Sportsnet article on canucks prospects

[The_Rocket]

Interesting read in sportsnet about 6 of our prospects. Nothing that hasn’t been said before but I do like that sportsnet is taking time to talk about Canadian teams’ prospects on a national forum. My only real beef is they don’t talk about prospects like Demko, Lockwood, or Dipietro. Other teams like the Flames has way more prospects mentioned. 

 

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks-prospect-report-unprecedented-collection-youth/

 

Sorry I didn’t copy and paste the whole thing. I’m on my phone and don’t really know how to format that. 

[SliteriousBlackbeard]

I'm glad to see some recognition for our team a little more consistently. Gets me fired up for the future!

[Stormriders]

From Sportsnet article link since Clay could not post

Vancouver Canucks Prospect Report: An unprecedented collection of youth

The best thing about the Vancouver Canucks’ best prospect in a generation is that Brock Boeser is not the only one.  The 20-year-old rookie winger from Burnsville, Minn., opened a lot of eyes last weekend when he was the Canucks’ best forward on his first National Hockey League visits to Toronto and Montreal, influential markets full of Professional Hockey Writers’ Association voters who will pick the Calder Trophy winner next spring.

But largely unseen behind Boeser the Canucks have stacked an array of talented, offensive prospects unprecedented in depth and quality in the organization’s history.

“We used to hold our prospects camp or go to the prospects tournament and we’d be hoping this (one) guy looks good or that guy looks good,” president of hockey operations Trevor Linden said. “Now we have a bunch of guys. It’s really exciting for us.”

With an assist from Canuck director of player development Ryan Johnson, here is a mid-season look at the best Vancouver prospects by league across North America and Europe.

 

REASON FOR OPTIMISM

Kole Lind, 19, RW, Kelowna Rockets
Second round, 33rd overall, 2017
Season to date: 32 GP | 21 G | 33 A | 54 PTS | +15
The powerful winger handled disappointment over being cut from Team Canada’s world junior camp by scoring four goals in his first two games back in the WHL, and through last weekend carried a nine-game points streak in which he had amassed eight goals and 18 points. In 32 games for Kelowna, Lind had 21 goals, 54 points and 43 penalty minutes – an indication of the abrasiveness with which he plays. The Canucks like that Lind is a natural scorer who gets to the net, but they love the way he competes.

Ryan Johnson: “Obviously, his skill set and the way he moves is impressive. But he has a nasty side to him which not a lot of players have in today’s game. He has a natural edge to his game, which I like. He plays a physical game and we need that in Vancouver. I really do think the sky is the limit for Kole.”

OHL

Jonah Gadjovich, 19, LW, Owen Sound Attack
Second round, 55th overall, 2017
Season to date: 22 GP | 15 G | 11 A | 26 PTS | -3
After missing a month with a wrist injury last fall, Gadjovich won a gold medal with Canada’s world junior team, finishing the tournament with two goals and three points in seven games. In 22 games with Owen Sound, the power forward with huge net-front presence had 15 goals and 26 points in 22 games and a staggering 118 shots on goal. Gadjovich plays a “heavy” throwback game. And working with skating coach Ryan Lounsbury, Gadjovich has gotten quicker this season.

Ryan Johnson: “He knows what he is as a player and knows completely what he has to do to contribute on whatever line he is on. He’s a character kid. You just need to tell him something once and he applies it to his game. He just gets it.”

NCAA

Adam Gaudette, 21, C, Northeastern Huskies
Fifth round, 149th overall, 2015
Season to date: 20 GP | 15 G | 15 A | 30 PTS | +5
A four-point game in a 6-1 win last weekend against Bentley extended Gaudette’s points streak to six games and lifted the junior forward into a tie for first place in NCAA scoring with 15 goals and 30 points in 20 games. No wonder the forward from Braintree, Mass., was on USA Hockey’s radar for next month’s Olympics, although Gaudette wasn’t among the four college players selected to play in South Korea. Gaudette is expected to turn pro this spring and, like Boeser did last year after leaving the University of North Dakota, could show up in a Canuck uniform in March.

Ryan Johnson: “Of all the rinks I go into and all the scouts I talk to, Adam Gaudette is the player people ask me about more than anyone else. Everyone is like, ‘Gosh, how did you get this guy where you did (in the draft)?’ His development has been incredible. He may be under the radar for some people, but he’s not under the radar for us.”

SHL

Elias Pettersson, 19, C, Vaxjo Lakers
First round, fifth overall, 2017
Season to date: 27 GP | 11 G | 24 A | 35 PTS | +11
The offensive dynamo had an excellent world junior tournament for the Swedish team that dominated much of the final before losing the gold-medal game to the Canadians. Pettersson finished with five goals and seven points in seven games. Playing back home in what used to be the Swedish Elite League, Pettersson has 11 goals and 35 points in 26 games and is considered not only the league’s best rookie, but one of the best Swedish prospects since Peter Forsberg. Known as a playmaker who loves to dangle defencemen one-on-one, Pettersson has demonstrated a world-class shot which has the Canucks salivating at the idea of a power play one day with Boeser launching one-timers from one side and Pettersson from the other.

Ryan Johnson: “I could go on and on about his game. But the thing that impresses me most is that for a very good, crafty, play-making player. . . I love that Elias has a shoot-first mentality. He is a threat to score every time he gets the puck inside the blue line. With his other abilities, that threat to score makes him even more dangerous.”

ALLVENSKAN

Jonathan Dahlen, 20, LW, Timra IK
Second round, 42nd overall, 2016 (Ottawa)
Season to date: 27 GP | 18 G | 15 A | 33 PTS | +5
The dynamic forward is among the scoring leaders in Sweden’s second-division pro league with 18 goals and 33 points in 27 games for Timra. But his start was slowed by mononucleosis and Dahlen actually leads the Allvenskan with 1.22 points per game. Canucks strength and development coach Bryan Marshall travelled to Europe to help Dahlen work on his strength, which, as with Pettersson, must improve for him to play in the NHL. But there’s no doubts about the player’s darting, offensive game, which includes a willingness to get to the net.

Ryan Johnson: “Obviously, he’s gifted. But he plays in traffic and tight areas. In small areas, he’s very quick and has great puck skills in small areas that you have to have in today’s game. Unfortunately with what he faced with the mono, that didn’t help him. But it has got us focussed a lot on the off-ice stuff – his strength and conditioning. He’s a willing kid and there’s no doubt he will put in the work.”

Dahlen on what he needs to work on, "I can still work on the skating and quickness before I come over next year." #Canucks

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) January 12, 2018

 

SM-LIIGA, FINLAND

Olli Juolevi, 19, D, TPS Turku
First round, fifth overall, 2016
Season to date: 21 GP | 5 G | 10 A | 15 PTS | +10
Playing in his third world junior tournament, Juolevi was one of Finland’s top players, but was unable to help the 2016 Under-20 world champions medal in Buffalo. He had four points in five games. Playing in the Finnish Elite League, where his coaching staff includes former Canuck defenceman Sami Salo, Juolevi has five goals and 15 points for Turku and is plus-10 in 21 games. Drafted fifth overall because he does everything well – but nothing spectacularly – Juolevi has improved the offensive side of his game this season and is being pushed by the Canucks to be more assertive defensively.

Salo says Juolevi will play in the NHL, "Absolutely, he has the desire to get better which is huge. He's taking big steps to get better in his own end." #Canucks

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) January 5, 2018

 

Ryan Johnson: “His puck skills are very good and he’s very smart, which we knew. I thought he got more aggressive in the D-zone (at the world juniors) and when he does that, he’s a dangerous player at both end of the ice. Playing against men back home, he is around professionals every day who are there to work and get better, and that’s rubbing off on Olli.”

[Oregon.Duck]

This is about as optimistic as I've ever been about our stockpile of prospects! Hopefully we get Gaudette locked up so he doesn't bounce like all these NCAA kids nowadays.

[c00kies]

12 minutes ago, Oregon.Duck said:

This is about as optimistic as I've ever been about our stockpile of prospects! Hopefully we get Gaudette locked up so he doesn't bounce like all these NCAA kids nowadays.

I haven't been this excited since Hodgson, Rodin, and Schroeder

[cyoung]

49 minutes ago, c00kies said:

I haven't been this excited since Hodgson, Rodin, and Schroeder

Ugh don't say that lol

[hammertime]

It's nice knowing that Ryan Johnson and Malhotra are still Canucks.

[The_Rocket]

3 hours ago, Stormriders said:

From Sportsnet article link since Clay could not post

Vancouver Canucks Prospect Report: An unprecedented collection of youth

The best thing about the Vancouver Canucks’ best prospect in a generation is that Brock Boeser is not the only one.  The 20-year-old rookie winger from Burnsville, Minn., opened a lot of eyes last weekend when he was the Canucks’ best forward on his first National Hockey League visits to Toronto and Montreal, influential markets full of Professional Hockey Writers’ Association voters who will pick the Calder Trophy winner next spring.

But largely unseen behind Boeser the Canucks have stacked an array of talented, offensive prospects unprecedented in depth and quality in the organization’s history.

“We used to hold our prospects camp or go to the prospects tournament and we’d be hoping this (one) guy looks good or that guy looks good,” president of hockey operations Trevor Linden said. “Now we have a bunch of guys. It’s really exciting for us.”

With an assist from Canuck director of player development Ryan Johnson, here is a mid-season look at the best Vancouver prospects by league across North America and Europe.

 

REASON FOR OPTIMISM

Kole Lind, 19, RW, Kelowna Rockets
Second round, 33rd overall, 2017
Season to date: 32 GP | 21 G | 33 A | 54 PTS | +15
The powerful winger handled disappointment over being cut from Team Canada’s world junior camp by scoring four goals in his first two games back in the WHL, and through last weekend carried a nine-game points streak in which he had amassed eight goals and 18 points. In 32 games for Kelowna, Lind had 21 goals, 54 points and 43 penalty minutes – an indication of the abrasiveness with which he plays. The Canucks like that Lind is a natural scorer who gets to the net, but they love the way he competes.

Ryan Johnson: “Obviously, his skill set and the way he moves is impressive. But he has a nasty side to him which not a lot of players have in today’s game. He has a natural edge to his game, which I like. He plays a physical game and we need that in Vancouver. I really do think the sky is the limit for Kole.”

OHL

Jonah Gadjovich, 19, LW, Owen Sound Attack
Second round, 55th overall, 2017
Season to date: 22 GP | 15 G | 11 A | 26 PTS | -3
After missing a month with a wrist injury last fall, Gadjovich won a gold medal with Canada’s world junior team, finishing the tournament with two goals and three points in seven games. In 22 games with Owen Sound, the power forward with huge net-front presence had 15 goals and 26 points in 22 games and a staggering 118 shots on goal. Gadjovich plays a “heavy” throwback game. And working with skating coach Ryan Lounsbury, Gadjovich has gotten quicker this season.

Ryan Johnson: “He knows what he is as a player and knows completely what he has to do to contribute on whatever line he is on. He’s a character kid. You just need to tell him something once and he applies it to his game. He just gets it.”

NCAA

Adam Gaudette, 21, C, Northeastern Huskies
Fifth round, 149th overall, 2015
Season to date: 20 GP | 15 G | 15 A | 30 PTS | +5
A four-point game in a 6-1 win last weekend against Bentley extended Gaudette’s points streak to six games and lifted the junior forward into a tie for first place in NCAA scoring with 15 goals and 30 points in 20 games. No wonder the forward from Braintree, Mass., was on USA Hockey’s radar for next month’s Olympics, although Gaudette wasn’t among the four college players selected to play in South Korea. Gaudette is expected to turn pro this spring and, like Boeser did last year after leaving the University of North Dakota, could show up in a Canuck uniform in March.

Ryan Johnson: “Of all the rinks I go into and all the scouts I talk to, Adam Gaudette is the player people ask me about more than anyone else. Everyone is like, ‘Gosh, how did you get this guy where you did (in the draft)?’ His development has been incredible. He may be under the radar for some people, but he’s not under the radar for us.”

SHL

Elias Pettersson, 19, C, Vaxjo Lakers
First round, fifth overall, 2017
Season to date: 27 GP | 11 G | 24 A | 35 PTS | +11
The offensive dynamo had an excellent world junior tournament for the Swedish team that dominated much of the final before losing the gold-medal game to the Canadians. Pettersson finished with five goals and seven points in seven games. Playing back home in what used to be the Swedish Elite League, Pettersson has 11 goals and 35 points in 26 games and is considered not only the league’s best rookie, but one of the best Swedish prospects since Peter Forsberg. Known as a playmaker who loves to dangle defencemen one-on-one, Pettersson has demonstrated a world-class shot which has the Canucks salivating at the idea of a power play one day with Boeser launching one-timers from one side and Pettersson from the other.

Ryan Johnson: “I could go on and on about his game. But the thing that impresses me most is that for a very good, crafty, play-making player. . . I love that Elias has a shoot-first mentality. He is a threat to score every time he gets the puck inside the blue line. With his other abilities, that threat to score makes him even more dangerous.”

ALLVENSKAN

Jonathan Dahlen, 20, LW, Timra IK
Second round, 42nd overall, 2016 (Ottawa)
Season to date: 27 GP | 18 G | 15 A | 33 PTS | +5
The dynamic forward is among the scoring leaders in Sweden’s second-division pro league with 18 goals and 33 points in 27 games for Timra. But his start was slowed by mononucleosis and Dahlen actually leads the Allvenskan with 1.22 points per game. Canucks strength and development coach Bryan Marshall travelled to Europe to help Dahlen work on his strength, which, as with Pettersson, must improve for him to play in the NHL. But there’s no doubts about the player’s darting, offensive game, which includes a willingness to get to the net.

Ryan Johnson: “Obviously, he’s gifted. But he plays in traffic and tight areas. In small areas, he’s very quick and has great puck skills in small areas that you have to have in today’s game. Unfortunately with what he faced with the mono, that didn’t help him. But it has got us focussed a lot on the off-ice stuff – his strength and conditioning. He’s a willing kid and there’s no doubt he will put in the work.”

Dahlen on what he needs to work on, "I can still work on the skating and quickness before I come over next year." #Canucks

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) January 12, 2018

 

SM-LIIGA, FINLAND

Olli Juolevi, 19, D, TPS Turku
First round, fifth overall, 2016
Season to date: 21 GP | 5 G | 10 A | 15 PTS | +10
Playing in his third world junior tournament, Juolevi was one of Finland’s top players, but was unable to help the 2016 Under-20 world champions medal in Buffalo. He had four points in five games. Playing in the Finnish Elite League, where his coaching staff includes former Canuck defenceman Sami Salo, Juolevi has five goals and 15 points for Turku and is plus-10 in 21 games. Drafted fifth overall because he does everything well – but nothing spectacularly – Juolevi has improved the offensive side of his game this season and is being pushed by the Canucks to be more assertive defensively.

Salo says Juolevi will play in the NHL, "Absolutely, he has the desire to get better which is huge. He's taking big steps to get better in his own end." #Canucks

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) January 5, 2018

 

Ryan Johnson: “His puck skills are very good and he’s very smart, which we knew. I thought he got more aggressive in the D-zone (at the world juniors) and when he does that, he’s a dangerous player at both end of the ice. Playing against men back home, he is around professionals every day who are there to work and get better, and that’s rubbing off on Olli.”

Thanks for posting this!

[combover]

Gaudette yet another fifth rounder for the Canucks  and people still think 5th aren’t worth anything and should be thrown away on projects like Larsen. 

 

Looks like a decent stockpile of hope.

Another lottery year or most likely two should help cement a solid foundation of good players for years to come.

 

fixed thanks @Jackalman

[Jackalman]

5 minutes ago, combover said:

Gaudette yet another fifth rounder dman for the Canucks 

Huh? Gaudette is a forward.

[combover]

7 minutes ago, Jackalman said:

Huh? Gaudette is a forward.

Lol.

Yes he is.

 

 

[kloubek]

Assuming we don't draft ANY NHL players this coming draft, Post-Sedin, here's what we have for signed forwards as of the 2019-20 season if we qualify and give out the expected contracts:
 

Lind - Could be a winner.  I expect a solid 2nd line guy - al la Burrows.
Gadjovich - Potential great bottom 6 guy with upside.  Torres-type guy.
Pettersson - Likely elite 1st liner.
Dahlen - Strong chance to be a 1st or 2nd liner.  Perhaps dominant.
Eriksson - Still think he should be able to come back but seemingly a 3rd liner now.
Gagner - Same as above, but with a little special teams upside.
Gaunce - Not sure he will ever amount to anything, but decent 4th line guy
Goldobin - Hard to say, but possible 1st liner.  Needs to round out his game.
Horvat - Elite 2nd liner center, possible 1b.
Sutter - 3rd/4th liner.  Good faceoff guy and special teams.
Boeser - Convinced by now he's an elite first liner.  What a find.
Lockwood - No idea.  Might not ever play in the NHL - might have good upside though all the way to top six.

Dowd - Career 4th liner, but decent in his role.  Could be high end 4th liner; remains to be see.

Granlund - I believe he is far better than he showed this season.  Minimum 3rd liner, possible 2nd liner in prime.

Virtanen - Some improvement, still believe he's a third liner... likely an elite one.

Gaudette - Could be a very strong 3rd liner, imo.  Some put him as high as 2nd line potential. Or, might not hit at all./

Baertschi - Pretty much a 1st liner - I expect us to re-sign him.
Palmu - No idea.  Might never play, might be very good.

 

That's a ridiculous amount of talent.  (Albeit not a ridiculous amount of elite talent).   Still, there is going to be a huge glut and a handful of players from 2nd line capable players to 4th line capable players.  Anywhere from 2-4 players WILL be moved out as we just won't have space.  Either those guys turn into picks, or are part of a package to get what we really need - which is high end defensemen.  Either way, I haven't seen a prospect group like this... probably ever.

We can bitch and moan about how frustrating hockey is for us as Canucks fans - but things are going to get a whole lot better quicker than many think.  I'm glad the media is finally starting to take notice too.

 

 

[MoneypuckOverlord]

Been following this team for over 20 years now. Never have I seen our prospects pool this deep.  Not even close.  I’m excited for a team least 5 guys.

 

the last time it was this strong goes back 18 long years.

 

at the end of the 2000season,  we had Bryan Allen who we drafted 4th overall some of us thought he was chris pronger in the making,

22 year old, junior scoring star josh holden, who we picked up with the 10th pick in 96, he finishes 6 points in 6 games, a point per game guy, but that was more then enough to get us excited.  Also had 21 year old Harold drunken who was trending as another top 6 foward, and most importantly, the Forsberg twins aka sedin twins.  

 

This article also doesent mention thatcher demko, probably the best ahl goalie in the past 6 weeks, and William Lockwood.

we are loaded with quality prospects.   

[Boudrias]

Canucks prospect list is not deep or talented enough. The 2018 Draft is a big part of what the team will become in 3 years. 

[Nancouver]

Crazy part is as deep as our prospect pool is now (deeper than I've seen in my 25 years as a fan) we're about to get another top 5 pick and high picks in following rounds! #stacked

[cyoung]

1 hour ago, Boudrias said:

Canucks prospect list is not deep or talented enough. The 2018 Draft is a big part of what the team will become in 3 years. 

Believe it or not it is fairly deep (still very young however). Top end talent is there as well, just needs a bit of development. Having an additional high pick with do us good this year. 

[Boudrias]

15 hours ago, cyoung said:

Believe it or not it is fairly deep (still very young however). Top end talent is there as well, just needs a bit of development. Having an additional high pick with do us good this year. 

Young yes and that is why I dwell on what the roster will look like in 3 years. I do not consider it deep especially on the d-side. Just as we hope that Benning will score another Boeser the other side of that equatiion should be expected more than not. Many of the Canuck prospects will never see 100 games in the NHL. We can be optimistic and as I said the 2018 Draft will be critical. I like to go through the exercise of seeing what other orgs have for their propsects. Many are way ahead of the Canucks.  

[cyoung]

17 minutes ago, Boudrias said:

Young yes and that is why I dwell on what the roster will look like in 3 years. I do not consider it deep especially on the d-side. Just as we hope that Benning will score another Boeser the other side of that equatiion should be expected more than not. Many of the Canuck prospects will never see 100 games in the NHL. We can be optimistic and as I said the 2018 Draft will be critical. I like to go through the exercise of seeing what other orgs have for their propsects. Many are way ahead of the Canucks.  

Iv looked through and we are hovering around 10th. There are certainly teams  in better shape. 

[khay]

I'm not concerned about our forwards.

 

Our first line is shaping up very nicely with two NHL all stars already: Pettersson-Horvat-Boeser.

For second and third line, we already have Sutter, Baertschi, Eriksson, Granlund, and Virtanen on the NHL roster. We just need one or two of Lind, Dahlen, Goldobin, Gadjovich, Lockwood, and Gaudette to reach their potentials. Dahlen, Lind, and Gaudette look like they have a very high chance to become NHLers.

 

I'm also not so concerned about goalies. Demko and Dipietro look like they have a high chance to be a capable starter and a backup at the NHL level.

 

Defence, I'm a bit concerned about. But with some good luck, a lot can change in a year. First, add Tryamkin. And at least one high end defence prospect to be drafted this season (hoping for Dahlin) and we should be good to compete for the cup very soon with Dahlin, Juolevi, Tryamkin, Tanev, Stecher, and Hutton/Gudbranson as our top 6.

 

[D.B Cooper]

On 2018-01-12 at 8:23 PM, kloubek said:

Assuming we don't draft ANY NHL players this coming draft, Post-Sedin, here's what we have for signed forwards as of the 2019-20 season if we qualify and give out the expected contracts:
 

Lind - Could be a winner.  I expect a solid 2nd line guy - al la Burrows.
Gadjovich - Potential great bottom 6 guy with upside.  Torres-type guy.
Pettersson - Likely elite 1st liner.
Dahlen - Strong chance to be a 1st or 2nd liner.  Perhaps dominant.
Eriksson - Still think he should be able to come back but seemingly a 3rd liner now.
Gagner - Same as above, but with a little special teams upside.
Gaunce - Not sure he will ever amount to anything, but decent 4th line guy
Goldobin - Hard to say, but possible 1st liner.  Needs to round out his game.
Horvat - Elite 2nd liner center, possible 1b.
Sutter - 3rd/4th liner.  Good faceoff guy and special teams.
Boeser - Convinced by now he's an elite first liner.  What a find.
Lockwood - No idea.  Might not ever play in the NHL - might have good upside though all the way to top six.

Dowd - Career 4th liner, but decent in his role.  Could be high end 4th liner; remains to be see.

Granlund - I believe he is far better than he showed this season.  Minimum 3rd liner, possible 2nd liner in prime.

Virtanen - Some improvement, still believe he's a third liner... likely an elite one.

Gaudette - Could be a very strong 3rd liner, imo.  Some put him as high as 2nd line potential. Or, might not hit at all./

Baertschi - Pretty much a 1st liner - I expect us to re-sign him.
Palmu - No idea.  Might never play, might be very good.

 

That's a ridiculous amount of talent.  (Albeit not a ridiculous amount of elite talent).   Still, there is going to be a huge glut and a handful of players from 2nd line capable players to 4th line capable players.  Anywhere from 2-4 players WILL be moved out as we just won't have space.  Either those guys turn into picks, or are part of a package to get what we really need - which is high end defensemen.  Either way, I haven't seen a prospect group like this... probably ever.

We can bitch and moan about how frustrating hockey is for us as Canucks fans - but things are going to get a whole lot better quicker than many think.  I'm glad the media is finally starting to take notice too.

 

 

What is with the tossing around of the word 'elite'?  

 

There are is no such thing as an elite 2nd liner.   That would be a 1st liner.  

There isn't a elite 3rd liner either.  That would be a 2nd liner.