<p>In recent years, the Calgary Flames have continually gone back to the well of acquiring OHL defencemen. Arguably their three top defensive prospects, Zayne Parekh, Henry Mews, and Hunter Brzustewicz, all hail from Ontario&#8217;s top junior league.</p>
<p>The Flames may look to tap into that well again with a player like Haoxi (Simon) Wang, whose skillset would well complement their pre-existing prospects which are comparable to each other on many levels.</p>
<h2>Scouting report</h2>
<p>Wang was born in Beijing, China in July of 2007. His minor hockey started career in China before moving to Canada at the age of 12. He began playing in the OJHL – a Junior &#8216;A&#8217; league that produced Flames&#8217; 2024 fourth-round selection Trevor Hoskin – in 2023, where he remained until signing with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL in December 2024.</p>
<p>Wang is a left-shot defenceman with a massive frame, standing 6&#8217;6&#8243; and weighing 215 pounds. What sets him apart from other behemoth blueliners is his unique skating ability for his size. He possesses great athleticism and coordination that allows him to join the rush and move well in all three zones, all while maintaining a commanding presence and size advantage.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-top-10-defensemen-jackson-smith-matthew-schaefer">Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff</a> said this on Wang:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;The 6-foot-6 defender is an excellent skater – like, one of the more fluent movers in the draft – while doing an excellent job of carrying the puck up the ice. The ceiling is so high, especially since he has only recently started to figure out how to use his frame and mobility to dominate the competition. Offense has been hard to come by in the OHL, but I still really like his game.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>From <a href="https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/13486353-nhl-draft-simon-wang-tops-junior-a-players-listed-by-central-scouting">FloHockey draft analyst Chris Peters:</a></p>
<blockquote><p>“This is a prospect who is just scratching the surface of what he can be. He’s got the size and there’s some real skill to go with that. Players that have that combination are harder to find. There’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of getting him physically stronger and refining some of his reads and decision making, but you can see the tools, which is exciting.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Friday&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCdnSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealCdnSS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveoftheNight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaveoftheNight</a> goes to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHLDraft</a> prospect Simon Wang of the <a href="https://twitter.com/Oshawa_Generals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Oshawa_Generals</a>, who sprawled out to keep the game scoreless! 🎥 <a href="https://t.co/0ntV0foZc0">pic.twitter.com/0ntV0foZc0</a></p>
<p>— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/OHLHockey/status/1916126366744842685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2025</a></p>
<p>Wang has committed to play at Boston University for the 2025-26 season.</p>
<h2>The numbers</h2>
<p>Wang quickly progressed over the past few seasons. After posting seven points in 28 games played with the then-Brantford 99ers of the OJHL in 2023-24, he registered four goals and 18 assists over 38 contests before his OHL debut in 2024-25.</p>
<p>Upon signing with the Oshawa Generals, Wang made his OHL debut on Dec. 4, 2024 and was a -1 in that game. He&#8217;d need just one more game to get his bearings before becoming a mainstay on a stacked Generals blue line.</p>
<p>After carving out a role, Wang played in Oshawa&#8217;s final 31 games of the regular season and all 21 of their playoff games en route to the OHL Finals. He registered five points in his 52 total games, three of which came in playoff contests.</p>
<h2>Availability and fit</h2>
<p>Calgary&#8217;s aforementioned stable of top defensive prospects <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/06/flames-prospect-zayne-parekh-scores-100th-point-of-2024-25-ohl-season/">Zayne Parekh</a>, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/12/calgary-flames-prospect-henry-mews-quietly-having-historical-season/">Henry Mews</a> and <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/02/27/flames-prospect-hunter-brzustewicz-is-growing-and-adapting-in-first-season-with-the-wranglers/">Hunter Brzustewicz</a> all shoot right and employ a similar offensive style of play. Each of them will need a left-handed shutdown defenceman to ride along with, as though to make up for any defensive shortcomings inherent in those players.</p>
<p>The Flames currently have just one high calibre left shot defenceman on their roster in Kevin Bahl, the others – Joel Hanley, Jake Bean and Ilya Solovyov – do not project to be long-term options on the left side.</p>
<p>Simon Wang is a defensively focused player who would seemingly pair perfectly with each of Calgary&#8217;s high-flying offensive defenceman prospects.</p>
<p>Wang&#8217;s placement in various outlet&#8217;s draft rankings project him to be an early to mid second-round pick, but I&#8217;m not sure I see it that way. His limited OHL experience and low offensive production may scare clubs away, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/06/07/a-history-of-the-54th-overall-pick-the-flames-second-round-pick-in-the-2025-draft/">leaving him available for the Flames second-round pick at 54th overall</a>.</p>
<p>Wang is set to become just the third Chinese-born player to be selected at the NHL Draft.</p>
<h1>This article is brought to you by Crystal Waters</h1>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-131942" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-1024x341.png" alt="" width="1024" height="341" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-1024x341.png 1024w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-300x100.png 300w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-768x256.png 768w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-1536x512.png 1536w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg.png 1800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><b>Crystal Waters is your Crystal Clear Choice for Home Comfort Solutions, including all plumbing, heating, and cooling equipment repairs, maintenance, and installation. Founded in 2001, and completing over 30,000 projects, our qualified professionals are the guardians of your home’s mechanical heart.</b></p>
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In recent years, the Calgary Flames have continually gone back to the well of acquiring OHL defencemen. Arguably their three top defensive prospects, Zayne Parekh, Henry Mews, and Hunter Brzustewicz, all hail from Ontario's top junior league.

The Flames may look to tap into that well again with a player like Haoxi (Simon) Wang, whose skillset would well complement their pre-existing prospects which are comparable to each other on many levels.
<h2>Scouting report</h2>
Wang was born in Beijing, China in July of 2007. His minor hockey started career in China before moving to Canada at the age of 12. He began playing in the OJHL – a Junior 'A' league that produced Flames' 2024 fourth-round selection Trevor Hoskin – in 2023, where he remained until signing with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL in December 2024.

Wang is a left-shot defenceman with a massive frame, standing 6'6" and weighing 215 pounds. What sets him apart from other behemoth blueliners is his unique skating ability for his size. He possesses great athleticism and coordination that allows him to join the rush and move well in all three zones, all while maintaining a commanding presence and size advantage.

<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-top-10-defensemen-jackson-smith-matthew-schaefer">Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff</a> said this on Wang:
<blockquote>"The 6-foot-6 defender is an excellent skater – like, one of the more fluent movers in the draft – while doing an excellent job of carrying the puck up the ice. The ceiling is so high, especially since he has only recently started to figure out how to use his frame and mobility to dominate the competition. Offense has been hard to come by in the OHL, but I still really like his game."</blockquote>
From <a href="https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/13486353-nhl-draft-simon-wang-tops-junior-a-players-listed-by-central-scouting">FloHockey draft analyst Chris Peters:</a>
<blockquote>“This is a prospect who is just scratching the surface of what he can be. He’s got the size and there’s some real skill to go with that. Players that have that combination are harder to find. There’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of getting him physically stronger and refining some of his reads and decision making, but you can see the tools, which is exciting.”</blockquote>
Friday's <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCdnSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealCdnSS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveoftheNight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaveoftheNight</a> goes to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHLDraft</a> prospect Simon Wang of the <a href="https://twitter.com/Oshawa_Generals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Oshawa_Generals</a>, who sprawled out to keep the game scoreless! 🎥 <a href="https://t.co/0ntV0foZc0">pic.twitter.com/0ntV0foZc0</a>

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/OHLHockey/status/1916126366744842685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2025</a>

Wang has committed to play at Boston University for the 2025-26 season.
<h2>The numbers</h2>
Wang quickly progressed over the past few seasons. After posting seven points in 28 games played with the then-Brantford 99ers of the OJHL in 2023-24, he registered four goals and 18 assists over 38 contests before his OHL debut in 2024-25.

Upon signing with the Oshawa Generals, Wang made his OHL debut on Dec. 4, 2024 and was a -1 in that game. He'd need just one more game to get his bearings before becoming a mainstay on a stacked Generals blue line.

After carving out a role, Wang played in Oshawa's final 31 games of the regular season and all 21 of their playoff games en route to the OHL Finals. He registered five points in his 52 total games, three of which came in playoff contests.
<h2>Availability and fit</h2>
Calgary's aforementioned stable of top defensive prospects <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/06/flames-prospect-zayne-parekh-scores-100th-point-of-2024-25-ohl-season/">Zayne Parekh</a>, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/12/calgary-flames-prospect-henry-mews-quietly-having-historical-season/">Henry Mews</a> and <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/02/27/flames-prospect-hunter-brzustewicz-is-growing-and-adapting-in-first-season-with-the-wranglers/">Hunter Brzustewicz</a> all shoot right and employ a similar offensive style of play. Each of them will need a left-handed shutdown defenceman to ride along with, as though to make up for any defensive shortcomings inherent in those players.

The Flames currently have just one high calibre left shot defenceman on their roster in Kevin Bahl, the others – Joel Hanley, Jake Bean and Ilya Solovyov – do not project to be long-term options on the left side.

Simon Wang is a defensively focused player who would seemingly pair perfectly with each of Calgary's high-flying offensive defenceman prospects.

Wang's placement in various outlet's draft rankings project him to be an early to mid second-round pick, but I'm not sure I see it that way. His limited OHL experience and low offensive production may scare clubs away, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/06/07/a-history-of-the-54th-overall-pick-the-flames-second-round-pick-in-the-2025-draft/">leaving him available for the Flames second-round pick at 54th overall</a>.

Wang is set to become just the third Chinese-born player to be selected at the NHL Draft.
<h1>This article is brought to you by Crystal Waters</h1>
<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-131942" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-1024x341.png" alt="" width="1024" height="341" /><b>Crystal Waters is your Crystal Clear Choice for Home Comfort Solutions, including all plumbing, heating, and cooling equipment repairs, maintenance, and installation. Founded in 2001, and completing over 30,000 projects, our qualified professionals are the guardians of your home’s mechanical heart.</b>

<b>Call Crystal Waters Plumbing and Heating today at 403-219-4100 for a complete mechanical system audit, and learn how we can partner with you to ensure your home is optimized for safety, health, and comfort. Or check them out at </b><a href="http://www.crystalclearcalgary.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.crystalclearcalgary.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1727918572019000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3vaooTqBXRsNchXvQ30iLG">www.crystalclearcalgary.com</a>

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