[{"id":88572,"date":"2026-06-09T00:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88572"},"modified":"2026-06-09T00:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:05:07","slug":"whl-stanley-cup-champion-lucic-retires-after-17-nhl-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/whl-stanley-cup-champion-lucic-retires-after-17-nhl-seasons","title":{"rendered":"WHL, Stanley Cup champion Lucic retires after 17 NHL seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Power forward Milan Lucic, who won a WHL Championship and Memorial Cup title as a member of the Vancouver Giants prior to hoisting the Stanley Cup as a member of the Boston Bruins, announced his retirement from pro hockey on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Lucic, 38, made the announcement via the NHL Players Association.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">\u201cLooking back on my career, I feel truly grateful to have fulfilled my dream of playing professional hockey, culminating with a Stanley Cup win in 2011 with the Boston Bruins,\u201d Lucic said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">\u201cI want to especially thank the Bruins for giving me my start in professional hockey and for instilling the confidence to reach new heights as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Lucic, who hails from Vancouver, B.C., spent two seasons as a member of the WHL\u2019s Vancouver Giants. During his rookie season in 2005-06, he emerged as an impact player during the playoffs, registering seven points (3G-4A) in 18 games as the Giants claimed the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL Champions. At the 2006 NHL Draft, the Bruins called Lucic\u2019s name during the second round (50th overall). He broke out during the 2006-07 WHL campaign, recording 68 points (30G-38A) in 70 games, adding another 19 points (7G-12A) in 22 WHL Playoff games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Though the Giants fell in Game 7 of the WHL Championship, they went on to win the Memorial Cup as tournament hosts. Lucic tallied seven points (2G-5A) in five games and was presented with the Stafford Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the 2007 Memorial Cup. Part of Lucic\u2019s championship performance included \u201cThe Shift\u201d \u2013 where he laid out three heavy hits before taking on Jordan Bendfeld in a spirited heavyweight tilt.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Upon finishing his days with the Giants, Lucic made the immediate jump to the NHL, dressing in 77 games with the Bruins as an NHL rookie in 2007-08.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">He spent the first eight seasons of his NHL career with the Bruins, helping Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011. The 2010-11 season goes into the books as the best of Lucic\u2019s career \u2013 he logged 62 points (30G-32A) in 79 regular season games and added another 12 points (5G-7A) during post-season play.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Lucic was once again impactful as the Bruins advanced to the Stanley Cup in 2013. The bruising winger posted 19 points (7G-12A) in 22 games, though Boston ultimately fell in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Over the course of 17 NHL seasons, Lucic posted five 20-goal campaigns. Following his time with the Bruins, he made stops with the Los Angeles Kings (2015-16), Edmonton Oilers (2016-17 to 2018-19) and Calgary Flames (2019-20 to 2022-23), before returning to Boston in 2023-24.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">\u201cLater in my career, I had the privilege of playing with some exceptional organizations in Los Angeles, Edmonton, and Calgary,\u201d Lucic said. \u201cI look back with fondness at the time I spent with each organization and for the remarkable teammates I had the pleasure of playing alongside.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">\u201cI want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all the coaches, staff and fans from each team I was apart of. I also want to thank my agent, Gerry Johannson, for his guidance during my playing days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">After a five-game American Hockey League tryout with the Springfield Thunderbirds this past season, Lucic wrapped up his professional career by playing 26 games with the Fife Flyers of the Elite Ice Hockey League in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">At the end of the road, Lucic\u2019s ledger includes 1,177 career NHL regular season games, having scored 586 points (233G-353A), along with another 136 Stanley Cup playoff games and 77 points (29G-48A).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">Lucic was the first player in Vancouver Giants history to reach 1,000 NHL games played, accomplishing the feat April 13, 2021. Prior to winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, he was named to the Vancouver Giants ring of honour.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\">In 2023, he represented Canada at the IIHF World Championship and helped his nation to a gold medal finish.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Milan Lucic is officially announcing his retirement following 1,177 career NHL games played \u2013 wishing all the best to the 2010-11 <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/StanleyCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#StanleyCup<\/a> champ\ud83d\udc4f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/X4QF1dWqt3\">pic.twitter.com\/X4QF1dWqt3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NHLPA (@NHLPA) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NHLPA\/status\/2063607120436556150?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Milan Lucic has announced his retirement from professional hockey.<\/p>\n<p>From Vancouver, British Columbia, Milan played junior hockey with his hometown Vancouver Giants of the WHL beginning in the 2004-05 season. Milan was selected by the Boston Bruins in the second round of the 2006\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4F62rLtPEE\">pic.twitter.com\/4F62rLtPEE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NHL Alumni (@NHLAlumni) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NHLAlumni\/status\/2064045571514478918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Power forward Milan Lucic, who won a WHL Championship and Memorial Cup title as a member of the Vancouver Giants prior to hoisting the Stanley Cup as a member of the Boston Bruins, announced his retirement from pro hockey on Sunday. Lucic, 38, made the announcement via the NHL Players Association. \u201cLooking back on my&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1860,"name":"Stanley Cup Champion","slug":"stanley-cup-champion","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1860,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"},{"term_id":257,"name":"milan lucic","slug":"milan-lucic","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":258,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":12,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1288"},{"term_id":297,"name":"nhl","slug":"nhl","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":298,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1309"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1444,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1792"}],"class_list":["post-88572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-stanley-cup-champion","tag-milan-lucic","tag-nhl","tag-vancouver-giants","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/08145443\/Lucic_Generic_1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88568,"date":"2026-06-08T14:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88568"},"modified":"2026-06-08T14:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:44:09","slug":"preston-lin-impress-in-fitness-testing-at-nhl-combine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/preston-lin-impress-in-fitness-testing-at-nhl-combine","title":{"rendered":"Preston, Lin Impress in Fitness Testing at NHL Combine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Buffalo, NY \u2013 <\/strong>Vancouver Giants forward <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/players\/29463\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mathis Preston<\/a> <\/strong>ranked among the top-10 in seven different events during fitness testing Friday and Saturday at the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, New York.<\/p>\n<p>Teammate\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/players\/29532\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Ryan Lin<\/strong><\/a> also impressed, finishing top-15 in seven events.<\/p>\n<p>Over 80 prospects took part in fitness testing.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>To see the full results, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/media.nhl.com\/public\/news\/19913\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Among Preston&#8217;s best performances was in the isokinetic squat test, where he finished second at 3.57, which equates to squatting 3.57 times his body weight. He also tied for second on the Wingate test at 17.2 watts per kilogram of body weight and tied for third in the 10-metre sprint at 2.04 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Preston finished fourth in bench press power, producing 6.8 watts per kilogram; recorded 14 pull-ups, which tied for sixth best; and finished top-10 in both pro agility runs (left and right).<\/p>\n<p>Preston is <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/media.d3.nhle.com\/image\/private\/t_document\/prd\/iynnvgch2guzxrjyzggk.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ranked 32nd among North American skaters<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>by NHL Central Scouting on their final list for the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n<p>Lin&#8217;s best performance was the force plate vertical jump, where he leaped 22.8 inches, tied for fifth-best.<\/p>\n<p>He also finished sixth in the no-arm vertical jump (20.0 inches) and was tied for seventh in bench press at 6.6 watts per kilogram.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Lin tied for T-9th in the 10-metre sprint (2.06 seconds), T-11th in pull ups (13), T-11th in the isokinetic squat test (3.05) and T-13th in the horizontal jump (109 inches).<\/p>\n<p>Lin is <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/media.d3.nhle.com\/image\/private\/t_document\/prd\/iynnvgch2guzxrjyzggk.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ranked 16th among North American skaters<\/a><\/strong> by NHL Central Scouting on their final list for the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n<p>Lin and Preston had standout performances for Canada at the IIHF Men&#8217;s U18 World Championships in April. Both were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iihf.com\/en\/events\/2026\/wm18\/skaters\/scoringleaders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tied for 8th in tournament scoring,<\/a> with Lin leading all defencemen in points with six (1G-5A). Preston recorded two goals and four assists, and led Canada in shots on goal (21). Lin also ranked first in plus-minus (+7).<\/p>\n<p>To see the full results from fitness testing,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/media.nhl.com\/public\/news\/19913\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Preston ranked top-10 in 7 events, while Lin ranked top-15 in 7 events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1820,"name":"Mathis Preston","slug":"mathis-preston","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1820,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw","term_order":"40"},{"term_id":1643,"name":"NHL Scouting Combine","slug":"nhl-scouting-combine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1643,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"216"},{"term_id":1553,"name":"Ryan Lin","slug":"ryan-lin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1553,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":55,"filter":"raw","term_order":"305"},{"term_id":122,"name":"nhl draft","slug":"nhl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":123,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":56,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1310"}],"class_list":["post-88568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-mathis-preston","tag-nhl-scouting-combine","tag-ryan-lin","tag-nhl-draft","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/06\/08143711\/GettyImages-2279550287-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88560,"date":"2026-06-02T13:07:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88560"},"modified":"2026-06-02T13:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:08:03","slug":"giants-lin-preston-to-participate-in-nhl-combine-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/giants-lin-preston-to-participate-in-nhl-combine-this-week","title":{"rendered":"Giants Lin &amp; Preston to Participate in NHL Combine This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Buffalo, NY \u2013 <\/strong>Vancouver Giants defenceman <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/players\/29532\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Ryan Lin<\/strong> <\/a>and forward <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/players\/29463\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mathis Preston<\/a><\/strong> are <a href=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/05\/31141930\/NHL-Scouting-Combine-Invite-List-2026.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two of 90 prospects<\/a> invited to participate in the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine, which began earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>The Combine will run June 1-6, and provides the 32 NHL teams with physical and medical assessments of the top prospects ahead of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft at KeyBank Center in Buffalo June 26-27.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The NHL Combine is a rite of passage on a player&#8217;s path to the NHL and is an event that NHL clubs and prospects look forward to participating in,&#8221; NHL Central Scouting vice president and director Dan Marr said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a week full of interviews, medicals, and fitness testing where the players get to interact with NHL personnel and the NHL clubs get to learn as much as possible about the future stars of our game.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Lin, a 5-foot-11 right-shot defenceman, led the Giants in scoring this past season with 57 points in 53 games (14G-43A). He was <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/media.d3.nhle.com\/image\/private\/t_document\/prd\/iynnvgch2guzxrjyzggk.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ranked 16th among North American skaters<\/a><\/strong> by NHL Central Scouting on their final list for the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n<p>Lin ranked 4th amongst all WHL skaters in average ice-time per game (25:58) last season. His 1.08 points-per-game were the third-highest by a Giants defenceman in franchise history, trailing only Jonathon Blum (1.29 in 2008-09) and Mazden Leslie (1.09 in 2024-25).<\/p>\n<p>Preston, a 5-foot-11 right-shot forward, recorded 12 points (4G-8A) in 10 games with Vancouver this season, missing significant time due to a lower-body injury that he suffered on January 10. He started the 2025-26 campaign with 32 points in 36 games for the Spokane Chiefs (14G-18A). Preston was\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/media.d3.nhle.com\/image\/private\/t_document\/prd\/iynnvgch2guzxrjyzggk.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ranked 32nd among North American skaters<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>by NHL Central Scouting on their final list for the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n<p>Lin and Preston had standout performances for Canada at the IIHF Men&#8217;s U18 World Championships in April. Both were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iihf.com\/en\/events\/2026\/wm18\/skaters\/scoringleaders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tied for 8th in tournament scoring,<\/a> with Lin leading all defencemen in points with six (1G-5A). Preston recorded two goals and four assists, and led Canada in shots on goal (21). Lin also ranked first in plus-minus (+7).<\/p>\n<p>There will be 56 forwards, 29 defensemen and five goalies attending the combine. All are listed in NHL Central Scouting&#8217;s final rankings of North American and International skaters and goaltenders.<\/p>\n<p>Teams can have 1-on-1 interviews with prospects at KeyBank Center from June 1-5. The medical examinations will take place June 3, the Maximal VO2 bike test and isokinetic squat test, which is new to the Combine, will take place June 5, and the remaining eight of the 12 fitness tests will occur at HarborCenter on June 6 (standing height\/wingspan, horizontal jump, force plate vertical jumps, bench press, pro agility test, pull ups, 10-meter sprint, Wingate Cycle Ergometer test). The 10-meter sprint, also new to the Combine, will be conducted in conjunction with the pro agility test.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Buffalo, NY \u2013 Vancouver Giants defenceman Ryan Lin and forward Mathis Preston are two of 90 prospects invited to participate in the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine, which began earlier this week. The Combine will run June 1-6, and provides the 32 NHL teams with physical and medical assessments of the top prospects ahead of the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88564,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1820,"name":"Mathis Preston","slug":"mathis-preston","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1820,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw","term_order":"40"},{"term_id":1741,"name":"NHL Combine","slug":"nhl-combine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1741,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"119"},{"term_id":1553,"name":"Ryan Lin","slug":"ryan-lin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1553,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":55,"filter":"raw","term_order":"305"},{"term_id":122,"name":"nhl draft","slug":"nhl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":123,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":56,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1310"}],"class_list":["post-88560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-mathis-preston","tag-nhl-combine","tag-ryan-lin","tag-nhl-draft","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/06\/02123826\/Preston-Lin-Web-Wide.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88562,"date":"2026-06-02T12:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T19:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88562"},"modified":"2026-06-02T13:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:06:03","slug":"giants-hire-mason-chong-as-next-equipment-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/giants-hire-mason-chong-as-next-equipment-manager","title":{"rendered":"Giants Hire Mason Chong as New Equipment Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Ladner, B.C. \u2013<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Vancouver Giants <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">announced today that Mason Chong will serve as the team\u2019s new Equipment Manager starting in the 2026-27 WHL season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chong, 27, most recently held the position of Head Trainer and Equipment Manager for the BCHL&#8217;s Coquitlam Express. From 2023-25, he held the same position for the Surrey Eagles, which included winning a Fred Page Cup in 2024. He was also a business and game operations intern with the Giants during the 2021-22 season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;I&#8217;m excited to join the Vancouver Giants as their next Equipment Manager,&#8221; Chong said. &#8220;I\u2019d like to thank Ron and Pete Toigo for this incredible opportunity\u2014chances like this don\u2019t come around often. I\u2019m looking forward to the season ahead and am honoured to once again be part of this organization.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Prior to his time in the BCHL, Chong was a trainer for both the PJHL&#8217;s Port Moody Panthers and the BCEHL&#8217;s Valley West Giants. He is a graduate of Trinity Western University with a degree in Human Kinetics \u2013 Kinesiology.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The entire Vancouver Giants organization welcomes Mason back to the team.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ladner, B.C. \u2013 The Vancouver Giants announced today that Mason Chong will serve as the team\u2019s new Equipment Manager starting in the 2026-27 WHL season. Chong, 27, most recently held the position of Head Trainer and Equipment Manager for the BCHL&#8217;s Coquitlam Express. From 2023-25, he held the same position for the Surrey Eagles, which&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1859,"name":"Mason Chong","slug":"mason-chong","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1859,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2"},{"term_id":1753,"name":"Hire","slug":"hire","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1753,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"109"},{"term_id":1384,"name":"Equipment Manager","slug":"equipment-manager","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1388,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"696"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1444,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1792"}],"class_list":["post-88562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-mason-chong","tag-hire","tag-equipment-manager","tag-vancouver-giants","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/06\/02113530\/LANDSCAPE-HIRED-MASON.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88552,"date":"2026-05-26T09:59:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88552"},"modified":"2026-05-26T10:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T17:20:37","slug":"giants-sign-3rd-overall-pick-eli-vickers-to-whl-scholarship-development-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/giants-sign-3rd-overall-pick-eli-vickers-to-whl-scholarship-development-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Giants Sign 3rd Overall Pick Eli Vickers to WHL Scholarship &amp; Development Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Langley, B.C. \u2013 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Vancouver Giants are proud to announce the signing of 2011-born defenceman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1076085\/eli-vickers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Eli Vickers<\/strong><\/a> (South Surrey, B.C.) to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vickers was<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/giants-select-vickers-jugnauth-in-first-round-of-whl-prospects-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">selected by the Giants<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> with the third overall pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The left-shot blueliner was named the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) U15 Prep Top Defenceman this past season. He led all U15 prep blueliners with 62 points in 30 games, thanks to 22 goals and 40 assists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe\u2019re excited to welcome Eli to our organization and announce the signing of his WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement,&#8221; Giants Assistant General Manager Pete Toigo said. &#8220;He\u2019s a dynamic, offensively gifted defenceman who moves the puck exceptionally well and has the talent and work ethic to make a major impact in our league.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Vickers was also called up to Delta&#8217;s U17 Prep team at the end of the 2025-26 season, where he scored five goals in four games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve admired his competitiveness and his will to win for the last two years,\u201d Giants Director of Player Personnel Greg Batters said after the Giants drafted him on May 6. \u201cThe people at Delta speak super highly of him&#8230;He\u2019s a winner; a leader. He\u2019s going to be a fan favourite for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vickers&#8217; 62 points ranked fifth among <a href=\"https:\/\/u15prep.csshl.hockeytech.com\/stats\/player-stats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">all U15 prep skaters<\/a> and were the third-most productive blueline season in CSSHL U15 Prep history. Having been part of Delta\u2019s 2025 CSSHL Western Championship team, Vickers had 98 points in 65 career U15 Prep games, the second-most all time among defensemen.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;I\u2019m so honoured to be selected by the Giants in the 2026 WHL Draft,&#8221; Vickers said. \u201cHuge thank you to the ownership group and scouting staff for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to play for my hometown team. I also want to thank all of my coaches, teammates, family and everyone at Delta Hockey Academy and the Semiahmoo Ravens who have supported me throughout my journey. Excited for what\u2019s ahead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Vancouver Giants extend a warm welcome to Eli and the Vickers family.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vickers is guaranteed a WHL Scholarship for every year he plays in the WHL by signing a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/937063\/louis-oscar-holowaychuk\">Eli Vickers<\/a> makes hockey look easy.&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>Vickers was the first defenceman ranked on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/news\/2026-whl-draft\/elite-prospects-2026-whl-prospects-draft-final-top-120-ranking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elite Prospects Top-120 Ranking<\/a> for the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Arguably the best skater in the draft class, he\u2019s extremely fluid, elite off his edges, and explosive across the rink. That mobility powers his defensive game, eliminating plays with tight gaps,&#8221; the EP ranking said. &#8220;Vickers is also a high-end thinker, scanning, anticipating, and reading plays. He\u2019s a strong playmaker, finding high-value passing lanes, and a highly skilled handler. Combined with his skating, his skill and strength make him extremely challenging to get the puck from.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With such a diverse skill set and a highly competitive style, Vickers projects as a top-pair defenceman. His game is as plug-and-play as they come, too.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Langley, B.C. \u2013 The Vancouver Giants are proud to announce the signing of 2011-born defenceman Eli Vickers (South Surrey, B.C.) to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement. Vickers was selected by the Giants with the third overall pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. The left-shot blueliner was named the Canadian Sport School Hockey League&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1858,"name":"WHL Scholarship &amp; Development Agreement","slug":"whl-scholarship-development-agreement","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1858,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3"},{"term_id":1852,"name":"Eli Vickers","slug":"eli-vickers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1852,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"10"},{"term_id":1630,"name":"WHL Draft","slug":"whl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1630,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw","term_order":"231"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1444,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1792"}],"class_list":["post-88552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-whl-scholarship-development-agreement","tag-eli-vickers","tag-whl-draft","tag-vancouver-giants","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/05\/26094917\/Vickers-Signed-Landscape-16x9-1.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88549,"date":"2026-05-14T12:34:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88549"},"modified":"2026-05-14T21:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T04:25:34","slug":"watch-whl-draft-interview-with-brayden-jugnauth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/video\/watch-whl-draft-interview-with-brayden-jugnauth","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: WHL Draft Interview with Brayden Jugnauth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Langley, B.C. \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Learn about the Giants\u2019 fourth overall selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, recently turned 15-year-old forward Brayden Jugnauth, was named the U18 player of the year in the BC Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) this past season.<\/p>\n<p>Jugnauth tallied 58 points (32G-26A) in 34 games playing against much older competition. He added\u00a0nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in just six playoff games, helping the Rockets win back-to-back U18 Championships.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Rapid Fire:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Q: Who is your favourite NHL player?<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Connor Bedard<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Who is your favourite NHL Team?<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: If you didn\u2019t play hockey, what sport would you play?<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Golf<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Go-to pre-game meal<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Chicken and Rice<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Snack for a long road trip<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A: <\/b>Granola Bar<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Favourite band\/musical artist<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A<\/b>: Not big into music \u2013 whatever the boys are playing in the dressing room<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Favourite TV Show(s)<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Miracle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Langley, B.C. \u2013\u00a0Learn about the Giants\u2019 fourth overall selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, recently turned 15-year-old forward Brayden Jugnauth, was named the U18 player of the year in the BC Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) this past season. Jugnauth tallied 58 points (32G-26A) in 34 games playing against much older competition. He added\u00a0nine goals&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[{"term_id":1851,"name":"Brayden Jugnauth","slug":"brayden-jugnauth","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1851,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"9"},{"term_id":1630,"name":"WHL Draft","slug":"whl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1630,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw","term_order":"231"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1444,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1792"}],"class_list":["post-88549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video","tag-brayden-jugnauth","tag-whl-draft","tag-vancouver-giants","video-channels-media-availability","category-5","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/05\/14102656\/Screenshot-2026-05-14-at-10.25.42-AM-scaled.png",2560,1428,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2599505","partner_id":"31035","player_id":"47923","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31035\/sd\/2599505.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31035\/ld\/2599505.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31035\/hsd\/2599505.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31035\/fhd\/2599505.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31035\/streaming\/2599505\/2599505.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31035\/webp\/2599505.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88546,"date":"2026-05-12T12:02:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88546"},"modified":"2026-05-12T14:41:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:41:13","slug":"watch-whl-draft-interview-with-eli-vickers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/video\/watch-whl-draft-interview-with-eli-vickers","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: WHL Draft Interview with Eli Vickers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Langley, B.C. \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Learn about the Giants\u2019 third overall selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, 14-year-old local defenceman Eli Vickers, who tallied 62 points for Delta Hockey Academy in the 2025-26 season to lead all d-men in the CSSHL.<\/p>\n<p>He was named CSSHL Top Defenceman.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Rapid Fire:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Q: Who is your favourite NHL player?<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Lane Hutson<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Who is your favourite NHL Team?<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: If you didn\u2019t play hockey, what sport would you play?<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Ping Pong or Football<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Go-to pre-game meal<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Chicken and Rice<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Snack for a long road trip<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:\u00a0<\/b>Spitz<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Favourite band\/musical artist<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A<\/b>: Future and Travis Scott<\/p>\n<p><b>Q: Favourite TV Show(s)<\/b><br \/>\n<b>A:<\/b> Breaking Bad and Stranger Things<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Langley, B.C. \u2013\u00a0Learn about the Giants\u2019 third overall selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, 14-year-old local defenceman Eli Vickers, who tallied 62 points for Delta Hockey Academy in the 2025-26 season to lead all d-men in the CSSHL. He was named CSSHL Top Defenceman. Rapid Fire:\u00a0 Q: Who is your favourite NHL player? A:&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88547,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[{"term_id":1852,"name":"Eli Vickers","slug":"eli-vickers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1852,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"10"},{"term_id":1660,"name":"Interview","slug":"interview","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1660,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw","term_order":"200"},{"term_id":1630,"name":"WHL Draft","slug":"whl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1630,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw","term_order":"231"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver 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Dir. of Player Personnel Greg Batters On 2026 WHL Draft Class"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giants Director of Player Personnel Greg Batters touches on all seven draft picks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[{"term_id":1856,"name":"Greg Batters","slug":"greg-batters","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1856,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"4"},{"term_id":1857,"name":"Brayden Leinenweber","slug":"brayden-leinenweber","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1857,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"5"},{"term_id":1854,"name":"Donovan 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Select 3 Forwards, 3 Defencemen &amp; 1 Goaltender During 2026 WHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Ladner, B.C. \u2013 <\/strong>The Vancouver Giants added seven new faces to the organization during the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft on May 6 and 7.<i><\/i><\/p>\n<p>The G-Men began with two high-end talents on Day 1, taking defenceman\u00a0<span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1076085\/eli-vickers\"><b>Eli Vickers<\/b><\/a><\/span> and then forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951670\/brayden-jugnauth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brayden Jugnauth<\/b><\/span><\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>back-to-back at third and fourth overall, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>On Day 2, the Giants selected two more forwards, two more defencemen and one goaltender.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Overall, our group is quite happy,&#8221; Giants Director of Player Personnel Greg Batters said. &#8220;The staff worked pretty hard over the winter and identified all the players that were available and we were lucky to select these seven young men that are going to be wearing Giants jerseys here in the near future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>See below for all seven selections.<\/p>\n<table dir=\"ltr\" style=\"width: 100.657%;height: 179px\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" data-sheets-root=\"1\">\n<colgroup>\n<col width=\"59\" \/>\n<col width=\"50\" \/>\n<col width=\"128\" \/>\n<col width=\"46\" \/>\n<col width=\"40\" \/>\n<col width=\"41\" \/>\n<col width=\"133\" \/>\n<col width=\"139\" \/><\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 22px\">\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 4.88414%;height: 22px\" data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;ROUND&quot;}\"><strong>RD<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.89138%;height: 22px\" data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;OVR&quot;}\"><strong>OVR<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 22.7062%;height: 22px\" data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;PLAYER&quot;}\"><strong>PLAYER<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.3923%;height: 22px\" data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;POS&quot;}\"><strong>POS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.48944%;height: 22px\" data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;HT&quot;}\"><strong>HT<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.13237%;height: 22px\" data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;WT&quot;}\"><strong>WT<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 16.8052%;height: 22px\" data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;HOMETOWN&quot;}\"><strong>HOMETOWN<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 64.8754%;height: 22px\" data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;2023-24 TEAM&quot;}\"><strong>2025-26 TEAM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 22px\">\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 4.88414%;height: 22px\">1<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.89138%;height: 22px\">3<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 22.7062%;height: 22px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1076085\/eli-vickers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Eli Vickers<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.3923%;height: 22px\">D<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.48944%;height: 22px\">5-9<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.13237%;height: 22px\">159<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 16.8052%;height: 22px\">Surrey, B.C.<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 64.8754%;height: 22px\">Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 22px\">\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 4.88414%;height: 22px\">1<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.89138%;height: 22px\">4<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 22.7062%;height: 22px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951670\/brayden-jugnauth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brayden Jugnauth<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.3923%;height: 22px\">F<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.48944%;height: 22px\">5-9<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.13237%;height: 22px\">155<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 16.8052%;height: 22px\">Kelowna, B.C.<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 64.8754%;height: 22px\">Okanagan Rockets U18 AAA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 22px\">\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 4.88414%;height: 22px\">2<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.89138%;height: 22px\">26<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 22.7062%;height: 22px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951940\/brady-leinenweber\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brady Leinenweber<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.3923%;height: 22px\">D<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.48944%;height: 22px\">6-1<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.13237%;height: 22px\">150<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 16.8052%;height: 22px\">Kerrobert, SK<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 64.8754%;height: 22px\">NAX U15 Prep<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 22px\">\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 4.88414%;height: 22px\">2<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.89138%;height: 22px\">33<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 22.7062%;height: 22px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951910\/donovan-knapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Donovan Knapp<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.3923%;height: 22px\">G<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.48944%;height: 22px\">6-4<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.13237%;height: 22px\">181<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 16.8052%;height: 22px\">Clearwater, MN<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 64.8754%;height: 22px\">Detroit Little Caesars U14 AAA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 22px\">\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 4.88414%;height: 22px\">3<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.89138%;height: 22px\">65<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 22.7062%;height: 22px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1122797\/spencer-wilmot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Spencer Wilmot<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.3923%;height: 22px\">F<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.48944%;height: 22px\">5-10<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.13237%;height: 22px\">163<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 16.8052%;height: 22px\">Littleton, CO<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 64.8754%;height: 22px\">Okanagan HA Colorado U14 AAA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px\">\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 4.88414%;height: 25px\">4<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.89138%;height: 25px\">74<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 22.7062%;height: 25px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1084028\/zachary-pomeroy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zachary Pomeroy<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.3923%;height: 25px\">D<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.48944%;height: 25px\">6-1<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.13237%;height: 25px\">173<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 16.8052%;height: 25px\">Calgary, AB<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 64.8754%;height: 25px\">Edge School U15 Prep<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 22px\">\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 4.88414%;height: 22px\">7<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.89138%;height: 22px\">149<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 22.7062%;height: 22px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951934\/landon-reschny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Landon Reschny<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 5.3923%;height: 22px\">F<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.48944%;height: 22px\">5-6<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 7.13237%;height: 22px\">142<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 16.8052%;height: 22px\">Macklin, SK<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;width: 64.8754%;height: 22px\">NAX U15 Prep<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Round 1, Pick 3: Eli Vickers, D, Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1076085\/eli-vickers\"><b>Vickers<\/b><\/a><\/span> is a 5-foot-9 defenceman who was named the Top Defenceman in the U15 Prep division of the CSSHL this past season after leading all blueliners with 62 points in 30 games, thanks to 22 goals and 40 assists.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve admired his competitiveness and his will to win for the last two years,&#8221; Batters said. &#8220;The people at Delta speak super highly of him. His coaches love him, to the point where he got called up to the U17s in the championships to play forward with them. He&#8217;s that type of kid. He&#8217;s a winner; a leader. He&#8217;s going to be a fan favourite for sure.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The left-shot rearguard finished fifth among all U15 Prep CSSHL skaters in points. Having been part of Delta\u2019s 2025 CSSHL Western Championship team, Vickers had 98 points in 65 career U15 Prep games, second most all-time among defensemen.<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 93.9933%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\"><strong>Season<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 39.3887%\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9.40896%\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.61452%;text-align: center\"><strong>GP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.50351%;text-align: center\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.06482%;text-align: center\"><strong>A<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.73002%;text-align: center\"><strong>P<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 8.17598%;text-align: center\"><strong>PIM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2024-25<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 39.3887%\">Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9.40896%\">CSSHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.61452%;text-align: center\">35<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.50351%;text-align: center\">8<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.06482%;text-align: center\">28<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.73002%;text-align: center\">36<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 8.17598%;text-align: center\">6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2025-26<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 39.3887%\">Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9.40896%\">CSSHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.61452%;text-align: center\">30<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.50351%;text-align: center\">22<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.06482%;text-align: center\">40<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.73002%;text-align: center\">62<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 8.17598%;text-align: center\">16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Surrey native was ranked as the top defenceman by Elite Prospects in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/news\/2026-whl-draft\/elite-prospects-2026-whl-prospects-draft-final-top-120-ranking\"><span class=\"s1\">their 2026 WHL Draft rankings.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">&#8220;Arguably the best skater in the draft class, he\u2019s extremely fluid, elite off his edges, and explosive across the rink,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/news\/2026-whl-draft\/elite-prospects-2026-whl-prospects-draft-final-top-120-ranking\"><span class=\"s1\">EP&#8217;s ranking<\/span><\/a> said. &#8220;Vickers is also a high-end thinker, scanning, anticipating, and reading plays. He\u2019s a strong playmaker, finding high-value passing lanes, and a highly skilled handler&#8230;Vickers projects as a top-pair defenceman. His game is as plug-and-play as they come, too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">He was also ranked as <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PuckPrepsWestCa\/status\/2051767731385459043\/photo\/1\"><span class=\"s1\">the top defenceman<\/span><\/a> by PuckPreps.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Round 1, Pick 4: Brayden Jugnauth, F, Okanagan Rockets U18 AAA<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951670\/brayden-jugnauth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Jugnauth <\/b><\/span><\/a>is a cerebral centre who was named the U18 player of the year in the BC Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) this past season after producing 58 points (32G-26A) in 34 games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">He added nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in just six playoff games, helping the Rockets win back-to-back U18 Championships.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a bit of an assassin when he has the puck because he can score from anywhere,&#8221; Batters said. &#8220;He&#8217;s an elite passer. His numbers in U18 speak for themselves. He&#8217;s just a special player. He&#8217;s got significant upside.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As a 14-year-old, Jugnauth&#8217;s 32 goals led the league and his 58 points were second. Jugnauth and the Rockets captured their second straight Pacific Regional Championship, advancing to the TELUS Cup National Championship where they made the semifinal, in large part thanks to Jugnauth&#8217;s 11 points in seven games (6G-5A).<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 89.9889%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\"><strong>Season<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 35.929%\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10.3509%\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.8132%;text-align: center\"><strong>GP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.56232%;text-align: center\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.68802%;text-align: center\"><strong>A<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.92329%;text-align: center\"><strong>P<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.43196%;text-align: center\"><strong>PIM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2024-25<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 35.929%\">Okanagan Rockets\u00a0U15 AAA<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10.3509%\">BCEHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.8132%;text-align: center\">30<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.56232%;text-align: center\">42<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.68802%;text-align: center\">24<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.92329%;text-align: center\">66<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.43196%;text-align: center\">16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2025-26<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 35.929%\">Okanagan Rockets U18 AAA<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10.3509%\">BCEHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.8132%;text-align: center\">34<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.56232%;text-align: center\">32<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.68802%;text-align: center\">26<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.92329%;text-align: center\">58<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.43196%;text-align: center\">14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Kelowna native was ranked <strong>3rd overall<\/strong> by Elite Prospects in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/news\/2026-whl-draft\/elite-prospects-2026-whl-prospects-draft-final-top-120-ranking\"><span class=\"s1\">their 2026 WHL Draft rankings.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">&#8220;Jugnauth is able to control games with his brain,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/news\/2026-whl-draft\/elite-prospects-2026-whl-prospects-draft-final-top-120-ranking\"><span class=\"s1\">EP&#8217;s ranking<\/span><\/a> said. &#8220;It starts away from the puck, as he\u2019s always open, intercepting breakouts and spacing the ice. With possession, he\u2019s a deadly shooter, firing off the catch, off the rush, and from sharp angles. Plus, he\u2019s a skilled playmaker who creates time and space with dishes, particularly in transition. While Jugnauth\u2019s not an explosive skater, his relatively thin frame suggests he has a lot more room to develop. His stock has skyrocketed this season, jumping from 14th on our first ranking to a surefire top-five pick and looking like a future first-line centre.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">some reeeeeel good highlights from 4th overall pick and future Vancouver Giant Brayden Jugnauth \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8\ud83c\udf9e\ufe0f\u203c\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/04dy14KSnW\">pic.twitter.com\/04dy14KSnW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants\/status\/2052190708384362849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Round 2, Pick 26: Brady Leinenweber, D, NAX U15 Prep<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951940\/brady-leinenweber\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Leinenweber<\/b><\/span><\/a> is a right-shot blueliner who led NAX defencemen in points with 35 this past season, thanks to two goals and 33 assists.<\/p>\n<p>He was named a U15 Prep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csshl.ca\/2025-26-csshl-first-team-all-stars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first-team all-star<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Brady is a big, smooth-skating, smart defenceman that can play on both sides of the puck and have an impact,&#8221; Batters said. &#8220;We were quite surprised to see him there at that point in the draft&#8230;He&#8217;s an elite right-handed shot. In my opinion, he was one of the top defencemen in the draft.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">The Saskatchewan product also tied for second in scoring among defencemen at the John Reid Memorial tournament with six points in six games (1G-5A).<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 87.0968%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\"><strong>Season<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 36.8468%\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10.8461%\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.70601%;text-align: center\"><strong>GP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.08019%;text-align: center\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.83507%;text-align: center\"><strong>A<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.97427%;text-align: center\"><strong>P<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.95279%;text-align: center\"><strong>PIM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2024-25<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 36.8468%\">Lloydminster Athletics 14U<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10.8461%\">JPHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.70601%;text-align: center\">30<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.08019%;text-align: center\">14<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.83507%;text-align: center\">36<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.97427%;text-align: center\">50<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.95279%;text-align: center\">12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2025-26<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 36.8468%\">NAX U15 Prep<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10.8461%\">CSSHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.70601%;text-align: center\">29<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.08019%;text-align: center\">2<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.83507%;text-align: center\">33<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.97427%;text-align: center\">35<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.95279%;text-align: center\">14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Brady Leinenweber, our 7th-ranked prospect for the 2026 WHL Draft, goes to the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WHLGiants<\/a> 26th overall \ud83e\udd29<\/p>\n<p>Read more about his game here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fpAFEx2vW7\">https:\/\/t.co\/fpAFEx2vW7<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/80j4Gga5x3\">pic.twitter.com\/80j4Gga5x3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eliteprospects\/status\/2052421187880329501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Elite Prospects ranked Leinenweber\u00a0<strong>7th overall<\/strong> and called him &#8220;the most projectable defender in this class.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Never panicked, Leinenweber uses his mobility and reach to protect the puck under pressure and finds outlets with the timing and weight that allow recipients to receive in motion,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/news\/2026-whl-draft\/elite-prospects-2026-whl-prospects-draft-final-top-120-ranking\"><span class=\"s1\">EP&#8217;s ranking<\/span><\/a> said. &#8220;His blueline work is a legitimate offensive weapon: he opens his hips to distribute in both directions, pulls defenders out of lanes with shot fakes, and delivers backdoor passes with the kind of professional precision that is rare at this level. The shot from the right circle carries real threat, and his activation habits give his team a consistent offensive presence from the back end&#8230;He projects as a top-pair, two-way WHL defenceman with legitimate special teams upside on both sides of the ice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\"><b>Round 2, Pick 33: Donovan Knapp, G, Detroit Little Caesars U14 AAA<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951910\/donovan-knapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Knapp<\/strong><\/a> brings size (6-foot-4, 180 lbs.) and a winning pedigree, backstopping the U14 Little Caesars to a Tier I National Championship this past season.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a big kid \u2013 6-foot-4 \u2013 and he&#8217;s a confident young man who has a ton of skill,&#8221; Batters said. &#8220;The Knapp family is a special family. They&#8217;re blue collar people. They&#8217;re really hard working. Donovan is just a unique talent&#8230;he is going to be a big part of this team. You can&#8217;t win in this league without great goaltending, so drafting a goalie is paramount in building a winning club.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Not all of Knapp&#8217;s stats from the regular season are publicly available, but according to USA Hockey&#8217;s website, he went 24-2-1 this past season with a 1.46 goals-against average (GAA). At Nationals, he went 5-0-0 with a 1.51 G.A.A. and .920 save percentage.<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 90.99%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\"><strong>Season<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.5915%\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 13.8134%\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.8121%;text-align: center\"><strong>GS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9.05304%;text-align: center\"><strong>W-L-T<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.69872%;text-align: center\"><strong>G.A.A<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2025-26<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.5915%\">Detroit Little Caesars U14 AAA<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 13.8134%\">Youth Tier 1 14U<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.8121%;text-align: center\">27<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9.05304%;text-align: center\">24-2-1<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.69872%;text-align: center\">1.46<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">hey Donovan! Welcome to the Giants! \ud83d\udc4b <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cAO63GMMWX\">pic.twitter.com\/cAO63GMMWX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants\/status\/2052426149649854652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Round 3, Pick 65: Spencer Wilmot, F, Okanagan HA Colorado U14 AAA<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Another American, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1122797\/spencer-wilmot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Wilmot<\/strong><\/a> is a skilled forward who led Okanagan Colorado&#8217;s U14 team with 62 points in 43 games this past season (31G-31A).<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Spencer is a talented player,&#8221; Batters said. &#8220;He digs in, he works hard, he&#8217;s smart, he&#8217;s two-way, but he&#8217;s got offensive skills. He makes plays. There&#8217;s potential for him to be quite a big kid too. There&#8217;s a lot of upside. I&#8217;m excited about him. He&#8217;s a bit of a sleeper for us in this draft.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wilmot was also his team&#8217;s leading scoring at the John Reid Memorial tournament with eight points in five games (5G-3A).<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 91.6574%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\"><strong>Season<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 39.2662%\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 8.95095%\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.28738%;text-align: center\"><strong>GP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.30385%;text-align: center\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.78687%;text-align: center\"><strong>A<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.77936%;text-align: center\"><strong>P<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 8.31882%;text-align: center\"><strong>PIM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2025-26<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 39.2662%\">Okanagan HA Colorado U14 AAA<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 8.95095%\">14U AAA<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.28738%;text-align: center\">43<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.30385%;text-align: center\">31<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.78687%;text-align: center\">31<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.77936%;text-align: center\">62<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 8.31882%;text-align: center\">55<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Round 4, Pick 74: Zachary Pomeroy, D, Edge School U15 Prep<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1084028\/zachary-pomeroy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Pomeroy<\/strong><\/a> is a 6-foot-1 left-shot defenceman, who tallied 13 points (2G-11A) in 21 games for Edge U15 Prep this past season, where he was the captain.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a big body. He has some bite. He moves very well,&#8221; Batters said. &#8220;At this point in the draft to get him there, it&#8217;s a win for us and for our coaching staff. They&#8217;re going to be excited about him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Elite Prospects ranked Pomeroy <strong>28th overall.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Pomeroy creates from the blueline with genuine intelligence,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/news\/2026-whl-draft\/elite-prospects-2026-whl-prospects-draft-final-top-120-ranking\"><span class=\"s1\">EP&#8217;s ranking<\/span><\/a> said. &#8220;He beats defenders off the point with a first touch that accelerates into space, uses shot fakes to open passing lanes, and moves around the zone to find high-value positions before distributing&#8230;the production and tools both point toward a WHL defender with real special teams upside on both ends of the ice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 89.988%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\"><strong>Season<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 40.8733%\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.76627%\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.68959%;text-align: center\"><strong>GP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.06788%;text-align: center\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.69915%;text-align: center\"><strong>A<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.79968%;text-align: center\"><strong>P<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.66509%;text-align: center\"><strong>PIM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2024-25<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 40.8733%\">Calgary Edge School U15 AAA<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.76627%\">CSSHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.68959%;text-align: center\">35<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.06788%;text-align: center\">12<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.69915%;text-align: center\">33<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.79968%;text-align: center\">45<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.66509%;text-align: center\">10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2025-26<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 40.8733%\">Calgary Edge School U15 Prep<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.76627%\">CSSHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.68959%;text-align: center\">21<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.06788%;text-align: center\">2<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 4.69915%;text-align: center\">11<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.79968%;text-align: center\">13<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 7.66509%;text-align: center\">16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Welcome to the Giants Zachary! \ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udcaa <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iPExxZy2wA\">pic.twitter.com\/iPExxZy2wA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants\/status\/2052448407965589772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Round 7, Pick 149: Landon Reschny, F, NAX U15 Prep<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951934\/landon-reschny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Reschny<\/b><\/a> is a responsible centre who tallied 19 points (10G-9A) in 29 games for NAX U15 Prep this past season.<\/p>\n<p>He is the younger brother of Medicine Hat Tigers forward Dayton Reschny and was teammates with Leinenweber at NAX, the Giants 26th overall selection.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Landon is a two-way guy who can play against the other team&#8217;s top lines,&#8221; Batters said. &#8220;He&#8217;s super trustworthy. He&#8217;s got vision. He&#8217;s got hands. He&#8217;s got skills: he can makes plays. He&#8217;s a bit undersized right now, but he will grow.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Elite Prospects ranked Reschny <strong>54th overall.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He makes smart decisions constantly and in all three zones,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/news\/2026-whl-draft\/elite-prospects-2026-whl-prospects-draft-final-top-120-ranking\"><span class=\"s1\">EP&#8217;s ranking<\/span><\/a> said. &#8220;His playmaking stands out, making passes and finding lanes before anyone else on the ice sees what&#8217;s happening. His edgework is a strength, with a balanced stride that gives him four-way mobility. He\u2019s a skilled pivot who coaches want on the ice in critical moments. Reschny\u2019s deception is a clear strength, constantly using his feet, hands, shoulders, and eyes to trick defenders. He needs to gain strength and further develop his shot to become an everyday WHL player, but there\u2019s a potential top-nine centre in here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 92.1023%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\"><strong>Season<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 41.5287%\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9.09335%\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.55747%;text-align: center\"><strong>GP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.90479%;text-align: center\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.4181%;text-align: center\"><strong>A<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.85804%;text-align: center\"><strong>P<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.86482%;text-align: center\"><strong>PIM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2024-25<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 41.5287%\">Lloydminster Athletics 14U<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9.09335%\">JPHL 14U<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.55747%;text-align: center\">30<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.90479%;text-align: center\">37<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.4181%;text-align: center\">23<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.85804%;text-align: center\">60<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.86482%;text-align: center\">8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%\">2025-26<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 41.5287%\">NAX U15 Prep<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9.09335%\">CSSHL<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.55747%;text-align: center\">29<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.90479%;text-align: center\">10<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.4181%;text-align: center\">9<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.85804%;text-align: center\">19<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 5.86482%;text-align: center\">8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Landon Reschny is off to the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WHLGiants<\/a> in the seventh round!<\/p>\n<p>Read more about his game here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fpAFEx2vW7\">https:\/\/t.co\/fpAFEx2vW7<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FcTmVkectS\">pic.twitter.com\/FcTmVkectS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eliteprospects\/status\/2052479179833192804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Giants added three forwards, three defencemen and one goaltender to their organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1855,"name":"WHL Draft Recap","slug":"whl-draft-recap","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1855,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"6"},{"term_id":1851,"name":"Brayden Jugnauth","slug":"brayden-jugnauth","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1851,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"9"},{"term_id":1852,"name":"Eli Vickers","slug":"eli-vickers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1852,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"10"},{"term_id":1630,"name":"WHL Draft","slug":"whl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1630,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw","term_order":"231"}],"class_list":["post-88539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-whl-draft-recap","tag-brayden-jugnauth","tag-eli-vickers","tag-whl-draft","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/05\/07143753\/DRAFT-RECAP-GRAPHIC.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88512,"date":"2026-05-06T19:21:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T02:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88512"},"modified":"2026-05-06T19:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T02:33:20","slug":"giants-select-vickers-jugnauth-in-first-round-of-whl-prospects-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/giants-select-vickers-jugnauth-in-first-round-of-whl-prospects-draft","title":{"rendered":"Giants Select Vickers &amp; Jugnauth in First Round of WHL Prospects Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><strong>Ladner, B.C. \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>The Vancouver Giants made two selections in the first round of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft on Wednesday, taking defenceman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/1076085\/eli-vickers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Eli Vickers<\/strong><\/a> from Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep with the third overall pick and then selecting forward\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951670\/brayden-jugnauth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brayden Jugnauth<\/strong><\/a> from the U18 Okanagan Rockets with the fourth overall pick.<\/p>\n<p>The Giants <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WHLGiants\/status\/2052181144725274987\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">began the evening by trading down<\/a>, sending the second overall selection in 2026 to Wenatchee in exchange for the third overall pick in 2026, a first-round pick in 2030, a second-round pick in 2027 and a second-round pick in 2028.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Giants then used the third overall pick to take Vickers, a 5-foot-9 smooth-skating defenceman who was named the Top Defenceman in the U15 Prep division of the CSSHL this past season. He led all U15 prep blueliners with 62 points in 30 games, thanks to 22 goals and 40 assists.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;First and foremost, Eli Vickers is a real fine young man,&#8221; Giants Head Scout Terry Bonner said. &#8220;He does everything really, really well. He wants the puck. He makes plays&#8230;and he&#8217;s second to none in his work ethic for the game. His awareness is really good. He angles, contains and finishes checks really well [and has] good gap control. He just plays hard.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The left-shot rearguard finished fifth among <a href=\"https:\/\/u15prep.csshl.hockeytech.com\/stats\/player-stats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">all U15 prep skaters in points<\/a>. Having been part of Delta\u2019s 2025 CSSHL Western Championship team, Vickers had 98 points in 65 career U15 Prep games, second most all time among defensemen.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">THE PICK IS IN \ud83d\udde3\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>The Giants are THRILLED to select Eli Vickers from Delta Hockey Academy with the 3rd overall pick!<\/p>\n<p>Welcome the Giants Eli!\ud83d\udcaa <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oiAinJCmrj\">pic.twitter.com\/oiAinJCmrj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants\/status\/2052182921600242159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteprospects.com\/player\/951670\/brayden-jugnauth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Jugnauth <\/b><\/span><\/a>is a cerebral centre who was named the U18 player of the year in the BC Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) this past season after producing 58 points (32G-26A) in 34 games. He added nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in just six playoff games, helping the Rockets win back-to-back U18 Championships as a 14-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We really felt that he was one of the top forwards available in the draft, so we&#8217;re really excited to get him in that spot,&#8221; Giants Director of Scouting Kelly Kursteiner said. &#8220;He&#8217;s an elite level player. He had an outstanding year at the U18 level. He does some very highly skilled things. He&#8217;s a great skater. He can really score. So we&#8217;re really excited to get him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Jugnauth&#8217;s 32 goals led the BCEHL and his 58 points were second. Jugnauth and the Rockets captured their second straight Pacific Regional Championship, advancing to the TELUS Cup National Championship where they made the semifinal, in large part thanks to Jugnauth&#8217;s 11 points in seven games (6G-5A).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NEXT PICK IS IN \ud83d\udd25 <\/p>\n<p>The Giants are ecstatic to select Brayden Jugnauth from the U18 AAA Okanagan Rockets with the 4th overall pick! <\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the Giants Brayden! \ud83d\udcaa <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/y1Q4dKoCod\">pic.twitter.com\/y1Q4dKoCod<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants\/status\/2052184041169051905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The second round of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft takes place online on Thursday morning, starting at 8 a.m. PT.<\/p>\n<p>The Giants hold the 26th overall pick, 33rd overall pick and 49th overall pick, plus additional picks in Round 7 and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>All draft results are available <a href=\"https:\/\/whl.ca\/draft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/whl.ca\/draft&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1746741627167000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1982oAFWTxroyi8ooJkCGE\">by clicking here<\/a>\u00a0or at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/giants-2024-whl-draft-tracker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/giants-2024-whl-draft-tracker\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1746741627167000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1aiw_0zFCqHF4AxYjjQJF2\">Vancouvergiants.com<\/a>.\u00a0All picks will also be announced on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHLGiants&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1746741627167000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1UgJdijxYOjmVrNZyLXIVz\">the Giants social media channels<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Giants have added two pillars to their organization: DHA defenceman Eli Vickers and Okanagan Rockets centre Brayden Jugnauth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1851,"name":"Brayden Jugnauth","slug":"brayden-jugnauth","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1851,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"9"},{"term_id":1852,"name":"Eli 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