5 Giants Listed on NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings

Published on January 13, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release

Langley, B.C. - The Vancouver Giants are proud to announce that five players have been named to NHL Central Scouting's Mid-Term rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft: forwards Mathis Preston, Joe Iginla, Brett Olson, and Tobias Tomík, along with defenceman Ryan Lin.

Central Scouting revealed the lists of the top North American skaters and goalies, along with the top International skaters and goalies, on Monday evening. All Giants rankings are amongst North American skaters.

Lin (Richmond, B.C.) was the highest rated Giant on the list, holding the 13th spot, indicating he's a projected first-round pick in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft. The newly named captain was listed as an "A" skater by NHL Central Scouting in October. The star defenceman tallied five points in five games for Team Canada at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August, being one of the team's few bright spots in a bronze-medal effort. Lin leads the Giants in scoring with 50 points (11G-39A) in 42 games and he is also third among all WHL defenceman in points. Lin was drafted by the Giants with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

Preston (Penticton, B.C.) was also listed as an "A" skater by NHL Central Scouting in October and is the highest rated Giants forward on the mid-term list, coming in at number 24. The newly acquired star forward is also ranked 8th on the Elite Prospects consensus ranking for the 2026 NHL Draft and is a projected NHL first-round pick. Preston was a deadline week acquisition by Vancouver and leads the Giants in goals with 15. He has added 20 assists this season, giving him 35 points in 38 games. In Preston's first game as a Giant, he had the overtime winning goal against the Tri-City Americans. Preston was drafted by Spokane with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

Iginla (Lake Country, B.C.) was ranked 124th on the list, after being listed as a "C" skater by NHL Central Scouting in October. The newly acquired Giants forward has yet to play a game with the team, but previously notched 21 points (11G-10A) in 37 games this season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Iginla was drafted by Edmonton with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

Olson (Spruce Grove, AB) is the highest Giants centre on the list coming in at 137th. Olson has produced 20 points (6G-14A) in 43 games this season. The second-year forward was drafted by the Giants with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. Olson was listed as a "W" skater by NHL Central Scouting on their preliminary list in October.

Tomík (Ilava, SVK) is the last Giants player on the list at the 154th spot. Tomík has been on a heater recently, notching seven points (1G-6A) in his last four games. On the season, he has 19 points (8G-11A) in 36 games. Last month, the forward made the Slovakian World Junior team for the second year in a row, this time producing two points (1G-1A) in five games. Tomík was drafted by the Giants with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 CHL Import Draft.

Below is the breakdown of the five Giants players and their rankings.

Rank (N.A. Skaters) Last Name First Name Hometown Height Weight Position

13th Lin Ryan Richmond, B.C. 5'11" 177 D

24th Preston Mathis Penticton, B.C. 5'11" 177 RW

124th Iginla Joe Lake Country, B.C. 5'10" 175 RW

137th Olson Brett Spruce Grove, AB 6'2" 190 C

154th Tomík Tobias Ilava, SVK 6'0" 194 LW

The Giants next home game is on Friday, January 16 against Penticton! Grab your seats at VancouverGiants.com/tickets.

Vancouver Giants forward Brett Olson	Vancouver Giants defenceman Ryan Lin	Vancouver Giants forward Tobias Tomík
Vancouver Giants forward Mathis Preston	Forward Joe Iginla with the Edmonton Oil Kings

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