18 April 2023 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Vancouver Giants News Release
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The NHL Central Scouting Service released its final player rankings list this morning, with five Vancouver Giants on the list. Note that these rankings are all among ‘North American skaters’, as the list is based on where the players are currently playing, not where they are from. They have the second-most total of five players, second only to the Seattle Thunderbirds, who have six players on the list.
Samuel Honzek – #9 – Slovak Import Samuel Honzek is the 4th ranked skater in the WHL and the 9th ranked skater in North America. The 10th overall pick in the CHL Import Draft finished second with the Giants, scoring 56 points with 23 goals and 33 assists in just 43 games.
Jaden Lipinski – #49 – The 6’3″ center from Scottsdale, Arizona entered the Kubota CHL Top Prospects game in January and finished the season with 51 points in 66 games.
Ty Halaburda – #89 – Last week, Halaburda was named to Canada’s U18 squad after scoring 37 points for 2022/23. He has scored in his seven games this season, a team-high.
Mazden Leslie – #125 – Lloydminster, from AB, is the only Giants defenseman on the list. The 2020 Giants first round player has scored 18 points on the power play this season, and he has 50 points overall. He scored a hat-trick on March 1 against the Prince George Cougars.
Tyler Thorpe – #223 – Thorpe started the season at Jr. B, but the 6’5″ forward signed with the Giants in November and established himself as the dominant physical player as a rookie. is Thorpe’s first appearance on the NHL Central Scout List.
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