4 Current Giants, 2 Prospects Listed on NHL Central Scouting's Final Draft Rankings

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WHL Vancouver Giants

4 Current Giants, 2 Prospects Listed on NHL Central Scouting's Final Draft Rankings

April 15, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release


Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood
Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Rob Wilton)

Langley, B.C. - The Vancouver Giants are excited to announce that four roster players have been listed by NHL Central Scouting on their Final rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft: forward Cameron Schmidt, defenceman Mazden Leslie and goaltender Burke Hood, plus forward Aaron Obobaifo, who was listed under the 'limited viewing' category.

The Giants are also pleased to recognize two prospects that were ranked: American forwards Mason West and Cooper Simpson.

NHL Central Scouting announced the final list of the top North American skaters and goalies, along with the top International skaters and goalies, on Tuesday morning.

Below is where the current roster players were ranked:

Rank (N.A. Skaters) Last Name First Name Hometown Team Ht Wt Pos

43rd Schmidt Cameron Prince George, B.C. Vancouver Giants 5'7" 161 RW

133rd Leslie Mazden Lloydminster, Alta. Vancouver Giants 6'0" 200 D

LV Obobaifo Aaron Calgary, Alta. Vancouver Giants 5'10" 183 LW

15th (Goalies) Hood Burke Brandon, Man. Vancouver Giants 6'3" 197 G

Schmidt (Prince George, B.C.) was ranked 43rd among North American skaters. This season he became just the sixth Giant skater ever to score 40 or more goals in a single season and he did so in just his second year in the league. Schmidt, Evander Kane and Brendan Gallagher are the only Giants to ever score at least 40 goals as a 17-year-old.

The craft winger is also the first player younger than 18 to lead the Giants in scoring (78 points in 61 games) since 2012-13, when a 17-year-old Jackson Houck had 57 points to lead Vancouver. Schmidt has represented Canada on the international stage on multiple occasions, scoring the golden goal at the 2023 U17 World Challenge, and winning gold at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He is currently attending camp for Hockey Canada's U18 World Championship team.

After being ranked 196th on the mid-term rankings, Leslie (Lloydminster, Alta.) is now ranked 133rd. He finished second in scoring among all WHL defencemen with 72 points (21G-51A) in 66 games this season. The 6-foot-0, 200-pound blueliner was named a First-Team WHL All-Star by WHL General Managers and has been nominated for the WHL Defenceman of the Year.

The recently turned 20-year-old product of Lloydminster, Alta. became the Giants franchise leader for career goals by a defencemen with 57 this year, which is now eight more than Jonathon Blum's previous bench mark of 49. His 72 points this year also tied Kevin Connauton for the most in a single season by a Giants defenceman.

Hood (Brandon, Man.) is the 15th ranked North American goaltender on the rankings, up 10 spots from his mid-term ranking. He was named the WHL Goaltender of the Week twice in the second half of the season and finished the year T-5th in the WHL in overall save percentage among goalies with 25 or more games played (.910). The rookie netminder had a .923 save percentage in 30 appearances since Dec. 1, with a 16-9-3 record. According to SportLogiq, Hood ranked third in the WHL in Goals Saved Above Expected (20.7), which factors in the quality of shots he faced.

Despite only playing 13 games this season due to injury, Obobaifo (Calgary, Alta.) was listed under the 'limited viewing' category, which does not give a numerical ranking. The 17-year-old started the season on fire with six goals and four assists in his first nine games.

In addition to the four current Giants listed on the final rankings, American prospects West and Simpson were both inside the top 75 skaters in North America: West is ranked 27th, while Simpson is 74th among N.A. skaters.

Rank (N.A. Skaters) Last Name First Name Hometown Team Ht Wt Pos

27th West Mason Edina, MN Vancouver Giants 6'6" 208 C

74th Simpson Cooper Shakopee, MN Vancouver Giants 6'0" 180 LW

A total of 67 Western Hockey League players were listed on the final rankings, while the Ontario Hockey League has 64 and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has 39.

Nine WHL skaters were included in the first round of North American skaters, including Mrtka, Roger McQueen (Saskatoon, Sask. / Brandon Wheat Kings), Carter Bear (West St. Paul, Man. / Everett Silvertips), Jackson Smith (Calgary, Alta. / Tri-City Americans), 2024 WHL Champion Lynden Lakovic (Moose Jaw Warriors), Braeden Cootes (Sherwood Park, Alta. / Seattle Thunderbirds), Benjamin Kindel (Coquitlam, B.C. / Calgary Hitmen), Cole Reschny (Macklin, Sask. / Victoria Royals) and Blake Fiddler (Frisco, Texas / Edmonton Oil Kings).

2025 NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings - WHL Players

Rank Last Name First Name Hometown Team Height Weight Position

5 Mrtka Radim Havlickuv, Cze. Seattle 6'5.75 207 D

8 McQueen Roger Saskatoon, Sask. Brandon 6'5.25 197 C

10 Bear Carter West St. Paul, Man. Everett 6'0 179 LW

13 Smith Jackson Calgary, Alta. Tri-City 6'3.25 195 D

14 Lakovic Lynden West Kelowna, B.C. Moose Jaw 6'4.25 190 LW

20 Cootes Braeden Sherwood Park, Alta. Seattle 5'11.25 183 C

21 Kindel Benjamin Coquitlam, B.C. Calgary 5'10 176 C

25 Reschny Cole Macklin, Sask. Victoria 5'10.5 183 C

26 Fiddler Blake Frisco, Texas Edmonton 6'4 209 D

37 Gard Matthew Winnipeg, Man. Red Deer 6'4.75 192 C

38 Paupanekis Hayden Winnipeg, Man. Kelowna 6'4.25 196 C

39 Kettles Peyton Winnipeg, Man. Swift Current 6'5.25 190 D

40 Psenicka Max Prague, Cze. Portland 6'5 177 D

43 Schmidt Cameron Prince George, B.C. Vancouver 5'7.25 161 RW

44 Behm Nathan Calgary, Alta. Kamloops 6'1.5 192 RW

50 Gorzynski Brandon Scottsdale, Ariz. Calgary 6'1.5 185 C

51 Lewandowski David Dusseldorf, Ger. Saskatoon 6'1.25 177 LW

54 Martin Owen Oakbank, Man. Spokane 5'11.75 185 C

57 Lafreniere Tommy Hornby Island, B.C. Kamloops 5'11 172 RW

60 Miller Ryan Medicine Hat, Alta. Portland 5'11.75 177 C

69 Sawchyn Lukas Grande Prairie, Alta. Edmonton 5'9.75 168 LW

72 Vlooswyk Luke Calgary, Alta. Red Deer 6'4.5 200 D

76 Sharpe Will Ladner, B.C. Kelowna 6'0 195 D

88 Klippenstein Carter Lethbridge, Alta. Brandon 6'2.5 180 C

89 Foster Aiden Lloydminster, Alta. Prince George 6'2 182 C

93 Mistelbacher Luke Steinbach, Man. Swift Current 5'11.75 196 RW

99 Gerwing Dawson Meadow Lake, Sask. Kelowna 6'3 225 LW

100 Pickford Bryce Chauvin, Alta. Medicine Hat 6'0.25 183 D

111 McGregor Josh Brandon, Man. Swift Current 6'1.25 170 D

113 Hamilton Reese Whitewood, Sask. Regina 6'0 172 D

116 McCann Kadon Cochrane, Alta. Medicine Hat 6'3 200 C

121 Virk Savin Surrey, B.C. Tri-City 5;10.75 168 RW

125 Fuder Jaxon Cold Lake, Alta. Red Deer 6'0 166 C

126 Busch Shea North Vancouver, B.C. Everett 6'1.75 208 LW

133 Leslie Mazden Lloydminster, Alta. Vancouver 6'0.25 200 D

134 MacKenzie Ethan Peachland, B.C. Edmonton 6'0 174 D

136 Dach Kale Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. Calgary 5'10 165 C

138 Schoettler Owen Edmonton, Alta. Spokane 6'0 181 D

141 Buttazzoni Diego Langley, B.C. Portland 5'9 183 LW

156 Woo Jonas Winnipeg, Man. Medicine Hat 5'8.75 165 D

161 Andersen Poul St. Louis Park, Minn. Edmonton 6'0.5 200 RW

162 Ziprick Aiden Russell, Man. Moose Jaw 6'0.5 190 D

163 Thurston Derek Delta, B.C. Red Deer 6'0.75 190 D

166 Lajoie Jett Winnipeg, Man. Prince George 5'11.5 178 RW

167 Baumuller Joby Wilcox, Sask. Brandon 5'11.25 188 RW

179 Pekar Matej Prerov, Cze. Seattle 5'10 158 RW

181 Koch Cassius Calgary, Alta. Tri-City 5'11.25 197 LW

187 Harsanyi Hayden Calgary, Alta. Saskatoon 5'8.75 171 C

190 Bridgeman Kolten Regina, Sask. Regina 6'4 216 D

191 Burzynski Grayson Winnipeg, Man. Swift Current 6'3.5 212 D

194 Dunphy Brendan San Diego, Calif. Wenatchee 6'5 207 D

201 Garland Gavin Calgary, Alta. Tri-City 5'9.5 183 RW

203 Adair Carsen Clavet, Sask. Lethbridge 6'2.5 188 D

213 Schmidt Connor Sturgeon County, Alta. Moose Jaw 5'11.25 180 D

216 Mayes Sawyer Salmon Arm, B.C. Seattle 6'4 188 C

217 Sarkenov Assanali Astana, Kaz. Spokane 6'3.5 203 LW

220 Matthews Caleb Calgary, Alta. Victoria 6'1.75 173 RW

LV Obobaifo Aaron Calgary, Alta. Vancouver 5'9.5 183 LW

2024-25 NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings - WHL Goaltenders

Rank Last Name First Name Hometown Team Height Weight Position

1 Ravensbergen Joshua North Vancouver, B.C. Prince George 6'5.25 190 G

8 Stebetak Ondrej Jihlava, Cze. Portland 6'1.5 173 G

12 Kraus Jayden Prince Albert, Sask. Victoria 6'1.5 201 G

15 Hood Burke Brandon, Man. Vancouver 6'2.75 197 G

20 Miller Anders Anchorage, Alaska Calgary 6'1 198 G

24 Cleaver Koen Port Alberni, B.C. Lethbridge 6'1.5 188 G

25 Switzer Jordan Edmonton, Alta. Medicine Hat 6'0.25 186 G

27 Simcoe Ethan Lac du Bonnet, Man. Edmonton 6'1 175 G

28 LeGall Raiden Morden, Man. Everett 5'11.25 170 G

The NHL Scouting Combine will be held in Buffalo, N.Y. from June 1-8, 2025, before top players descend on the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on June 27 and 28.

Check out the Vancouver Giants Statistics




Images from this story

Vancouver Giants forward Cameron Schmidt
Vancouver Giants forward Cameron Schmidt
(Rob Wilton)		 Vancouver Giants defenceman Mazden Leslie
Vancouver Giants defenceman Mazden Leslie
(Rob Wilton)		 Vancouver Giants defenceman Mazden Leslie
Vancouver Giants defenceman Mazden Leslie
(Rob Wilton)
Vancouver Giants forward Aaron Obobaifo
Vancouver Giants forward Aaron Obobaifo
(Rob Wilton)		 Vancouver Giants forward Aaron Obobaifo
Vancouver Giants forward Aaron Obobaifo
(Rob Wilton)		 Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood
Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood
(Rob Wilton)
Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood
Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood
(Rob Wilton)		   

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