2026 NHL Draft Profile | Giorgos Pantelas, Brandon Wheat Kings

The rapturous atmosphere inside Montreal’s Bell Centre has converted countless kids to hockey fans over the decades.

You can count Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Giorgos Pantelas as one of them.

Watching the 2026 NHL Playoffs and cascades of fans in scarlet, whipping rally towels and cheering loud enough to shake the broadcast cameras, takes him right back to his childhood in Cartierville, and, later, Laval.

“The Montreal atmosphere, it’s amazing,” Pantelas said. “Every time I’d go attend one of those games, I would just look around at every player. You would just dream to be in that moment in the center stage, really just playing for your team, for hockey, for everything.”

Pantelas originally played goalie, like his dad, Kyriakos, but had a tendency to stray from his net and jump up in the play.

Instead, he found his calling on the blueline just like his original Habs hero, PK Subban.

But he didn’t know much about how to get to the NHL until his family took on a cross-country move, and he found himself playing at the Rink Hockey Academy in the Okanagan under coach and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Jarome Iginla.

“I was in the same academy as players like (projected top 2026 NHL Draft pick) Gavin McKenna and (Dallas Stars prospect) Cameron Schmidt, and watching them move on (to the WHL), it was a great indicator that I should move there,” Pantelas added. “I was a little inexperienced with the Western hockey side, coming from Quebec, but I always watched the Laval Rocket, and even in the QMJHL, I’d watch a few teams, and I felt like one of the biggest contributors to moving on would be coming through a league such as this.”

The Brandon Wheat Kings got their guy with the 19th overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

In his rookie season, Pantelas made a splash by scoring his first WHL goal and getting in his first fight in the same game- a 4-1 home win over the Seattle Thunderbirds.

“That was definitely my favorite game by far,” Pantelas recalled. “It was my first real moment of like, ‘Wow, like this is the next level’. After the game, I got taken onto the ice and I had a post-game interview in front of everyone else, and talking to the radio, and everyone was cheering for me once the guys got back to the room, it was just one of the most electric and just great moments coming out of the Western League.”

Wheat Kings General Manager and Head Coach Marty Murray says the 18-year-old approaches every practice, game, and even lengthy road trips with the same level of energy while developing a shutdown role for the East Division squad.

GIO PANTELAS. GOAL LINE SAVE. UNREAL. 😮@bdnwheatkings | #NHLDraft | #WHLPlayoffs

Catch 2nd period action for FREE on @victoryplustv

🔗| https://t.co/ejuFny1mnK pic.twitter.com/1whagV8bEc

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 30, 2026

The 6-foot-2, 211-pound, right-shot defender logged six goals and 31 assists for 31 points and a +19 rating in 68 regular-season games in 2025-26 while taking on high-pressure matchups and increased minutes in important situations.

“I just look at Gio as being a real solid defender,” Murray said. “I can’t help but think in the Stanley Cup Final, Jaccob Slavin got a lot of attention for good measure, just with his stick, and I kind of see Gio at the junior level being that equivalent. Just an amazing stick, kind of comes out of nowhere, and he can knock pucks down, he can pull pucks away. He’s kind of a defence-first guy, I think that is hard to play against, and has some offensive abilities as well. His bread and butter is a defensive game, making it hard for opponents, but I think he’s rounded out his offensive game a little bit, and I think that’ll continue to grow here as he moves forward.”

Pantelas made his international debut at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he appeared in five games and put up a +2 rating to help Canada earn bronze, and was also tapped to compete in the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge and 2026 WHL Prospects Game, where he scored on the powerplay to help lift Team East to a 5-4 win.

GIO PANTELAS GOES ALL THE WAY! @bdnwheatkings | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/evhW33SRwU

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 19, 2026

In a draft class that’s been lauded for its defensive talent, Pantelas counts himself as grateful for being able to measure himself against his peers.

“I look at it like, ‘I keep playing against all these guys who are doing so good and are really good players’,” Pantelas explained. “I’m just looking for more improvement. I get to learn off these guys playing against them, see how they’re doing in the same league that I’m playing in.”

He’s ranked 46th among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in the agency’s final rankings ahead of this weekend’s NHL Draft and finished in the top 15 in three events at the annual NHL Combine.

Those dreams that were born at the Bell Centre are closer than ever- and it’s almost too much to absorb.

“Just thinking of it, I’m kind of getting like shivers and stuff,” Pantelas grinned. “It’s just one of those moments that you never really see coming in your life. Your hope one day that you will make it there, but just hearing your name on the big stage would be amazing… lt’s something that I really look forward to hopefully happening.”

The 2026 NHL Draft begins with Round 1 on Friday, June 26, and resumes with Rounds 2-7 taking place on Saturday, June 27.