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WHL Vancouver Giants

5 Giants to Participate in NHL Prospect Tournaments

September 7, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release


Vancouver, B.C. - The Vancouver Giants are proud to announce that five players have been invited by NHL clubs to participate in pre-season prospect tournaments.

Calgary Flames draft picks Samuel Honzek and Jaden Lipinski will both be playing in the Young Stars Classic hosted by the Vancouver Canucks; forward Tyler Thorpe will suit up for the Ottawa Senators; forward Ty Halaburda will represent the Boston Bruins; and defenceman Mazden Leslie will play for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"All five of these players earned this opportunity, so we're extremely happy knowing they'll get to experience playing against NHL teams' top prospects," Giants GM Barclay Parneta said. "Each of them will be able to take something they learn there and bring it back to Vancouver, which will benefit both the players and the Giants organization."

Honzek and Lipinski were both selected by the Calgary Flames in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and attended their development camp in July. Next week, they'll head back to Calgary and then travel to Penticton, B.C. to suit up in the annual Young Stars Classic, which runs Sept. 15-18 between prospects on the Flames, Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets.

The 2004-born Honzek (Trencin, SVK) signed his three-year entry level contract with the Flames on July 26. Selected with the 16th overall selection in the draft, the 6-foot-4 forward finished second on the Giants in scoring with 56 points (23G-33A) last season, despite playing in only 43 regular season games.

Lipinski (Scottsdale, AZ) was selected in the fourth round, 112th overall by Calgary. The 18-year-old finished third on the Giants in scoring with 51 points (19G-32A) in 66 games during the 2022-23 season, a 34-point improvement from his rookie year. The towering centre was also named the Bublé Iron Man of the Year and Save-On-Foods High School Scholastic Player of the Year in 2022-23 for Vancouver.

Forward Tyler Thorpe (Richmond, B.C.) attended Senators development camp in the summer and will now head back east to take part in the Prospects Challenge hosted by the Buffalo Sabres from Sept. 15-18. The Senators and Sabres will be joined by the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins in a round-robin featuring prospects from each team.

Thorpe, 18, began the 2022-23 season with the Langley Rivermen of the BCHL, but signed with Vancouver last October. The 6-foot-5, 205 lb. centre threw his weight around aplenty in his rookie season and finished the season with four goals and six points in 48 games.

Meanwhile Ty Halaburda (Victoria, B.C.) will also be playing in that same Prospects Challenge, as he has been invited to camp by the Bruins.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound winger finished third on the Giants in goals last season with 21, and sixth in points with 37. Halaburda's goal total more than quadrupled his previous season's, after scoring just five times in his rookie year. He also represented Canada at the U18 World Championships this past spring, where he helped his country capture a bronze medal, registering three points in seven games (1G-2A)

Lastly, Leslie (Lloydminster, AB) will be suiting up for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the annual Traverse City prospects tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings. Joining the Maple Leafs and Red Wings will be the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars, with action getting started on Sept. 14.

Leslie finished first among Giants defencemen in scoring with 50 points (12G-38A) last season, which ranked fourth among all Giants skaters. His 50 points ranked third among all draft-eligible Western Hockey League defencemen, trailing only Lukas Dragacevic (75) and Luca Cagnoni (64). He was named the Pat Quinn Defenceman of the Year at the Giants 2022-23 team awards.

If any of the five prospects have a strong showing, they could get an invite to main camp, which begins when the veterans report, most likely the week after the tournaments.

The Vancouver Giants home opener is on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. vs the Victoria Royals.

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