Vancouver Giants: Mathis Preston primed to lead bounce back after wacky NHL Draft year

'I definitely think I should have gone in the first round,' says the speedy winger, 'but everything that could have gone wrong for me last year went wrong.'

It feels like Mathis Preston is coming into this WHL season with inspiration, and that’s bound bolster aspirations for Vancouver Giants fans.

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“I definitely think I should have gone in the first round,” says the speedy winger, who was selected midway through the second (No. 50 overall) by the Anaheim Ducks in June’s NHL Draft. “But everything that could have gone wrong for me last year went wrong.

“Sometimes that’s how life works. You have to persevere. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise. You have to go through adversity to come out on top.”

Preston returns to the Giants this week after missing their 3-2 overtime win versus the Kelowna Rockets in their season opener last Saturday because he was at Anaheim’s training camp.

He’s a critical part of Vancouver’s plan to reverse its fortunes after last season’s 25-39-2-2 campaign, which left them 21st in the 23-team WHL and 14 points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Preston is expected to be in the Vancouver line-up when they visit the Victoria Royals Saturday (6:05 p.m., Pulse 107.7) and host the Prince George Cougars Sunday (4 p.m., Pulse 107.7) at the Langley Events Centre.

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Plenty of pundits pegged the Penticton product as a possible first rounder going into the draft last summer. Some even suggested he merited consideration by the Vancouver Canucks, who instead used the No. 24 selection to nab Peterborough Petes winger Adam Novotny.

Preston is a dynamic offensive talent. He’s clearly quick, clever and creative, and he gets his shot away in a flash. He’s had success during various Hockey Canada assignments over the years, including at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics where he had four goals and six points in four games.

He started last season’s WHL campaign as the showcase talent with the Spokane Chiefs. With the Chiefs struggling at January’s trade deadline, Preston was dealt to the Giants, who were also hovering at the bottom of the standings and looking to find a spark.

Prospective first rounders getting traded in their draft years are decidedly rare.

Preston scored a highlight-reel overtime goal in his Vancouver debut, but took a knee-on-knee hit the next night and was sidelined for two months. He came back for Vancouver’s final eight games, but the Giants were out of the playoff race by then.

His stats by the end of the year were modest considering his skill set, with 18 goals and 44 points in 46 games.

He did go watch the Ducks face the Canucks at Rogers Arena in the latter half of the season, and connected with the up-tempo, offensive style that coach Joel Quenneville employs with the squad.

“The way they play and the way I like to play fits,” Preston, 18, said of Anaheim. “It blends well together. I was happy to go there, obviously.

“I think that I deserved to go higher in the draft but I didn’t have the best year. It’s whatever now. I don’t think that draft matters all that much now.”

He says he appreciated the feedback he got from the Ducks at camping, explaining that they liked his hockey IQ and skills and want him to get bigger and stronger. He’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds.

He is hearing from someone with recent pro game knowledge in Vancouver. The Giants brought in Michael Dyck as general manager and head coach over the summer, coming off a three-year run as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the main farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It’s a return for Dyck, whose tour with the Marlies followed a five-season stint as the Giants’ bench boss, which was highlighted by guiding the team to the 2019 WHL championship finale. He does have a dual role now, after working with GM Barclay Parneta in that last stay with the Giants.

“He wants to win badly,” Preston said of Dyck. “He holds us to a high standard. He’s not here to be a part of an average team. He doesn’t accept average. He pushes us.

“We won’t be outworked. Our habits will be on point and if they’re not we’re going to hear about it. I think that’s good. It gets your prepared for the next level.”

Dyck, for his part, says Preston is “dynamic. He gives you somebody who has another gear. He’s a game breaker. There aren’t a lot of one-shot goal scorers in the WHL and he’s one of them.”

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