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Vancouver Giants

Two Giants Listed on NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings

April 16, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release


Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe
Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Rob Wilton)

Langley, B.C. - The Vancouver Giants are excited to announce that two players have been named to NHL Central Scouting's Final rankings for the 2024 NHL Draft: defenceman Colton Roberts and forward Tyler Thorpe.

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

Roberts was the top-ranked Giant at 36th among North American Skaters, while Thorpe was listed 111th.

Roberts (Maple Ridge, B.C.) finished his second full WHL season with 27 points in 62 games (7G-20A), second amongst Giants defencemen. He was a standout at the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in January, when he registered a pair of primary assists, four shots on goal and a +3 rating in a 3-1 win for Team Red. The 17-year-old had 15 power play points on the season and added an assist in five playoff games. He was also named the Giants High School Scholastic Player of the Year this season.

Thorpe (Richmond, B.C.) was named the Giants most improved player this past season, after jumping from four goals in 48 games in his rookie season to 23 goals in 51 games in 2023-24. Unfortunately Thorpe suffered an upper-body injury on Feb. 10 after a skate cut his forearm, ending his season at 44 points (23G-21A), 163 shots on goal, 11 power play points and three shorthanded points in 51 games.

Below is the breakdown of the Giants rankings on the final NHL CS list, released April 16.

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

36th Roberts Colton Maple Ridge, B.C. Vancouver Giants 6'4" 198 D

111th Thorpe Tyler Richmond, B.C. Vancouver Giants 6'4" 209 RW

The Giants previously had three players crack the Midterm ranking, which was released on January 12. At that time, Roberts (24th), Thorpe (110th) and Titlbach (223rd) were named.

A total of 56 Western Hockey League players were listed on the final Central Scouting rankings: 51 skaters plus five WHL goaltenders. This includes five WHL skaters that were ranked in the top-15 and 10 WHL skaters there were ranked in the top-32.

Topping the list amongst WHL representatives was Cayden Lindstrom (3rd, Medicine Hat Tigers), Barkley Catton (8th, Spokane Chiefs), Tij Iginla (9th, Kelowna Rockets), Carter Yakemchuk (11th, Calgary Hitmen) and Terik Parascak (15th, Prince George Cougars).

The 2024 draft is scheduled June 28-29. The NHL Draft Lottery to determine the first 16 picks in the draft will be announced at a later date.

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Images from this story

Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Roberts
Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Roberts
(Rob Wilton)		 Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Roberts
Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Roberts
(Rob Wilton)		 Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Roberts
Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Roberts
(Rob Wilton)
Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe
Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe
(Rob Wilton)		 Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe
Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe
(Rob Wilton)		 Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe
Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe
(Rob Wilton)

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