Mathis Preston
2026 NHL Draft Eligible
Position: RW, Shoots: Right
H/W: 5-foot-11 - 177 Pounds
Date of Birth: 2008-07-21
Mathis Preston was forced to grow up really quickly in Spokane. In 2024/25, the Chiefs were a high-flying offense led by superstar Berkly Catton and, after the trade deadline, Andrew Cristall. Spokane had three of the top ten scorers in the WHL, and they were able to insulate the rookie Preston on the third line. Preston flashed the high-end skill that made him the #3 overall pick in the 2023 WHL Draft, as the 16-year-old produced 45 points in 54 games despite playing low in the lineup with limited power play time. The Chiefs ultimately came up short in their championship bid, losing to the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL final. Last summer, most of the key cogs of last season’s team moved on, and the sophomore Preston was front and centre in the offence to start this season. Unsurprisingly, the much younger and less deep Chiefs have struggled this season, among the lowest scoring teams in the league.
Preston hovered just below a point-per-game, with 32 points in 36 games to start the season with Spokane. In 24/25, Preston’s penchant to score in bunches was a massive advantage for the Chiefs, and they had enough pieces that Preston’s cold streaks would go largely unnoticed. This season, those became glaring problems as the Chiefs offense would sputter without its centrepiece. At the WHL trade deadline, Preston was shipped off to the Vancouver Giants for assets to build for the future. Preston joined the Giants where he contributed three points in four periods before being on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee hit, and he’s been out since.
As a smaller winger with elite skill, Preston has the ability to produce offence, but he has trouble producing consistently. He's a really good skater and has an above average shot. He also is very good at identifying space and creating chances for teammates, particularly on the rush. He needs to work on his game of the defensive zone, which is currently pretty much non-existent, in addition to making an effort to engage physically more frequently. He also needs to improve his offensive decision making, which right now is spotty, as he makes too many low percentage plays.
Preston has a ceiling as a top six forward in the NHL that regularly sees time on the power play, but he certainly needs to improve his consistency and decision making in order to get there. It will be interesting to see how he develops with more time in the Vancouver Giants organization, after being on an island offensively at times in Spokane this season.
Skating:
Mathis Preston moves very well, which is important as a smaller player. He has quick feet and manages to accelerate quite quickly, particularly when he identifies opportunities for offense. He also effectively uses cutbacks to create space for himself in the offensive zone. His skating makes him a massive threat, especially in situations where there's a little bit of extra space out there such as four-on-four or three-on-three overtime.
Preston isn’t the most powerful skater, but he can accelerate quickly and with purpose.
Again, quick acceleration leaves the defenders in the dust here. He uses a couple crossovers to ensure he has space from the back pressure.
Preston moves very well laterally, but he tends to allow that to keep him to the outside instead of using it more strategically to get to the net.
Grade: 55
Shot:
Preston loves to put the puck on the net. A ton. He actually does have a pretty dangerous wrist shot too, it's not the hardest shot out there, but it is heavy enough that he is a threat from some distance with his quick release. The biggest issue he runs into is the fact that he often will just get pushed to the outside and he'll still shoot anyway, so most nights he ends up getting half a dozen shots from the tops of the circles or outside the dots which obviously isn't the most threatening position to score goals.
The Chiefs also used him a bit this year on his off side as a one-time option on the power play, but that was more out of the necessity of the team not having many shooting threats than it was really playing into Preston’s strength. He won't be relied upon as a focal point one-timer option on an NHL power play.
He does a great job creating space for himself on the rush here but he still doesn’t really have any pass options after he curls so he puts it on net himself. Impressive shot here to beat the goalie clean from a distance off his back foot.
Preston wastes no time getting the shot off on this one and beats the goalie clean from the top of the circle.
Fantastic use of a screen here and pinpoint accuracy to get the shot through it, his shot is so much more deadly when he gets closer to the net.
Preston doesn’t use a slapshot a whole lot and it’s not too dangerous anyway. He’ll be scoring with wrist shots as a pro.
Grade: 52.5
Skills:
Preston has great hands. When he's one-on-one with a defender or in alone on a goalie, there are a few in this draft that are more dangerous. He is also an excellent playmaker, usually taking advantage of lanes that he has opened up by drawing pressure because of his slick stickwork. He is among the best players in this year's draft at creating off the rush; if there isn’t a passing lane, he’ll make one. He will most likely be a regular power play contributor as a pro.
Preston did not disappoint in his Giants debut, netting the OT winner here. Great display of skating and slick hands on this one.
He displays his great hands here, then doesn’t even make an effort to get to the net, content to simply toss a goal line backhand towards the cage. Plays like this need to be cleaned up from his game.
Calm under pressure here, Preston has no problem cutting back and climbing the wall after running out of options on the rush. Threading the needle with a cross-ice pass is a regular occurrence with him.
Again, Preston is so dangerous as a playmaker on the rush. He gives teammates a chance to score.
Grade: 55
Smarts:
Preston is an interesting case in the Smarts category because on one hand, he is very intelligent when it comes to creating space, anticipating teammates, and reading play, but he also needs to limit bad decisions. He is one of the top pure offensive creators in this class, but he can get carried away with overhandling the puck, making risky passes, and taking low percentage shots. He could also focus a bit more on defence when in his own end.
Here is an excellent example of Preston adapting on the fly. On the first powerplay, the defending forward closes the gap on him very quickly and he coughs up the puck. On the next power play, Preston makes sure to create a little bit of space for himself with his skating.
This is what makes Preston so dangerous on the rush. He draws pressure to himself and is patient with the puck, moving it to the teammate that was freed up by the abandoned coverage that he created.
That patience and ability to draw pressure that helps so much on the rush doesn’t always work so well when he tries to utilize it while pressuring in the offensive zone. He runs out of space here instead of using his teammates.
Unfortunately, the defensive side of the game is typically not a high priority for him, leading to moments like this where he completely loses the blueliner behind him because he is watching the puck in his own zone.
Grade: 57.5
Physicality/Compete:
Given his smaller stature, Mathis Preston is unlikely to ever become a force physically. Naturally, the bulk of his defensive play comes in the form of stick checking. However, he does need to work on his consistency when it comes to physicality. A steady and balanced skater, Preston should be able to handle an increase in physicality; as is, he does not engage physically very often to help disrupt play or create space. As for his compete level, it also tends to be inconsistent, not only from game to game, but shift to shift. At times he dominates, then he goes invisible. He needs to find a way to be a factor, even when he isn’t putting up points.
Preston shows here that he is willing to put in an effort defensively, but this is an inconsistent part of his game that needs work.
Preston doesn’t use the body a ton, but has an excellent stick, here he lifts and strips the defender before finding his teammate heading to the net.
Though Preston is on the smaller side, he is still capable of using his body to create a bit of space, even if he doesn’t do it regularly.
Grade: 47.5
OFP: 53.875
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.