WHL pocket book: May speedy Cameron Schmidt take a run at Vancouver Giants' rookie information?

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Rookie winger Cameron Schmidt has been so good so early this WHL season that it’s simple to search out your self wanting up Vancouver Giants’ workforce information for 16-year-old gamers.

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Gilbert Brule set the Giants’ mark for objectives (25) and factors (60) for a 16-year-old in 67 common season video games in 2003-04. 

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Evander Kane (24) and Justin Sourdif (23) are subsequent finest within the objectives class for his or her efforts in 2007-08 and 2018-19, respectively, whereas Sourdif (46) and Tyler Benson (45) in 2014-15 are the runners-up in factors.

Sixteen is the youngest somebody could be a full-time common within the league. 

Schmidt has three objectives and 6 factors in eight video games for Vancouver, together with a aim and an help to go together with first-star honours in a 5-3 win over the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday. Perhaps extra telling is the truth that the 5-foot-7, 150-pound speedster from Prince George has been the workforce’s most dynamic offensive participant in a number of video games and he’s getting so many breakaways that there are solutions on social media that the Giants have a breakaway counter for him.

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“He’s an thrilling, exhilarating participant to look at,” mentioned Giants basic supervisor Barclay Parneta, who used the No. 7 choose within the 2022 WHL Draft to land Schmidt off the Rink Academy Kelowna Beneath-15 workforce. 

“He has that talent set. However he additionally has the hockey sense to do issues and see issues at a unique degree and execute them. We wish to be certain we’re doing all the appropriate issues to develop him for our degree and for professional sooner or later.”

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The Giants will miss Schmidt for seemingly six video games after he was named to the Staff Canada White on Monday for the World Beneath-17 Problem, which runs Nov. 2-11 in Charlottetown and Summerside, PEI. White and Staff Canada Purple are joined by groups from Czechia, Finland, Sweden and the U.S.

Schmidt is one in all six WHL gamers with White. He’s joined by the likes of Koen Cleaver, a goaltender from Port Alberni who’s with the Lethbridge Hurricanes; Blake Fiddler, a defenceman from Kelowna who’s with the Edmonton Oil Kings; and Will Sharpe, a defenceman from Ladner who’s with Lethbridge.

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There are eight WHL gamers on Staff Canada Purple, together with Chase Harrington, a ahead from Prince George who’s with Spokane, and Cole Reschny, who’s a Victoria Royals ahead.

“With Schmidt, it is a nice expertise for him to play with and towards the very best gamers his age on this planet,” mentioned Parneta. “It’s a chance to see the beginning of the world junior program and the structured atmosphere, and it’s a chance to be taught to contribute to a workforce irregardless of what your function is.”

The Giants made Schmidt a wholesome scratch final Wednesday towards the Medication Hat Tigers. Parneta says that the youthful gamers will take turns as wholesome scratches in the interim with Vancouver.

MINTEN REMAINS IN LIMBO WITH LEAFS

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Fraser Minten, the Kamloops Blazers centre who caught with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a 19-year-old to start out the season, was a wholesome scratch for a second straight sport Tuesday when Toronto was going through the Washington Capitals.

Toronto is on the Dallas Stars on Thursday. 

Minten has performed 4 video games with Toronto. He has averaged 11 minutes, 26 seconds of ice time, and doesn’t have some extent but. He performed 8:47 in his final sport.

“We’re simply taking it a day at a time at this level,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe advised reporters Monday.

Minten is just too younger to play full time within the minors so he has to reassigned to Kamloops if he doesn’t follow Toronto.

Minten had 31 objectives and 67 factors in 57 common season video games with the Blazers final season.

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The Blazers have been the Memorial Cup host workforce final spring and so they spent closely on the commerce deadline, buying defenceman Olen Zellweger and ahead Ryan Hofer from the Everett Silvertips for 4 gamers and 10 draft picks. It is going to be fascinating to see in the event that they attempt to recoup a few of draft capital by buying and selling veterans this 12 months.

CENTRAL ANNOUNCES PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR DRAFT

NHL Central Scouting got here out with its preliminary gamers to look at checklist for the 2024 NHL Draft and 63 WHL gamers have been named, together with six who got ‘A’ standing as potential first-round alternatives. Cayden Windstorm, a centre from Chetwynd who’s with Medication Hat, is a part of that group.

The Vancouver Giants had 4 gamers on the checklist: defenceman Colton Roberts at B, defenceman Marek Howell and ahead Adam Titlbach at C, and winger Tyler Thorpe at W.

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Gamers with B standing are pegged as second or third spherical choose. C is fourth or fifth and W is sixth or seventh.

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