The rapturous atmosphere inside Montreal’s Bell Centre has converted countless kids to hockey fans over the decades.<\/p>\n
You can count Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Giorgos Pantelas<\/a> as one of them.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Pantelas originally played goalie, like his dad, Kyriakos, but had a tendency to stray from his net and jump up in the play.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead, he found his calling on the blueline just like his original Habs hero, PK Subban.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n The Brandon Wheat Kings got their guy with the 19th overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n GIO PANTELAS. GOAL LINE SAVE. UNREAL. \ud83d\ude2e@bdnwheatkings<\/a> | #NHLDraft<\/a> | #WHLPlayoffs<\/a> <\/p>\n Catch 2nd period action for FREE on @victoryplustv<\/a> <\/p>\n \ud83d\udd17| https:\/\/t.co\/ejuFny1mnK<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1whagV8bEc<\/a><\/p>\n — Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n