2026 NHL Draft Profile | Ryan Lin, Vancouver Giants

In the Lin household in Richmond, B.C., there’s a special hockey stick hanging on the wall that’s adorned with a mounting number of medals and awards.

Its owner, Ryan Lin, has to admit, the load is getting pretty heavy.

His accolades don’t tell the whole story of the 18-year-old’s hockey journey, but it certainly paints a picture of how much he’s already achieved- and how hard he’s willing to work for more.

“Two highlights so far in my career have been winning a gold medal with Team Canada at the U17s and U18s last year,” Lin said. “They’re both just such good groups and like, for those two weeks, that was a lot of fun. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had playing hockey, and then to cap it off with the gold medal for our country.”

In addition to those 2024-25 gold medals, Lin also owns a bronze from the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and paced all defencemen at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship with six points (1G-5A) in five games.

But as the stages get bigger, he’s never forgotten where he started.

Lin grew up attending Vancouver Giants games and idolized his older brother, Teo.

He even started his career as a forward, just like Teo.

While the position didn’t stick, Lin has gotten to live out his childhood dream after being drafted by his hometown Giants with the sixth overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

The right-shot defender broke into the league with a 53-point (5G-48A) campaign in 2024-25, joining exceptional status defender Landon DuPont as the first rookie WHL defencemen aged 16 or younger to surpass 50 points since Hockey Hall-of-Famer and Kamloops Blazers legend Scott Niedermayer pulled it off in 1989-90.

Despite seeing his sophomore season shortened by injury, Lin followed it up with a tremendous 57 points (14G-43A) in 53 games in 2025-26, nearly tripling his goal output, averaging more than a point per game and establishing himself as one of the top prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Lin was named an alternate captain for Team CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge, which saw top draft-eligibles from around the CHL take on the U.S. National Team Development Program in November.

He most certainly would have been a headlining player at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game in February, had he not been sidelined by a wrist injury.

Despite not getting to showcase his game at that event, Vancouver Giants coaching staff say the adversity showcased Lin’s mental strength and determination.

“He would come in from the workouts with Pav (Pavel Dhah), our strength and conditioning coach, and he would be drenched,” Giants assistant coach Wacey Rabbit recalled. “He’d always be on the bike, or he’d be doing something, and if not, he was watching practice, and he wasn’t just watching to hang out, he was actually watching what we were doing, and so when he was ready, it was almost seamless to step into our lineup. That’s the reason why he was our captain.”

What the 5-foot-11, 180-pound rearguard lacks in size, he makes up for in snarl.

“I just make up for it in other areas,” Lin shrugged. “I think my skating helps me, like, if I have a big forechecker come down on me, I think I can evade and make a move or do whatever I need to do to get around them. I don’t think it’s a disadvantage. I just think my other areas of my game are enhanced because of it.

I’d say relentless would be a good one. I think everywhere on the ice, I work hard and do the right things for our team, and then individually, I think I can create a lot of offense for our team.”

For his part, Rabbit believes Lin has what it takes to thrive in a new-wave class of NHL defencemen under 6-feet tall that features players like two-time WHL Defenceman of the Year Olen Zellweger, Lane Hutson and Quinn Hughes, among others.

After all, Rabbit has seen Lin take on more than his fair share of hulking opponents in the WHL- and even sees shades of 2026 Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski in Lin’s game.

“He’s a breakout machine,” Rabbit said. “They had some guys with some size, and he’s so good with his angles that they run out of real estate, and going back, (he’s) separating the man from the puck. He doesn’t have a problem boxing out. He’s very strong for his size… I’ve seen him put some guys on their back that are a little bit bigger than him.

“He picks his spots, and if it doesn’t work out, he’s always the first guy back ready to defend and taking on those line rushes, so I think he’s the perfect defenceman for today’s NHL.”

NHL Central Scouting has ranked Lin 16th among all North American skaters heading into the 2026 NHL Draft.

He’s projected to become one of the highest-drafted Giants defencemen in franchise history.

Lin was also among the prospects invited to the annual NHL Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., where he posted top-10 finishes in four of the 15 events (10-metre sprint, no arm jump, vertical jump and bench press power) and met with various team brass.

“I’m grateful that it’s all happening and that I’m in this situation to do all this stuff,” Lin added. “Not many 17, 18-year-olds get to go through stuff like this.

My parents said it only happens once, so you’ve kind of got to enjoy it- don’t get too stuck up on it, though.”

The 2026 NHL Draft begins with Round One on Friday, June 26, at 5:00 p.m. MT, with Round 2-7 following on Saturday, June 27.