Vancouver Giants basic supervisor Barclay Parneta has stated stepping into the post-season could be invaluable to his younger group and he had draft choose capital from previous years to make strikes.
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The Vancouver Giants wound up consumers out of the eighth-place slot on the WHL commerce deadline.
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The Giants landed 19-year-old winger Connor Levis from the Kamloops Blazers in change for a 2025 WHL Draft first-round choose, a 2024 second-rounder and a 2026 fourth-rounder on Wednesday, which marked the cutoff for swaps within the league.
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It’s the second main addition over the previous few days for Vancouver, which introduced in 19-year-old centre Tyson Zimmer from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Monday for a bundle that included 19-year-old winger Colton Langkow, a 2024 second-rounder and a 2025 third-rounder.
The Giants went into Wednesday holding down that eighth and closing playoff spot within the Western Convention, carrying a 16-21-2-0 file right into a recreation that evening in opposition to the Saskatoon Blades. Vancouver was two factors up on the ninth-place Spokane Chiefs (14-18-4-0), who had three video games in hand, to start out the day. They had been one level in again of the seventh-place Tri-Metropolis Individuals (16-18-2-1), who had two video games in hand on Vancouver.
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So why purchase? The Giants are eager on their younger expertise. That features their 4 16-year-old regulars — groups routinely carry just one or two gamers that age. Giants basic supervisor Barclay Parneta has talked about how stepping into the playoffs would supply invaluable expertise for the group going ahead.
The Giants felt shopping for was attainable, too, as a result of they didn’t should fully empty the cabinet to do it. Even with the Levis and Zimmer trades, Vancouver nonetheless has two first-rounders in 2025, together with a first-rounder this 12 months, and that offers them one thing to enhance the present roster in coming years.
The Giants have had that extra of draft selections as a result of that they had been sellers the previous couple of years, together with buying and selling away their captain on the deadline in blockbusters each occasions. Justin Sourdif went to the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022 for a bundle that included two first-rounders, and Zack Ostapchuk headed to the Winnipeg Ice final 12 months in a swap that introduced again three first-rounders.
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Parneta was leery concerning the messaging going that very same route would convey to followers and gamers alike. He says he obtained commerce presents for present group captain Samuel Honzek, however wouldn’t say what number of. Honzek, 19, was the Calgary Flames’ first-round choose, No. 16 general, in final summer season’s NHL Draft and the ahead has already signed his entry-level contract, so he’s unlikely to be again subsequent 12 months as a 20-year-old.
“I believe it’s time that people who find themselves coming to our video games get to really feel that we really feel we’re on our method up,” Parneta stated. “We’ve been constructing in the direction of issues the previous couple of years. That’s true. However we really feel that it was vital for these individuals coming to our video games and the gamers on the group to know that there’s a perception within the group and we’re going to do no matter we will to be as a very good a group as attainable.”
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Honzek, because it occurs, is sort of a commerce deadline acquisition as properly. The ahead performed simply his sixth recreation of the season in Giants colors in Tuesday’s 6-5 shootout win over the host Prince Albert Raiders.
Honzek missed the primary 25 video games of Vancouver’s marketing campaign with an stomach harm he suffered whereas enjoying a pre-season recreation with the Flames. He returned for 5 video games with the Giants after which was off to play for the Slovaks within the World Juniors in Sweden.
He’s again with Vancouver this week, and Honzek, Levis and Zimmer might properly team-up and provide one other high-scoring trio to go along with the present No. 1 line that includes Jaden Lipinski, Ty Halaburda and Tyler Thorpe.
Honzek (23), Levis (27) and Zimmer (19) mixed for 69 targets final season.
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Levis and Zimmer additionally strengthen Vancouver’s potential 20-year-old class subsequent 12 months. Vancouver has six 2004-born gamers on its roster and that features Honzek.
Levis was a seventh-round choose of the Winnipeg Jets final summer season. He hasn’t signed. Zimmer is but to be drafted by the NHL.
Levis had 10 targets and 28 factors by means of 37 video games with Kamloops this season. Zimmer had 12 objective and 23 factors in 37 video games with Lethbridge. He had the shootout winner for Vancouver in opposition to Prince Albert.
Seventh-place Vancouver misplaced within the first spherical of the playoffs final 12 months to Levis and the Blazers. The eighth-place Giants upset the Everett Silvertips within the first spherical two years in the past earlier than shedding to the Blazers within the second spherical.
Little separates the groups within the backside half of the West standings at present. The sixth-place Kelowna Rockets (18-17-2-0) had been 4 factors up on Vancouver with two video games in hand to start out Wednesday, whereas the Tenth-place Seattle Thunderbirds (12-20-2-0) had been eight factors again with 5 in hand. The last-place Blazers (9-24-3-2), who’ve been unloading veterans to recoup commerce picks after spending heavy in commerce in final 12 months’s Memorial Cup-hosting marketing campaign, had been 11 factors again with one recreation in hand.
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