7 Giants at NHL Development Camps
Langley, B.C. – Seven players from the 2023-2024 Vancouver Giants roster are currently attending NHL Development Camps.
The list includes Calgary Flames draft picks Sam Honzek and Jaden Lipinski, Winnipeg Jets draft pick Connor Levis, 2024 draft selections Colton Roberts (San Jose Sharks) and Tyler Thorpe (Montreal Canadiens), as well as free agent invites Mazden Leslie (Vegas Golden Knights) and Brett Mirwald (Vancouver Canucks).
Additionally, former Giants goaltender Jesper Vikman is also attending Golden Knights development game, the team that drafted him in 2020.
Sam Honzek
Honzek was the Flames first round pick in 2023 (16th overall) after he recorded 56 points in just 43 games in his first season in North America. The Slovakian power forward was limited to just 33 games this past season due to an injury suffered in an NHL preseason game with the Flames, but the Giants captain quickly got back to his offensive ways, finishing with 31 points (10G-21A). Honzek also represented Slovakia at the 2024 World Junior Championships where he scored three goals in five games. The left-shot winger was whistled for just eight infractions last season, and won the Giants Most Sportsmanlike Player Award because of it.
Mazden Leslie
Leslie led all Giants defencemen in scoring for the second straight year, producing 44 points this past season, including a career-high 14 goals, five of which were game-winners. Those 14 goals were tied for 10th amongst all WHL defencemen in the WHL, while his five game-winning-goals were tied for the most amongst all D-men. He was named the Giants Defenceman of the Year for the second year in a row as well. The Lloydminster, Alta. product really worked on his defensive game, leading all Giants in ice-time with close to 26 minutes per game, playing in all situations.
Connor Levis
The North Vancouver native came ‘home’ in a trade with the Kamloops Blazers at the 2023 WHL Trade Deadline, and went on to record 27 points in 28 games for the Giants (14G-13A). He was previously a seventh round pick by the Winnipeg Jets at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, 210th overall.
In 65 games split between the Giants and Blazers in 2023-24, Levis tallied 55 points (24G-31A). The Giants went 16-10-2 with the right-shot forward in the lineup.
Jaden Lipinski
Lipinski was a force for the Giants at both ends of the ice last season, co-leading the team in points with a career-high 66 on 24 goals and 42 assists. The 6-foot-4 forward was also top-10 in the WHL in shorthanded points with six and second in the WHL in face-off wins with 888. His 57.4 per cent clip in the face-off circle was top-5 in the league. The responsible centre also co-led the Giants in power play points with 17 and had 21 multi-point games, more than any teammate.
Brett Mirwald
Mirwald became the first Giant ever to win the Del Wilson Trophy as WHL Goaltender of the Year in 2023-24, winning the award in his final season of junior thanks to five Goalie of the Week honours. He finished the season first in the WHL in saves 1723) and first in minutes played (3190). Mirwald was tied for third in Wins (29) and tied for third in SV% (.913). According to SportLogiq, he was also 1st in the WHL in Goals Saved Above Expected by a country mile (37.3).
The 6-foot-1 goaltender played in his 100th career regular season game to finish off the year. In 81 career games with the G-Men, Mirwad’s .912 SV% is the third-best in franchise history amongst goalies who have played at least 50 games.
Colton Roberts
Roberts finished second in points among Giants defencemen with 27 points in 62 games last season, including seven goals. His 27 points were fifth among all WHL defencemen age 17 or younger. The right-shot defender was a fifth-round selection by the San Jose Sharks at the 2024 NHL Draft, and was on hand to experience it with family and friends.
Leading up to the draft, Roberts was a standout at the 2024 NHL/CHL Top Prospects Game in January, where he registered a pair of primary assists and four shots on goal to help Team Red defeat Team White 3-1. He also showed well at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo from June 2-8, finishing top-15 out of 100 players in four events and top-25 in six events.
Tyler Thorpe
After scoring four goals in 48 games as a rookie in 2022-23, Thorpe scored seven goals in his first five games of 2023-24, including his first hat-trick. It proved to be more than just a hot start, as the Richmond, B.C. product had 14 goals at the halfway point of the season, first amongst all Giants players, and then started the second half on fire with six goals in his first eight games following the winter break. Despite suffering a season-ending injury in early February, the 6-foot-5 winger hear his name called at the 2024 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round, after tallying 23 goals and 44 points in 51 games in 2023-24.
The full list of Giants participating in NHL development camps can be found below.
| Player Name | Hometown | NHL Camp | Draft |
| Sam Honzek | Trencin, Sloavkia | Calgary Flames | 2023 Draft, 16th Overall |
| Mazden Leslie | Lloydminster, Alberta | Vegas Golden Knights | Free Agent Invite |
| Connor Levis | North Vancouver, B.C. | Winnipeg Jets | 2023 Draft, 210th Overall |
| Jaden Lipinski | Scottsdale, Arizona | Calgary Flames | 2023 Draft, 112th Overall |
| Brett Mirwald | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Vancouver Canucks | Free Agent Invite |
| Colton Roberts | Maple Ridge, B.C. | San Jose Sharks | 2024 Draft, 131st Overall |
| Tyler Thorpe | Richmond, B.C. | Montreal Canadiens | 2024 Draft, 130th Overall |
