Giants Forward Schmidt Listed as 1st Rounder

Vancouver Giants forward Cameron Schmidt remains in the first round conversation according to multiple final rankings for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, which takes place this weekend in Los Angeles, on June 27 and 28.

Although the 5-foot-7.5 winger was the 43rd ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting on their final list for the NHL Draft, eight different draft rankings have him as a first-round pick, including Craig Button of TSN (19th overall), Rachel Doerrie of ESPN (19th overall), Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News (20th overall) and Elite Prospects (22nd overall).

See below for a consolidation of Schmidt’s ranking on 10 different lists:

Elite Prospects called him the fastest skater in the draft and the top marksman in the draft.

“Capable of firing in between two strides off the rush, picking the corners of the net from low angles, catching and releasing passes, and adjusting his footwork instantly for one-timers, Schmidt can beat goalies several ways,” EP’s ranking said. “While Schmidt is primarily a scorer, it doesn’t mean that he can’t create plays for others. In many games this season, he transformed himself into a pure playmaker, using his top-end speed to break through the defensive line, get the puck in the offensive zone, and relay deceptive passes to teammates across the ice.”

“Very few players in this draft are as skilled as Cameron Schmidt,” Button said in his mid-season ranking. “When you look at every single area that you evaluate a hockey player on, it’s excellent with Cameron Schmidt…Skating, quickness, shot, hockey sense, puck-handling, [ability to] operate in traffic, be a difference-maker and compete.”

“[Schmidt] has one of the best shots in the draft class, plays with speed and isn’t afraid to get involved in the play anywhere on the ice,” Ferrari said in his ranking for THN. “Schmidt won’t back down in post-whistle scrums or when he’s hit by a bigger player. Instead, he will go right back at them. Schmidt elevates the pace of the game whenever he has the puck.”

“Schmidt attacks with speed off the rush and never wastes an opportunity to direct the puck on net,” Bukala said in his ranking for Sportsnet. “He has a lethal release that can beat goalies from long range and the flank on the power play…What I liked most about the end of his season was the fact he chipped in 4G-5A in five playoff games.”

Schmidt became just the sixth Giant skater ever to score 40 or more goals in a single season, after finishing the 2024-25 campaign with 40 goals and 78 points in 61 games. 

He, Evander Kane and Brendan Gallagher are the only Giants to ever score at least 40 goals as a 17-year-old. 

Schmidt also led the Giants in playoff scoring with nine points in five games (4G-5A).

Internationally, the right-shot winger won his third gold medal with Team Canada in May at the IIHF U-18 World Championship. Schmidt also won gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer and at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in November of 2023.