FIVE MINUTE MAJOR - SEP 19, 2024 It’s a new week in major junior hockey and with that, there’s some news to discuss. Shortly after last week’s story, two more Western Hockey League (WHL) teams announced players heading to National Hockey League (NHL) development camps.

It’s a new week in major junior hockey and with that, there’s some news to discuss. Shortly after last week’s story, two more Western Hockey League (WHL) teams announced players heading to National Hockey League (NHL) development camps.

Those teams are the Portland Winterhawks and Vancouver Giants.

Portland saw Marek Alscher, Jan Spunar, Marcus Nguyen and Josh Davies head to the Florida Panthers camp. Luca Cagnoni went to the San Jose Sharks camp, Kyle Chyzowski to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s camp, Nate Danielson to the Detroit Red Wings camp, Tyson Jugnauth to the Seattle Kraken’s camp and James Stefan to the Edmonton Oilers camp. Carter Sotheran and Josh Zakreski went to the Philadelphia Flyers camp.

The Vancouver Giants announced that eight players eligible to play for the Giants in the 2024-25 season are participating in NHL prospect tournaments or rookie camps this fall. Forward Ty Halaburda is with the Vancouver Canucks in the annual Young Stars Classic in Penticton, British Columbia. He’ll face off against Giants teammates and Calgary Flames draft selections Sam Honzek and Jaden Lipinski. He’ll also go up against Giants teammate Connor Levis, who will be with the Winnipeg Jets. Additionally, Tyler Thorpe is with the Montreal Canadiens while Colton Roberts is playing with the San Jose Sharks. Mazen Leslie is with the Vegas Golden Knights and Marek Howell is with the Colorado Avalanche.

In addition to all the current and former WHL players attending NHL camps, there were a couple of trades this past week as well.

Sticking with the Vancouver Giants in the news cycle, they made a deal with the Spokane Chiefs. The Giants acquired a fifth-round draft pick in 2025 from the Spokane Chiefs in exchange for 2005-born forward Matthew Edwards. He’s 19-years-old and had two goals and four assists for six points to go with 107 penalty minutes in 45 games for the Giants in the 2023-24 season. He was originally a fourth-round pick in 2020 and has recorded nine points with four goals and five assists to go with 179 penalty minutes in 85 career WHL games.

The Wenatchee Wild made a deal with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Wenatchee acquired 2006-born defenseman Seth Tansem from Brandon in exchange for a sixth-round selection in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft. A Kelowna, British Columbia native, Tansem has two years of WHL experience with 93 appearances and 11 points over a stretch with Brandon and the Prince Albert Raiders. He was a second-round selection by Prince Albert in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft. He landed in the WHL following a successful three-year run in his hometown with RINK Hockey Academy in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, where he was a star on the blue line for the school’s Under-15 and Under-18 teams.

On Tuesday, Sept. 18 the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced preseason top 10 rankings. The WHL saw three teams with the Medicine Hat Tigers at number one, Prince George Cougars at seven and Kelowna Rockets at 10. The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) saw four teams crack the rankings. The Brampton Steelheads landed in the number two slot, London Knights at three, Oshawa Generals at eight and Brantford Bulldogs at nine. The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), like the WHL, saw three teams in the top 10. The Moncton Wildcats slotted in at fourth, Rimouski Oceanic at five and the Cape Breton Eagles at six.