Victoria Royals players Kalem Parker and Justin Kipkie were named to NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters ahead of the upcoming 2023 NHL Draft, which will take place on June 28-29 in Nashville.
Parker moved up from being ranked 113th on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm ranking of North American skaters, to 93rd on the Final Rankings. He was awarded the Royals 2023 Wilson’s Transportation Top Defenseman Award after posting 6 goals and 32 assists for 38 points in 68 games during the 2022-23 campaign. The Royals 2nd round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft has played three seasons in Victoria.
Kipkie was ranked 107th by NHL Central Scouting on their final ranking of North American skaters, after being unranked on the midterm rankings. Kipkie finished first in WHL Rookie Defenseman Scoring with 8 goals and 25 assists for 33 points in 67 games during the 2022-23 season. The Royals 6th round pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft was also awarded the team’s Jo Ann Thompson Foundation Scholastic Player of the Year and Island Savings Rookie of the Year awards.
