Vancouver Giants star Ryan Lin: ‘I really think I have another gear’

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Ryan Lin is soft-spoken and low key.

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Considering that, when the Vancouver Giants defenceman says his game “is ready to take multiple steps,” in this upcoming sophomore WHL season for him, it takes on some extra meaning.

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It means more, too, because he is coming off one of the best rookie campaigns for a rearguard in recent WHL memory. Lin’s 53 points, including five goals, made him just the second blueliner aged 16 or younger in the league to score 50 points in a season since Scott Niedermayer did it for the Kamloops Blazers in 1989-90.

Lin, 17, is projected to be a top-10 selection in next summer’s NHL Draft. He’s currently in Europe, part of the Team Canada entry that is preparing for the Under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Their first tournament game is Monday, when they face Finland in Brno, Czechia.

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“I really like where my game is at. I think I can show that I’m one of the elite players in our league. I’m hoping to do that,” Lin said. “I had a good season last year, but I really think I have another gear.”

This Team Canada entry looks stackedwith a defence corps that includes Keaton Verhoeff, 17, who became one of the first marquee departures for the NCAA when it was announced in May he was leaving the Victoria Royals for the University of North Dakota this coming season, and Landon DuPont, 16, who preceded Lin in that 50-point group last year on his way to 17 goals and 60 points with the Everett Silvertips. DuPont was granted exceptional status by Hockey Canada to play full time in the WHL a season early last year as a 15-year-old.

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Lin has drawn raves for his efforts at the Team Canada selection camp in Oakville. That included Steven Ellis from Daily Faceoff writing about Lin being “the real deal,” and about how “I loved him at the Under-17s, but it feels like he’s a lot more confident these days.”

“We’re just a really deep team. Our first line could be our fourth line, and our fourth line could be our first line,” said Lin, who is a Richmond native and a Delta Hockey Academy graduate. “We have a lot of good players and it’s a fun room, too. They are good guys, and playing with them is awesome.

“I think there’s a lot of competition for spots, for playing time, but it’s all good competition. You need that within a team, to push each other and see where everyone stands in the end. It’s a healthy competition. It’s not like guys are going after one another or anything.

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“You want to be the guy they put out when we need a goal. Everyone’s trying to get that spot.”

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FloHockey has Lin going at No. 9 in its latest 2026 NHL Draft rankings. The Hockey News has him at No. 8.

Size is his main bugaboo. Hockey Canada is listing him at 5-foot-11 and 177 pounds. The Giants had him at 5-foot-11 and 171 points last season.

By contrast, Verhoeff is listed at 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds. He is getting some early play in the mock drafts as a possible No. 2 next summer, behind only Gavin McKenna.

Lin’s trying to not give the whole process too much of his time in his head right now.

“I’ve talked to guys who went through the draft last year and they’ve all said to take it a step at a time, an event at a time, a game at a time,” Lin said. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

He has a similar answer regarding a possible move to an NCAA program for him next season. Such things are a hot topic in the hockey world, and particularly with Lin’s draft class because of Verhoeff leaving Victoria.

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The NHL team who drafts Lin will have opinions about which path he takes. If he signs his entry-level deal soon after the draft, he won’t be eligible to play NCAA. That’s a caveat in this new world of hockey development.

“Since the rule change, I think everyone’s thought about it some,” Lin said of going the NCAA route. “I’m coming back to Vancouver this season, I want to have a good year and I don’t think I need to make any decision anytime soon. Should that time come, I’ll sit down with my family and my agent and see what the best option is for me. I’m in no rush to make any decisions right now.”

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is what’s front-of-mind for Lin. And competing for Canada is something that Lin has done plenty of.

He was a part of the Under-16 team that lost out in the bronze medal game at World Youth Olympic Games in January 2024 in Gangneung, South Korea. Lin won gold with Team Canada White (Canada had two teams) at the Under-17 world challenge in Sarnia, Ont., last November and gold at the Under-18 world championships in Frisco, Texas in May.

“Playing for Canada means everything,” he said. “It’s the most fun I’ve had playing hockey in my career. I’d like to think that every time I put that jersey on I go to another level. Hopefully, I can help bring another gold medal back with me this time. The two gold medals that I’ve won are some of the core memories of my life. Winning another one this time, while being overseas, would be really special.”

@Seveves

SEwen@postmedia.com

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