Pickford | Bryce | Chauvin, Alta. | Medicine Hat | 6’0.25 | 183 | D |
| 111 | McGregor | Josh | Brandon, Man. | Swift Current | 6’1.25 | 170 | D |
| 113 | Hamilton | Reese | Whitewood, Sask. | Regina | 6’0 | 172 | D |
| 116 | McCann | Kadon | Cochrane, Alta. | Medicine Hat | 6’3 | 200 | C |
| 121 | Virk | Savin | Surrey, B.C. | Tri-City | 5;10.75 | 168 | RW |
| 125 | Fuder | Jaxon | Cold Lake, Alta. | Red Deer | 6’0 | 166 | C |
| 126 | Busch | Shea | North Vancouver, B.C. | Everett | 6’1.75 | 208 | LW |
| 133 | Leslie | Mazden | Lloydminster, Alta. | Vancouver | 6’0.25 | 200 | D |
| 134 | MacKenzie | Ethan | Peachland, B.C. | Edmonton | 6’0 | 174 | D |
| 136 | Dach | Kale | Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. | Calgary | 5’10 | 165 | C |
| 138 | Schoettler | Owen | Edmonton, Alta. | Spokane | 6’0 | 181 | D |
| 141 | Buttazzoni | Diego | Langley, B.C. | Portland | 5’9 | 183 | LW |
| 156 | Woo | Jonas | Winnipeg, Man. | Medicine Hat | 5’8.75 | 165 | D |
| 161 | Andersen | Poul | St. Louis Park, Minn. | Edmonton | 6’0.5 | 200 | RW |
| 162 | Ziprick | Aiden | Russell, Man. | Moose Jaw | 6’0.5 | 190 | D |
| 163 | Thurston | Derek | Delta, B.C. | Red Deer | 6’0.75 | 190 | D |
| 166 | Lajoie | Jett | Winnipeg, Man. | Prince George | 5’11.5 | 178 | RW |
| 167 | Baumuller | Joby | Wilcox, Sask. | Brandon | 5’11.25 | 188 | RW |
| 179 | Pekar | Matej | Prerov, Cze. | Seattle | 5’10 | 158 | RW |
| 181 | Koch | Cassius | Calgary, Alta. | Tri-City | 5’11.25 | 197 | LW |
| 187 | Harsanyi | Hayden | Calgary, Alta. | Saskatoon | 5’8.75 | 171 | C |
| 190 | Bridgeman | Kolten | Regina, Sask. | Regina | 6’4 | 216 | D |
| 191 | Burzynski | Grayson | Winnipeg, Man. | Swift Current | 6’3.5 | 212 | D |
| 194 | Dunphy | Brendan | San Diego, Calif. | Wenatchee | 6’5 | 207 | D |
| 201 | Garland | Gavin | Calgary, Alta. | Tri-City | 5’9.5 | 183 | RW |
| 203 | Adair | Carsen | Clavet, Sask. | Lethbridge | 6’2.5 | 188 | D |
| 213 | Schmidt | Connor | Sturgeon County, Alta. | Moose Jaw | 5’11.25 | 180 | D |
| 216 | Mayes | Sawyer | Salmon Arm, B.C. | Seattle | 6’4 | 188 | C |
| 217 | Sarkenov | Assanali | Astana, Kaz. | Spokane | 6’3.5 | 203 | LW |
| 220 | Matthews | Caleb | Calgary, Alta. | Victoria | 6’1.75 | 173 | RW |
| LV | Obobaifo | Aaron | Calgary, Alta. | Vancouver | 5’9.5 | 183 | LW |
2024-25 NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings – WHL Goaltenders
| Rank | Last Name | First Name | Hometown | Team | Height | Weight | Position |
| 1 | Ravensbergen | Joshua | North Vancouver, B.C. | Prince George | 6’5.25 | 190 | G |
| 8 | Stebetak | Ondrej | Jihlava, Cze. | Portland | 6’1.5 | 173 | G |
| 12 | Kraus | Jayden | Prince Albert, Sask. | Victoria | 6’1.5 | 201 | G |
| 15 | Hood | Burke | Brandon, Man. | Vancouver | 6’2.75 | 197 | G |
| 20 | Miller | Anders | Anchorage, Alaska | Calgary | 6’1 | 198 | G |
| 24 | Cleaver | Koen | Port Alberni, B.C. | Lethbridge | 6’1.5 | 188 | G |
| 25 | Switzer | Jordan | Edmonton, Alta. | Medicine Hat | 6’0.25 | 186 | G |
| 27 | Simcoe | Ethan | Lac du Bonnet, Man. | Edmonton | 6’1 | 175 | G |
| 28 | LeGall | Raiden | Morden, Man. | Everett | 5’11.25 | 170 | G |
The NHL Scouting Combine will be held in Buffalo, N.Y. from June 1-8, 2025, before top players descend on the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on June 27 and 28.
