Pantelas builds on WHL experience

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This article was published 04/09/2024 (377 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Giorgos Pantelas did his on-the-job training with the Brandon Wheat Kings last spring. Now the real work begins.

The 16-year-old British Columbia defenceman was called up by the Western Hockey League team after his season ended with the Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna and spent the end of the campaign and the playoffs with the Wheat Kings.

“It definitely helped a lot,” Pantelas said. “Being here showed me what I needed to do to become better, especially because everyone here knows what they’re doing. It’s skipping a few steps in learning and trial and error.”

Pantelas certainly has the frame to make the jump to Brandon this season. Pantelas looks like a 19-year-old on the ice in no small part due to his physical maturity. With a six-foot-two, 198-pound frame, he has the same sort of size and presence at 16 that Braden Schneider had in 2017-18, Vinny Iorio exhibited in 2018-19 and Charlie Elick showed in 2022-23.

Head coach and general manager Marty Murray has certainly noticed, and also found a lot of other things to like about the young defenceman who the team grabbed 19th overall in 2023 with the pick it acquired from the Saskatoon Blades for forward Jake Chiasson.

“He’s really good,” Murray said. “He just continues to make strides. He’s a big boy, he looks like a pro already. He doesn’t look like he’s 16 years old. He’s just a presence out there.

“There’s not much to dislike about his game. He can break pucks out, he’s physical, he’s headsy. For our scouts who hadn’t been overly familiar with him or hadn’t seen him for a while, the talk in our group was they think he can be a pro for a long time.”

Pantelas was born in Montreal and lived there until he was 10, when his family moved across the country to Vancouver Island and settled in Victoria.

After spending the 2021-22 season at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C., Pantelas made the move to the Rink Hockey Academy in Kelowna for the 2022-23 season.

At the time, he was still playing forward as well, so Brandon drafted him without a full season to watch him in his natural position. That’s allowed for a lot of growth as he’s settled in for good on the blue-line.

“It’s definitely changed a lot,” Pantelas said of his game. “In my draft year I played most of the year as a forward, so I was mostly just used to angling, chasing down hits, finishing checks, but I feel like now I play more of a calm, relaxed game.

“I’m sitting back and once I get the puck, being able to keep my head up and hold the puck in a protected place. I feel like I’ve got more of a safe game and I’m seeing what to do and analyzing the play better than before.”

In his debut season at the under-18 level last winter with RHA Kelowna, he contributed five goals, 11 assists and 22 penalty minutes in 30 games.

His team finished fifth with a record of 21-5-3-1 in the regular season and fell 5-4 in the semifinals in the playoffs to the top-seeded Northern Alberta Xtreme on March 16.

The end of his club season allowed Brandon to call him up, and Pantelas made his WHL debut in a 3-2 Brandon victory on the road against the Regina Pats on March 22.

When the right-handed shot came to Brandon for training camp last season, he knew he couldn’t stay. Now that’s changed, and while he seems like a lock from the outside to already have a roster spot nailed down, in his mind he’s battling for it.

“It made the experience a lot different,” Pantelas said. “Last year I came in here and was just trying to see where I was compared to everyone else. Now I actually have something to fight for and a spot to earn. It’s definitely a lot different. I feel like it’s really just increasing the compete levels.”

He was pleased with his performance at camp, which opened last Friday and closed with the Black and Gold game on Monday afternoon.

“Very happy actually,” Pantelas said. “I feel like every day I’ve gotten better and better. I still have a lot more to show, so that’s hopefully good.”

The Wheat Kings open their pre-season on Friday evening at 7 o’clock against the visiting Saskatoon Blades and begin the regular season when the Moose Jaw Warriors travel to Westoba Place on Sept. 20.

While he’s taking nothing for granted, when Pantelas allows himself the chance to consider playing in the WHL at 16, it’s a prospect he clearly relishes.

“There are only so many kids who can go and play first year so it’s very special of course,” Pantelas said. “Especially, I feel like we’re going to have a very young team, so I’m really excited. Rookie year just sounds super fun.”

Pantelas, who at 16 combines an unusual degree of thoughtfulness with the ability to communicate those ideas, said training camp showed him what the team will look like in the coming years. He’s excited by the possibilities.

“I feel like a solid foundation has been laid,” Pantelas said. “We definitely have a promising future and it will be super fun to have a chance to be a part of it.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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