[{"id":88443,"date":"2026-04-17T11:37:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88443"},"modified":"2026-04-17T12:14:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:14:42","slug":"4-giants-alumni-on-nhl-playoff-rosters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/4-giants-alumni-on-nhl-playoff-rosters","title":{"rendered":"4 Giants Alumni on NHL Playoff Rosters"},"content":{"rendered":"
Langley, B.C. \u2013 <\/strong>Four former Vancouver Giants are listed on 2026 NHL playoff rosters: Bowen Byram (Buffalo), Brendan Gallagher (Montreal), Brett Kulak (Colorado) and Jordan Martinook (Carolina).<\/div>\n
\n

The 2026 Playoffs begin on Saturday, April 18.<\/p>\n

\n

Bowen Byram<\/a> \u2013 Buffalo Sabres<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Byram, 24, had a career year for the suddenly upstart Sabres, recording 11 goals and 31 assists for 42 points in 82 games. It represented a new career-high in points, goals and plus\/minus, at +15. He also played in all 82 games for the second consecutive season, helping the Sabres end a 14-year playoff drought while capturing the Atlantic Division for the time since 2009.<\/p>\n

To date, the Cranbrook, B.C. product has played in 328 career regular season games, during which he has produced 152 points (44G-108A). The left-shot defender was the 4th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and burst onto the NHL scene with a standout performance during the Colorado Avalanche’ playoff run in 2022, when the then-rookie tallied nine points in 20 playoff games (9A), helping Colorado capture their third Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

As a Giant, Byram played three full seasons (2017-20) and ranks third all-time for points by a defenceman with 150 (46G-104A). He also holds the second-most productive single season point total for Giants defencemen, thanks to a 71-point campaign in 2018-19. During Vancouver’s run to the 2019 WHL Championship Final, Byram also put up 26 points in 22 games (8G-18A).<\/p>\n

Buffalo will play the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

CLICK FOR FULL SABRES ROSTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Brendan Gallagher<\/a> \u2013 Montreal Canadiens<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Gallagher, 33, saw his ice-time reduced this season, but still chipped in with 23 points (7G-16A) in 77 games. The veteran forward is the longest-tenured player on the Canadiens roster and helped them to a 48-24-10 record this season.<\/p>\n

The 5-foot-9 winger is now closing in on both 1000 career games and 500 career points in the NHL: over 14 seasons and 911 regular season games, all with the Canadiens, he has produced 487 points (246G-241A), including two 30-goal seasons and two additional 20-goal seasons.<\/p>\n

Born in Edmonton, but raised in Tsawwassen, B.C., Gallagher has been an alternate captain for the Habs for the past 11 seasons.<\/p>\n

Gallagher is the Giants’ all-time leader in points with 280 (136G-144A), which included three consecutive 40-goal seasons from 2009-12. He was selected by the Habs in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Gallagher ranks sixth in Giants playoff scoring all-time, with 36 points in 42 games (19G-17A).<\/p>\n

Montreal will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CANADIENS ROSTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Brett Kulak<\/a> \u2013 Colorado Avalanche<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Kulak, 32, was traded twice this season, first to the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 12 and then to the Avalanche for Samuel Girard<\/a> on Feb. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n

The left-shot blueliner played in 83 games this season because of the trades, registering 12 points (1G-11A). He averaged 19:08 of ice-time with the Avalanche in 27 games, helping them finish with the best record in the NHL (55-16-11). Kulak went to the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons with the Oilers, losing each time to the Florida Panthers (seven games in 2024 and six in 2025).<\/p>\n

The Edmonton native has played in 663 career regular season NHL games, having recorded 137 points (29G-108A) with the Calgary Flames, Canadiens, Oilers, Penguins and Avalanche.<\/p>\n

As a Giant, Kulak played three full seasons (2011-14), culminating in a standout 60-point campaign in 2013-14, during which he was also an alternate captain. He was selected by the Flames in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and was originally a ninth-round pick by the Giants in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft.<\/p>\n

Colorado will play the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR FULL AVALANCHE ROSTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Jordan Martinook<\/a> \u2013 Carolina Hurricanes<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Martinook, 33, fell just one point shy of his fourth straight 30-point campaign, recording 29 points (12G-17A) in 77 games in 2025-26. He helped the Hurricanes claim the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 53-22-7 record, giving them home-ice advantage for the first three rounds of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

It was the seventh season Martinook has served as an alternate captain for the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

The Brandon, Man. native has now played in 797 career regular season games over 11 NHL seasons, during which he has produced 262 points (107G-155A). He also brings a ton of playoff experience: he has suited up in 76 postseason games, all with the Hurricanes, and has 33 points (8G-25A).<\/p>\n

As a Giant, Martinook scored 51 goals and 41 assists for 92 points during his two seasons with the club from 2010-12. Following his 40-goal campaign in 2011-12, the (then) Phoenix Coyotes made him a second-round selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.<\/p>\n

Carolina will play the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR FULL HURRICANES ROSTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Langley, B.C. \u2013 Four former Vancouver Giants are listed on 2026 NHL playoff rosters: Bowen Byram (Buffalo), Brendan Gallagher (Montreal), Brett Kulak (Colorado) and Jordan Martinook (Carolina). The 2026 Playoffs begin on Saturday, April 18. Bowen Byram \u2013 Buffalo Sabres Byram, 24, had a career year for the suddenly upstart Sabres, recording 11 goals and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1847,"name":"Jordin Martinook","slug":"jordin-martinook","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1847,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"},{"term_id":1159,"name":"bowen byram","slug":"bowen-byram","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1163,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":297,"filter":"raw","term_order":"442"},{"term_id":128,"name":"brendan gallagher","slug":"brendan-gallagher","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":129,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":48,"filter":"raw","term_order":"453"},{"term_id":72,"name":"brett kulak","slug":"brett-kulak","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":73,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":42,"filter":"raw","term_order":"465"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1431,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1780"}],"class_list":["post-88443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-jordin-martinook","tag-bowen-byram","tag-brendan-gallagher","tag-brett-kulak","tag-vancouver-giants","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/04\/17113422\/4-Alumni-on-NHL-Playoff-Rosters-Wide-Web.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\/88443","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=88443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88438,"date":"2026-04-16T11:48:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88438"},"modified":"2026-04-16T12:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T19:17:12","slug":"5-giants-listed-on-nhl-central-scouting-final-draft-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/5-giants-listed-on-nhl-central-scouting-final-draft-rankings","title":{"rendered":"5 Giants Listed on NHL Central Scouting Final Draft Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Langley, B.C. \u2013<\/strong> The Vancouver Giants are excited to announce that five players have been listed by NHL Central Scouting<\/strong> on their Final<\/strong> rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft: defenceman Ryan Lin<\/strong><\/a>, along with forwards <\/span><\/span>Mathis Preston<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, Joe Iginla<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, Brett Olson<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, and Tobias Tom\u00edk.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

NHL Central Scouting announced the final list<\/a> of the top North American skaters and goalies, along with the top International skaters and goalies, on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

Below is where the Giants were ranked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rank (N.A. Skaters)<\/strong><\/td>\nLast Name<\/strong><\/td>\nFirst Name<\/strong><\/td>\nHometown<\/strong><\/td>\nHt<\/strong><\/td>\nWt<\/strong><\/td>\nPos<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16th<\/td>\nLin<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nRyan<\/td>\nRichmond, B.C.<\/td>\n5’11”<\/td>\n178<\/td>\nD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
32nd<\/td>\nPreston<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/td>\nMathis<\/td>\nPenticton, B.C.<\/td>\n5’11”<\/td>\n173<\/td>\nRW<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
173rd<\/td>\nOlson<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nBrett<\/td>\nSpruce Grove, AB<\/td>\n6’2″<\/td>\n189<\/td>\nC<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
193rd<\/td>\nTom\u00edk<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nTobias<\/td>\nIlava, SVK<\/td>\n6’0″<\/td>\n186<\/td>\nLW<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
200th<\/td>\nIginla<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nJoe<\/td>\nLake Country, B.C.<\/td>\n5’10”<\/td>\n170<\/td>\nRW<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

CLICK FOR THE N.A. SKATERS LIST<\/strong><\/a> |\u00a0CLICK FOR THE N.A. GOALIES LIST<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lin (Richmond, B.C.) <\/strong>was the highest rated Giant on the list, holding the 16th spot, making him a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound right-shot defender led the Giants in scoring this season with 57 points in just 53 games (14G-43A). His 14 goals this season were nearly triple the five he scored in 2024-25.<\/p>\n

Lin\u2019s 1.08 points-per-game this season 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). His 1.08 points-per-game this season ranked 7th amongst all defencemen in the WHL. Lin will have one last opportunity to play in front of scouts, when he suits up for Canada at the 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship in Slovakia, which begins on April 22. He was drafted by the Giants with the sixth overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

Preston (Penticton, B.C.)<\/strong> is the highest rated Giants forward, coming in at 32nd, which still projects as a first-round talent. The 5-foot-11, 173 lb. winger was acquired by the Giants ahead of the 2026 WHL trade deadline. He recorded 12 points (4G-8A) in 10 games with Vancouver, missing significant time due to a lower-body injury that he suffered on January 10. Preston started the 2025-26 campaign with 32 points in 36 games for the Spokane Chiefs (14G-18A). Preston will also play for Canada at the U18 Men’s Worlds later this month. He was drafted by Spokane with the third overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

Olson (Spruce Grove, AB)<\/strong> is the highest Giants centre on the list coming in at 173rd. Olson doubled his point total from his 16-year-old rookie season, finishing 2025-26 with 30 points (11G-19A). He was the only Giant to suit up in all 68 games this season. The second-year forward was drafted by the Giants with the eighth overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. Olson rounded out his game this season, averaging 2:20 of penalty killing time per game. Twenty-four of his points came at even-strength, the second-most amongst Giants forwards.<\/p>\n

Tom\u00edk (Ilava, SVK) <\/strong>is ranked 193rd on the final draft rankings. Tom\u00edk finished his first season in North America with 28 points (12G-16A) in 61 games. The forward represented Slovakia at the IIHF World Junior Championship for the second year in a row, this time producing two points (1G-1A) in five games. Tom\u00edk was drafted by the Giants with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 CHL Import Draft.<\/p>\n

Iginla (Lake Country, B.C.) <\/strong>finished his second full WHL campaign with 31 points (15G-16A) in 59 games split between the Edmonton Oil Kings and Giants. He was recovering from an injury at the time of the midseason trade to Vancouver, but heated up at the end of the season, with seven points (3G-4A) in his final 10 games. Iginla was drafted by Edmonton with the 12th overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

A total of 69 Western Hockey League skaters and nine goaltenders were listed on the final rankings, including 10\u00a0in the first round of North American skaters.<\/p>\n

The 2026 NHL Draft will be held at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on June 26-27. The NHL Draft Lottery to determine the first 16 picks is May 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Langley, B.C. \u2013 The Vancouver Giants are excited to announce that five players have been listed by NHL Central Scouting on their Final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft: defenceman Ryan Lin, along with forwards Mathis Preston, Joe Iginla, Brett Olson, and Tobias Tom\u00edk. NHL Central Scouting announced the final list of the top North…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88440,"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":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"28"},{"term_id":1819,"name":"Joe Iginla","slug":"joe-iginla","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1819,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"29"},{"term_id":1648,"name":"Tobias Tomik","slug":"tobias-tomik","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1648,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"200"},{"term_id":1614,"name":"NHL Central Scouting","slug":"nhl-central-scouting","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1614,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw","term_order":"234"},{"term_id":1553,"name":"Ryan Lin","slug":"ryan-lin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1553,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":49,"filter":"raw","term_order":"293"},{"term_id":1554,"name":"Brett Olson","slug":"brett-olson","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1554,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"294"},{"term_id":122,"name":"nhl draft","slug":"nhl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":123,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":52,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1298"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1431,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1780"}],"class_list":["post-88438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-mathis-preston","tag-joe-iginla","tag-tobias-tomik","tag-nhl-central-scouting","tag-ryan-lin","tag-brett-olson","tag-nhl-draft","tag-vancouver-giants","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/04\/16114818\/NHL-Central-Scouting-Final-Rankings.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\/88438","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=88438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88428,"date":"2026-04-14T13:58:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88428"},"modified":"2026-04-14T13:58:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:58:52","slug":"vancouver-giants-part-ways-with-head-coach-parker-burgess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/vancouver-giants-part-ways-with-head-coach-parker-burgess","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver Giants Part Ways with Head Coach Parker Burgess"},"content":{"rendered":"

Langley, B.C. \u2013<\/b> The <\/span>Vancouver Giants<\/b> announced today that Head Coach Parker Burgess will not return next season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank Parker for his hard work and leadership during a difficult season,\u201d Giants Majority Owner Ron Toigo said. \u201cThe results fell short of our expectations, but we appreciate his efforts and contributions to the Giants, and we wish him all the best moving forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Burgess, 41, was hired as Head Coach last summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to thank Ron and Hnat Domenichelli for the opportunity this past season,\u201d Burgess said. \u201cI am grateful to have worked with a great group of players and staff. Our family enjoyed our time in Vancouver and had a positive experience coaching in such a great league.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to joining the Giants, Burgess led the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League to their first ever Clark Cup Championship in 2024\u201325\u2014his third season with the club. He has helped develop nine NHL Draft picks over the last two seasons. Burgess was also previously the Head Coach and Assistant General Manager of the Janesville Jets in the North American Hockey League for two seasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Vancouver Giants would like to thank Parker for everything he put into the organization during his tenure.<\/span><\/p>\n

The search for a new head coach begins immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Head Coach Parker Burgess will not return next season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1752,"name":"Parker Burgess","slug":"parker-burgess","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1752,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"96"},{"term_id":1528,"name":"Head Coach","slug":"head-coach","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1528,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"321"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1431,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1780"}],"class_list":["post-88428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-parker-burgess","tag-head-coach","tag-vancouver-giants","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/04\/14124545\/26-02-13-pen-00053-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\/88428","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=88428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88426,"date":"2026-04-13T12:59:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88426"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:27:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:27:39","slug":"hnat-domenichelli-steps-down-as-giants-gm-will-stay-on-in-player-personnel-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/hnat-domenichelli-steps-down-as-giants-gm-will-stay-on-in-player-personnel-role","title":{"rendered":"Hnat Domenichelli Steps Down as Giants GM; Will Stay on in Player Personnel Role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Langley, B.C. \u2013<\/b> The <\/span>Vancouver Giants<\/b> announced today that Hnat Domenichelli will step down from his role as General Manager, but will remain with the organization in a player personnel capacity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank Hnat for managing a very difficult year for the Giants,\u201d Giants Majority Owner Ron Toigo said. \u201cI believe the moves he made over the past year have improved our team. We appreciate where things are at and I\u2019m thrilled he will be staying on to help the team get to its next level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Domenichelli was hired as the Giants General Manager last summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his new role, he will assist with the upcoming 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, scheduled for May 6 and 7, as well as the 2026 CHL Import Draft, where the Giants hold three selections. Domenichelli brings several years of professional hockey experience in Europe and will leverage those connections to support the team\u2019s efforts in the Import Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter many discussions with Ron over the past few weeks, I feel this is the best path forward for both myself and the organization,\u201d Domenichelli said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to continue supporting the team in my new role. With the picks we hold in the upcoming WHL Prospects Draft, we are well positioned to build what I believe will become a championship-caliber team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would also like to thank Ron for allowing me the freedom to explore other opportunities professionally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Domenichelli will focus on player development and drafting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1488],"tags":[{"term_id":1751,"name":"Hnat Domenichelli","slug":"hnat-domenichelli","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1751,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"95"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1431,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1780"}],"class_list":["post-88426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-hnat-domenichelli","tag-vancouver-giants","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/04\/13121540\/R52_0089.jpg",8192,5464,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\/88426","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=88426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88386,"date":"2026-04-13T07:48:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88386"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:25:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T17:25:33","slug":"giants-preston-lin-named-to-canadas-u18-preliminary-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/giants-preston-lin-named-to-canadas-u18-preliminary-roster","title":{"rendered":"Giants’ Preston & Lin Named to Canada’s U18 Pre-Tournament Camp Roster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary, Alta. \u2013 <\/strong>Vancouver Giants forward Mathis Preston<\/strong><\/a> and defenceman\u00a0Ryan Lin<\/a><\/strong> have both been named to Hockey Canada\u2019s National Men\u2019s Under-18 Team pre-tournament camp roster<\/a> ahead of the 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship in\u00a0Bratislava and Trencin, Slovakia.<\/p>\n

Hockey Canada announced the first 23 players (three goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards) on Monday morning, which were selected by general manager Alan Millar and head scout Byron Bonora, with support from Benoit Roy, director of hockey operations, Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, and coordinator of hockey operations Jared Power.<\/p>\n

CLICK FOR FULL U18 ROSTER<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0CLICK FOR U18 STAFF<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Preston<\/strong>, who was acquired by the Giants ahead of the 2026 WHL trade deadline, has represented Canada previously at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (Bronze Medal), the 2024 U17 World Challenge (Gold Medal) and the 2023 Youth Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 177 lb. winger 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. Preston started the 2025-26 campaign with 32 points in 36 games for the Spokane Chiefs (14G-18A).<\/p>\n

Many draft pundits have Preston as a first-round candidate for the 2026 NHL Draft, with some mid-season rankings<\/a> having him in their top-10. The Penticton, B.C. product was ranked 24th among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings<\/a>, released in January.<\/p>\n

Preston also represented Team CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge \u2013 recording three points (1G-2A) in three games \u2013 and was named to the roster for Team West for the 2026 WHL Prospects Game, but was unable to compete due to injury.<\/p>\n

Lin\u00a0<\/strong>will be representing Canada for the fifth time. Like Preston, Lin won bronze at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, won Gold at the 2024 U17 World Challenge (Canada White) and played for Canada at the 2023 Youth Olympic Games. He also helped Canada win Gold last spring at the U18s.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot, 177-pound right-shot defender led the Giants in scoring this season with 57 points in just 53 games (14G-43A). His 14 goals this season were nearly triple the five he scored in 2024-25. Lin\u2019s 1.08 points-per-game this season 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). His 1.08 points-per-game this season ranked 7th amongst all defencemen in the WHL.<\/p>\n

The Richmond, B.C. native was ranked 13th among North American skaters on\u00a0NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lin also represented Team CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge and was named to the roster for Team West for the 2026 WHL Prospects Game, but was unable to compete due to injury.<\/p>\n

“We are pleased to announce the roster that will participate in the pre-tournament camp in Slovakia,\u201d Millar said. \u201cOur group will continue to monitor the Canadian Hockey League playoffs, and we expect to add players prior to the start of the world championship. At this time, we are pleased with the level of talent and international experience we have on our projected roster and are excited to gather in Slovakia in preparation to defend our gold medal.”<\/p>\n

Roster additions will be announced in the coming weeks following the conclusion of the second round of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) playoffs, while the final roster for the 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship will be announced prior to the start of the tournament.<\/p>\n

The 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship kicks off on April 22, with Canada taking on Slovakia, Latvia, Norway and Finland in the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 2. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 16 and 10 tournament games, respectively.<\/p>\n

TSN will broadcast all Team Canada preliminary-round games, as well as the quarterfinals, semifinals and medal games, while RDS will broadcast all Team Canada preliminary-round games, two quarterfinals, the semifinals and medal games.<\/p>\n

For more information on the 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship, please visit the official tournament website at IIHF.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Draft-eligible skaters Mathis Preston and Ryan Lin will represent Canada at the 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":88423,"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":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"28"},{"term_id":1553,"name":"Ryan Lin","slug":"ryan-lin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1553,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":49,"filter":"raw","term_order":"293"},{"term_id":333,"name":"vancouver giants","slug":"vancouver-giants","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1431,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1780"}],"class_list":["post-88386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-mathis-preston","tag-ryan-lin","tag-vancouver-giants","category-1488","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2026\/04\/13071933\/Preston-and-Lin-Wide-Website.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\/88386","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=88386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":88397,"date":"2026-04-10T07:44:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/?p=88397"},"modified":"2026-04-10T07:51:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:51:04","slug":"graduating-profile-volotovskii-the-swiss-army-knife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-giants\/article\/graduating-profile-volotovskii-the-swiss-army-knife","title":{"rendered":"GRADUATING PROFILE: Volotovskii The Swiss Army Knife"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week, the Vancouver Giants will look back on the junior careers of their three overage players with a written profile on each one. On Wednesday, we began with defenceman Ethan Mittelsteadt.<\/a> On Thursday, we continued with goaltender Kelton Pyne<\/a>. Today, we wrap up by looking back on the WHL career of forward Misha Volotovskii.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Langley, B.C. \u2013 <\/strong>At first glance, Misha Volotovskii\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> career stat line doesn\u2019t jump off the page.<\/p>\n

Eighty-one points across 285 Western Hockey League regular season games isn\u2019t the profile of a prototypical offensive star.<\/p>\n

But numbers alone don\u2019t tell the story of the 20-year-old forward from Calgary who quietly carved out a reputation as a trusted, detail-oriented player \u2014 someone coaches leaned on in every situation and teammates gravitated toward in the biggest moments.<\/p>\n

Volotovskii\u2019s WHL career began with the Saskatoon Blades in 2021, after being drafted in the fourth round in 2020 and later signing with the club as a 16-year-old<\/a>. Like many young players entering major junior, the early days were defined by adjustment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still remember like it was yesterday going to camp with my dad in Saskatoon when I was 16,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the time, I didn\u2019t really know anything about the league or the team\u2026 then just made the team out of camp. From there it all started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Midway through his rookie season, Volotovskii chipped in in a unique way: he scored the 2021 Blades Teddy Bear Toss goal.<\/p>\n

“It was the game right before Christmas break, so it was pretty cool,” he recalled. “It was awesome. I didn’t really expect it.”<\/p>\n

\n

Misha Volotovskii send the Teddy Bears flying in Saskatoon!@BladesHockey<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/YFpZHpUjco<\/a><\/p>\n

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) December 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n