C Hayden Paupanekis - Kelowna Rockets, WHL (2025 Draft)

[BKarchitect]

Just posted an inquiry in the Matthew Gard thread and Paupanekis also kind of struck me in a similar way in mid-season rankings. He's another tall WHL forward whose raw stats don't jump (although he is PPG in small sample since being dealt to Kelowna) but is showing up in that round 2-3 range in mid-season reports. EP has him #53 overall and Bobby's poll has him #70.

Same question as with Gard. Late blooming skill guy with a big frame or more of a big-bodied checking line type down the road?

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[Bender Duster]

For what it's worth, he put up a ton of points in the Winnipeg U15 AAA league a couple of years ago, so the skill is definitely there. I haven't seen him play lately but I remember him being a pretty choppy skater.

 

[Briser la glace]

I'm surprised he did not have a thread yet. I noticed it a few weeks ago but was too lazy to make one

I expected Paupanekis to become a late-riser and be ranked in the 40-64 range on most public lists by draft day, but he may fly under the radar now that he moved to Kelowna in the Cristall trade.

He is definitely not the most skilled or the best puckhandler, but I've seen flashes of decent puck distribution, he has a hard shot, he is a decent skater for his size, he seems to have good awareness and does not (always) precipitate his plays with the puck which makes me believe that the game is not too fast for him.

He is not the most intense or aggressive player either, but he finishes his checks, he is good in his own zone, and I found him very dangerous around the net.

I think he has the size and the smarts to maybe become a bottom-6 player (with some PP time?) although the ceiling seems fairly low and he is still very raw. He needs to work on his skating and puckhandling.

 

[PocketNines]

I've seen all of his games with Kelowna including one in person at Seattle since the trade. He's been on a line with the player I am watching, Stancl.

He scored on Tuesday when he snuck alone in front and was fed for a five foot shot against the goalie and Stancl fed him for a second ENG on Saturday. He's really the only player who is able to supplement Stancl at the moment on that team, so he makes a number of plays. He's big too, skates well, good forechecker. I definitely have my eye on him.