Who are the top prospects in the Vancouver Canucks' system?
The time has come to rank the Vancouver Canucks’ prospects using one of the greatest architectural designs in human history: the noble pyramid.
This naturally results in a triangular shape: one or two blue-chip prospects at the top, a few great prospects, several more good prospects, a big group of average or decent prospects, and then a whole bunch of longshots or projects. Lekkerimäki also led the World Juniors in goals with 7 in 7 games and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
While Willander isn’t quite a blue-chipper, he’s pretty close to a sure thing to play in the NHL, which is a rarity in the Canucks’ prospect pool right now. Once he reaches the NHL, Willander should be at least a second-pairing defenceman thanks to his mobility, physicality, and defensive hockey IQ.
I am quite high on Kirill Kudryavtsev, a versatile puck-moving defenceman who plays a pro-style game. He’s constantly layering deception into everything he does, whether retrieving the puck against the forecheck or passing the puck in transition. That’s going to be essential for transitioning to the NHL level.
In terms of future potential among the defencemen, however, the younger Elias Pettersson is second only to Tom Willander in the Canucks’ system. The heavy-hitting Pettersson won’t put up a lot of points but his combination of size and skating ought to lead to a shutdown role in the future. Canucks fans might disagree with Arturs Silovs being in Tier 3 after his playoff performance but this is the appropriate tier for a prospect whose most likely future is as a backup goaltender in the NHL.
While some seem certain Arshdeep Bains is bound for the NHL, I’m on the fence. While he’s developed well in Abbotsford, Bains struggled with the pace of the NHL at times in his eight games last season. Ultimately, he was on the ice for the highest rate of goals against at 5-on-5 on the team. It seemed like goaltender Aku Koskenvuo had stalled in his development at Harvard University after playing just two games in his freshman season, but he played significantly better last season in his sophomore year. Koskenvuo split starts with senior Derek Mullahy and thoroughly outplayed him, with a .910 save percentage in 17 games compared to Mullahy’s .897.
Still, Mynio’s upside leans more toward the bottom-pairing and he needs to add more size and strength to effectively compete for pucks in the NHL. That leaves Mynio with a long path ahead of him, though he’s taken some very promising steps along that path. Romani has high-end potential but there’s a reason why he was a sixth-round pick. He’ll need to develop his skating, puck protection, and his defensive game to move up the prospect rankings and eventually make the NHL.
This past season, Woo put up 31 points in 62 games while playing in all situations in Abbotsford and even earned a call-up to Vancouver, though he didn’t get into a game. He and Cole McWard will battle for ice time and for a call-up next season and, while I lean toward McWard, I wouldn’t count Woo out.
That inability to stay up in the AHL might be a bit of a red flag but he did have a decent season in the OHL, putting up 40 points in 34 games before scoring the Memorial Cup-winning goal for the Saginaw Spirit. He’ll be back in Abbotsford this coming season and will look to make a stronger impression.
Limited ice time certainly played a role, as Forsell averaged just 9:24 per game, the lowest ice time among Färjestad regulars. But some of that has to land on Forsell not demanding more ice time with his play three seasons after being drafted. He’s gone from being seemingly a sure thing to earn a contract with the Canucks to more of a longshot.
There’s still raw talent there but at this point that raw talent should have become a little more refined. He’ll be looking for a bounceback season to prove he still has NHL potential.
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