A pair of young Vancouver Giants hockey players have been selected to take part in upcoming development camps, but injuries will keep one of them off the ice.
Rookie forward Blake Chorney was invited to Hockey Canada's national under-17 development camp that just wrapped up in Oakville, Ont. But he was unable to participate due to injury, said a Giants spokesperson.
Nonetheless, the 16-year-old will be in contention for a spot on one of two Canadian teams at the 2025 U17 World Challenge, scheduled from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8 in Truro, N.S.
The selection process was led by Alan Millar, Hockey Canada's general manager of the program of excellence, and head scout Byron Bonora, with assistance from Mike Johnston, who guides the U17 program as part of the POE management group.
Twenty-six of the 79 players invited play in the WHL, Chorney among them. He was the Giants first pick in the 2024 WHL prospects draft, 10th overall.
The left-shot centre made a seamless transition from U15 prep in the CSSHL to U18 AAA in his home province of Saskatchewan, finishing fifth in regular season scoring in the SMAAAHL with 67 points in 41 games (29G-38A). His standout 2024-25 season led to being named a second-team all-star.
Chorney also played in three regular season games for the Giants as a call-up last season, registering his first WHL point in the regular season finale on March 23 against Kelowna.
Additionally, he had a standout performance at the 2024 WHL Cup, leading the tournament in scoring with seven goals and adding four assists for 11 points in five games, while also being named a tournament all-star.
Players invited to U17 development camp will continue to be evaluated through the beginning of the 2025-26 season in preparation for the 2025 U17 World Challenge.
In the meantime, Giants' defenceman Ryan Lin, who hails from Richmond, is one of 40 players invited to Hockey Canada鈥檚 national men鈥檚 summer under-18 team selection camp, which will run July 29 to Aug. 1 鈥� also at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ont.
Following this camp, Canada will name its team for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which takes place from Aug. 11 to 16 in Brno, Czech Republic and Trenc铆n, Slovakia.
This annual summer U18 tournament is the first opportunity for scouts to see NHL draft-eligible prospects in their draft year, 10 months ahead of the draft.
Lin is already being labelled a top prospect for the 2026 NHL draft and has represented his country multiple times on the international stage.
He is one of six players named to the camp roster who won a gold medal playing as an under-ager at the 2025 IIHF U-18 World Championship in Texas. The right-shot defender recorded two points (1G-1A) and was +8 in seven games.
Lin also won gold at the 2024 U17 World Hockey Challenge with Canada White and played for Canada at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.
He had one of the best 16-year-old seasons in Giants franchise history in 2024-25, recording 53 points and a +11 rating in 60 games, while leading the Giants in average ice-time and playing in all situations.
He became just the second rookie WHL defenceman, aged 16 or younger, to hit the 50-point mark in 35 years, joining Everett鈥檚 Landon Dupont as the only two to accomplish the feat since Hockey Hall of Famer and Kamloops Blazers legend Scott Niedermayer in 1989-90.
The player selection process for this summer under-18 team selection camp was also led by Millar, with support from Yanick Lemay (Drummondville, QMJHL), who serves as the U18 lead with the program of excellence management group, head scout Byron Bonora, Benoit Roy, director of hockey operations, and Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations.
Canada will open the preliminary round at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Finland on Aug. 11. Canada will also face Switzerland and Czechia in the round robin.
