Giants sign Horiachka to WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement
Vancouver, B.C. – The Vancouver Giants are excited to announce the signing of 2009-born forward Landon Horiachka (Sherwood Park, AB) to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.
Horiachka was the Giants’ third-round pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft on May 9, 55th overall.
The 6-foot-2, 186 lb. forward finished third in scoring in the Alberta Elite Hockey League (AEHL) U15 Division this past season with 64 points in 31 games (25G-39A), while serving as captain for his hometown Sherwood Park Flyers. He added seven points in five playoff games (1G-6A), plus seven points in five games (4G-3A) at the 2024 Provincial Championships.
Last month, Horiachka was named a First-Team All-Star in the AEHL.
“Landon is a strong, powerful player with a high skill set,” Giants General Manager Barclay Parneta said. “His talent and work ethic will be a great addition to our team in the future, and we look forward to seeing him develop and contribute to our success.”
The left-shot power forward also helped Alberta Blue win the 2024 Alberta Cup, registering four points in five games (1G-3A), including a goal in the final.
“Getting drafted by Vancouver was awesome, and now signing with them just makes it that much better,” Horiachka said. “I’d like to thank all my coaches and teammates that I’ve had throughout my hockey career so far. I’m thankful for this opportunity and excited to try to earn a spot on the Giants in the next few years.”
The 15-year-old played for the same Sherwood Park Flyers U15 AAA club in the 2022-23 season, where he led all rookies in scoring with 55 points in 30 games (25G-30A).
The Vancouver Giants would like to extend a warm welcome to Landon and his family.
“I thought he was going to be gone in the first 10-15 picks.”
On Neutral Zone’s Final Rankings for the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, Horiachka was ranked 12th overall. Neutral Zone provides in-depth amateur scouting coverage and rankings for leagues across North America.
“There are not a lot of guys who are as big and skilled as him,” Neutral Zone Alberta Scouting Nick Earle said of Horiachka during NZ’s live YouTube stream of the prospects draft. “He’s got the physicality and the size of a power forward, and he’s got the hands of a small forward.
“He was really good at waiting for that opportune moment to take off and then he would attack open space,” Earle added. “This could be one of the picks of the draft right here…I thought he was going to be gone in the first 10-15 picks.”
Puck Preps is another amateur scouting website that spoke highly of Horiachka.
“Has a lot of size and compete,” Puck Preps Dir. of Scouting Joel Henderson said during a live audio stream of the draft on X. “He’s really smart in motion. So if you get him spots into offensive situations…he can shoot and score.
“Overall, he’s a player that has a lot of higher-end upside.”
