2025 NHL Draft profile: Hayden Paupanekis, Kelowna Rockets

A midseason change of scenery has opened the doors for 2025 NHL Draft-eligible forward Hayden Paupanekis to showcase a whole new side of his game.

The 6-foot-4, 196-pound centreman was toiling as a hard-checking, bottom-six forward for the Spokane Chiefs, but the Kelowna Rockets saw flashes of a true power forward and acquired him as the key returning piece in the blockbuster Andrew Cristall trade in early January.

“In watching the film before we got him, I thought there was more offense in the player,” Rockets Interim Head Coach Derrick Martin said. “It was an opportunity thing, not an effort thing. When he got here, he really lived up to it. He can defend, he’s got good reach, he’s got a lot of upside on the offensive side of the game, but still shows an awareness away from the puck.

When you project him as a player, I think that’s where we see him being- a guy who can play 200 feet and be hard to play against and still have that skill inside of his game.”

Paupanekis quickly found his groove as Kelowna’s top centreman and closed out the season with 22 goals (11 of which came with the Rockets) and 21 assists for 43 points in 71 games.

He finished second on the Rockets in goals, sixth in assists and third in points, while ranking 15th among all WHL skaters in faceoff wins with 614 (49.7%).

His main offseason goal is to add a little more bulk to his towering frame.

“I had to show myself a little bit more, and I think it was a good opportunity for me, going from a bottom-six to top-six player. It was great for my development,” Paupanekis said. “I’m already a big guy, and I just need to get stronger and put some weight on. I think once I do that, I’ll be more confident in just my game and the way I’m skating, the way I’m shooting, the way I’m protecting the puck. I think everything, you know, will add up and just make me a better player in general.”

Some clean moves from Hayden Paupanekis 😮‍💨@Kelowna_Rockets | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/BTxuc0zmhU

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 5, 2025

Martin has also commended Paupanekis for his honesty and quiet leadership, citing him as a player whose words carry great weight when he speaks up in the room.

While Kelowna missed the 2025 postseason, they’re guaranteed to be playing spring hockey next year as the hosts of the 2026 Memorial Cup.

The Rockets have already added WHL Defenceman of the Year finalist Mazden Leslie and San Jose Sharks prospect Carson Wetsch, and looks forward to the return of Utah Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla.

The Rockets expect to see Paupanekis pick up additional duties in his first full season in teal.

“He’s going to be a top-six forward for us,” Martin added. “He’s going to be a guy that plays powerplay and plays on our penalty kill, starting games and playing in the last minute of games, and he’s going to have a significant role from a minutes standpoint. Then on the flipside, after being here for three months at the end of last year, he needs to be a big piece of the culture that we’re building. The things that we do on the ice are important, but the things we do away from the ice are really important as well and we’re looking for him to be a big driver of that.”

NHL Central Scouting has ranked Paupanekis 38th among all North American skaters in its final rankings ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft.

Paupanekis was among the 90 prospects invited to the annual NHL Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., in early June, where he roomed with fellow Winnipeger and Everett Silvertips star Carter Bear.

In addition to meeting with 17 NHL squads, he impressed in the fitness testing, where he finished in the top five in grip strength and fatigue index and showed off the ninth-largest wingspan of any player (79.5 inches- for reference, the average door in North America is 80 inches tall).

The 18-year-old plans to gather with family to watch the draft in his hometown of Winnipeg, or head about eight hours north to his father’s hometown of Norway House, Man.

The 2025 NHL Entry Draft runs from June 27-28.