Simon Wang makes history as NHL's highest-drafted Chinese player

Joshua Clipperton · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 4:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Simon Wang is inactive lone 17 years old.

The travel that brought him to Peacock Theater connected Saturday greeting had already been agelong and winding.

Then helium made history.

The San Jose Sharks chose the defenceman from the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals with the archetypal prime of the NHL draft's 2nd round, making the six-foot-six, 222-pound Wang the highest-selected Chinese subordinate successful the league astatine No. 33 overall.

"Unreal infinitesimal for my family, for hockey (in) China," Wang said arsenic helium sported his caller team's teal threads. "Dream-come-true moment. Trying to soak it in."

The teen started playing hockey successful Beijing astatine property four, but his household decided helium needed much contention to make aft speaking with a person already successful Canada.

Wang moved to the Toronto country successful 2019, and aft returning location during the COVID-19 pandemic, returned to Ontario and enrolled successful a backstage school. Wang's mother, Willa, past bought a junior-A squad successful Brantford, Ont., and relocated it to Nobleton — astir 125 kilometres distant — wherever her lad started to flourish.

The 2 different Chinese-born players drafted to the NHL are 2024 Winnipeg Jets fourth-round prime Kevin He and 2015 New York Islanders sixth-rounder Andong Song.

"I'm conscionable getting started," said Wang, who's committed to yet attending Boston University successful the NCAA. "I ne'er truly knew this game, however it's expected to beryllium played until 14. I'm ever the underdog. Always person region to drawback up. I inactive person hunger successful me, inactive person to thrust that I've got to get amended each azygous time to drawback up.

"That's wherefore I'm astir apt 1 of the astir unsocial guys successful the draught class."

Wang started this play successful junior-A earlier signing connected successful the OHL with the Generals, wherever helium enactment up 2 assists successful 32 games arsenic helium continued to turn into his assemblage and larn the sport.

Now he's acceptable a caller draught benchmark.

"Definitely special," Wang said. "I anticipation I've inspired a batch of kids backmost home, and hopefully 1 time my grounds gets breached — idiosyncratic goes successful the archetypal round, possibly top-10. That's astir apt the eventual extremity for Chinese hockey.

"There'll decidedly beryllium idiosyncratic that is going to marque a immense interaction connected the game."

It could precise good beryllium Wang.

Decentralized draft

The league's first-ever decentralized draught successful a non-pandemic script — akin to the NFL and NBA, wherever teams marque selections off-site — continued with the Montreal Canadiens trading up to get Alexander Zharovsky astatine No. 34.

The six-foot-one, 163-pound Russian winger had 24 goals and 26 assists for 50 points crossed 45 games for Ufa connected his country's inferior circuit this past season.

The Vancouver Canucks took goaltender Alexei Medvedev of the OHL's London Knights astatine No. 47. The Russian went 22-8-2 with a .912 prevention percent and 2.79 goal-against mean for the Memorial Cup champions.

The Calgary Flames picked centre Theo Stockselius astatine No. 54. The six-foot-three, 196-pound centre enactment up 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists) successful 40 games successful 2024-25 for Djurgardens' developmental squad successful Sweden.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made their archetypal prime OF the draught with the 2nd round's last selection, taking Tinus Luc Koblar, besides retired of the Swedish inferior league, astatine No 64. The Norwegian centre had 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) successful 43 games for Leksands successful 2024-25.

The Ottawa Senators made a commercialized with the Los Angeles Kings earlier successful the time erstwhile they acquired defenceman Jordan Spence for a third-round prime this twelvemonth and a 2026 sixth-rounder.

The Detroit Red Wings made the day's biggest splash, adding John Gibson via commercialized from the Anaheim Ducks for chap goaltender Petr Mrazek, a second-round prime successful 2027 and a fourth-rounder successful 2026.

Saturday's 3rd circular saw Vancouver instrumentality centre Kieren Dervin (No. 65), Montreal drawback centre Hayden Paupanekis (No. 69), and Calgary spell with defenceman Maceo Phillips (No. 80) earlier the Canadiens took blueliner Bryce Pickford (No. 81) and goaltender Arseni Radkov (No. 82).

The Edmonton Oilers made their archetypal prime of 2025 astatine No. 83 with winger Tommy Lafreniere. The Leafs past selected Tyler Hopkins astatine No. 86.

The centre from Campbellville, Ont. — conscionable extracurricular Toronto — grew up a instrumentality of some the squad and skipper Auston Matthews.

"To deterioration this jersey, I can't adjacent picture the feeling," said the 18-year-old. "That was the eventual dream."

More picks

Winnipeg took centre Owen Martin (No. 92) and Ottawa chose winger Blake Vanek (No. 93).

Ottawa opened the 4th circular by selecting goaltender Lucas Beckman (No. 97), wingers Dmitri Isayev (No. 149) and Bruno Idzan (No. 181), on with netminder Andrei Trofimov (No. 213).

Montreal tabbed centre John Mooney (No. 113) and goaltender Alexis Cournoyer (No. 145). The Canadiens past added a trio of defencemen successful Carlos Handel (No. 177), Andrew MacNiel (No. 189) and Maxon Vig (No. 209).

Edmonton plucked winger David Lewandowski (No. 117), defenceman Asher Barnett (No. 131), goaltender Daniel Salonen (No. 191) and centre Aiden Park (No. 223). Toronto grabbed winger William Belle (No. 137), winger Harry Nansi (No. 153), defenceman Bruno Idzan (No. 185) and winger Matthew Hlacar (No. 217).

Vancouver selected centre Wilson Bjorck (No. 143), winger Gabriel Chiarot (No. 175) and centre Matthew Lansing (No. 207). Calgary picked wingers Ethan Wyttenbach (No. 144) and Aiden Lane (No. 176), defenceman Jakob Leander (No. 208) and winger Yan Matveiko (No. 211).

Winnipeg coiled up with winger Viktor Klingsell (No. 156), defenceman Edison Engle (No. 188) and winger Jacob Cloutier (No. 220).