Ranking our prospects

[Googlie]

Here is THW's ranking of our top10 prospects with commentary on each:

 

https://thehockeywriters.com/canucks-top-ten-prospects-2021-22/

 

Summary:

 

Canucks 2021-22 Top Ten Prospects Recap

1. Vasily Podkolzin, RW
2. Jack Rathbone, RD
3. Olli Juolevi, LD
4. Mike DiPietro, G
5. Aidan McDonough, LW
6. Jonah Gadjovich, RW
7. Danila Klimovich, RW
8. Dmitri Zlodeyev, C
9. Jett Woo, RD
10. William Lockwood, LW

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Meh, I’m not mad at these rankings, which probably says something about them being fairly close to accurate. 

[Iron Fist]

Lockwood should be higher, Gadjovich should be lower.  Agree with the names on the list

[deus.ex.makina]

Lockwood is a pure gem, how can he be so low ? he s a top 5 imho.

[spook007]

Rankings seems about right...

Don't like the swipe about stocking the cupboard... Can't have it both ways, unless extremely lucky.

I'm sure Benning would like more prospects, but he has now built a team ready to compete...hopefully.

If they compete well, he may have his picks for the next draft...

[Nicklas Bo Hunter]

I honestly think Woo is going to shock people this year. 

[c00kies]

3 hours ago, spook007 said:

Rankings seems about right...

Don't like the swipe about stocking the cupboard... Can't have it both ways, unless extremely lucky.

I'm sure Benning would like more prospects, but he has now built a team ready to compete...hopefully.

If they compete well, he may have his picks for the next draft...

We've had a lot of graduates, so that always takes its toll on the prospect pool.

 

It's not entirely bare, but definitely not as healthy as it once was, which is as expected. 

 

Klimovich is underrated as one of our prospects.

[dm_ranger]

I think the issue with the cupboard is that everyone seems to agree with the list, with some changes in order.  Who is number 11-15 on our list that the author missed?  His evaluation seems fair, but the fact that people aren't complaining about certain players being left out is an indication of a limited cupboard.

 

The article says its due to Benning building for now, they are just suggesting that he makes sure he builds for the future too.

[Alflives]

Oh crap.  We have too many young guys, who are superstars in the league, instead of them developing still in the minors.  Petey, Bess, Hughes, Hogs, Pods, Bone should all go back into the “cupboard”.

We have the best young core in the league, and some great very young prospects coming up over the next few years in supporting roles.  Absolutely we will win Cups with this core.  

 

#Leafs are Losers!  Where are their prospects?  They don’t have any!  Shanaplan.  

[Kobayashi Maru]

The list looks pretty accurate.  I think Klimovich and Lockwood should be a bit higher.  If I use the same players here would be my ranking:

 

1. Vasily Podkolzin, RW

2. Jack Rathbone, RD

3. Olli Juolevi, LD

4. Danila Klimovich, RW

5. Mike DiPietro, G

6. Aidan McDonough, LW

7. William Lockwood, LW

8. Jonah Gadjovich, RW

9. Jett Woo, RD

10. Dmitri Zlodeyev, C

 

 

[#Canucks]

7 hours ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

I'm secretly hoping that Gadjovich and Pettersson work well together, much like how Odjick worked well with Bure.

Like Bertuzzi and Naslund? Bure seems like a tall order to live up to and Gino, as much as I love the guy, wouldn’t be able to play in today’s league! 

[Attila Umbrus]

7 hours ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

I'm secretly hoping that Gadjovich and Pettersson work well together, much like how Odjick worked well with Bure.

Don't be a tease! lol

 

You could be onto something. I'd love some protection for Petey

[Dixon Ward]

Not that long ago, Brendan Gaunce was our best prospect.  Now throw in Costmar and all 11 have as good or better chance as becoming an nhl player.  There are others as well Persson, Jurmo, Silovs,  and more that could turn into something.  I wouldn't say the cupboards are remotely close to bare.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Dixon Ward

[Attila Umbrus]

1 hour ago, Alflives said:

Oh crap.  We have too many young guys, who are superstars in the league, instead of them developing still in the minors.  Petey, Bess, Hughes, Hogs, Pods, Bone should all go back into the “cupboard”.

We have the best young core in the league, and some great very young prospects coming up over the next few years in supporting roles.  Absolutely we will win Cups with this core.  

 

#Leafs are Losers!  Where are their prospects?  They don’t have any!  Shanaplan.  

Glad someone else caught onto that. I was a bit confused when I read that we need to restock the cupboards lol. Sorry we hit on so many of our first rounders and they went straight to our NHL club and not to the minors.

 

I feel if Benning can keep hitting on the 2nd round and lower our cupboard will be just fine. The article states that we have done well at the top of the draft and basically states that if it weren't for that we wouldn't have much...but to my account I look at the 2nd round and under and I find lots of talent that was un earthed from Benning and co.

 

Dipietro is a 3rd round pick

Demko 2nd round

Hoglander 2nd

Rathbone 4th round

Lockwood 3rd round

Gadjovich 2nd round

Gaudette 5th round

Woo 2nd round

Brisbois 3rd round

 

Those are just the names of guys that have had a sniff at the NHL too with lots more growing to do. I'm not even counting guys like McDonough because they haven't left the NCAA yet, but he sure looks like a good player! Or Podz who we get to finally see this year!

 

Then you have other stories like the undrafted players that Benning signed. MacEwen is turning out nicely, even Ashton Sautner turned out to be a very important piece for the Utica comets, and is still providing value as a great depth defensemen for us and role model/mentor in the AHL.

 

As for AHL contract signings they are important as well. You have to look no further than Vinny Arsenault...the guy is a beast on the ice and is beloved by his team mates. His signing in Abbostsford is HUGE. No word of a lie. And with him being so close i'm happy that our local fans get to see more of this guy. Cause he is just effing nasty on the ice and just oozes intimidation. Our kids on the team play 10 feet taller because of him. What is that worth or how do you measure his contribution to the team? Most people don't even know this guy exists. But yet he is incredibly important for our AHL club.

 

You start adding together all the pieces Benning and Co have drafted and brought in and you see a network of players all doing their part to make this franchise a success for years to come.

 

In my own humble opinion at least.

 

My point is it's not just about the top of the draft, it's about building the club from front to back all the way down to your AHL team, making sure both clubs have good leadership and an environment that fosters growth and competitiveness. I think everyone gets blind to just the top talent in the draft and in the NHL but they don't realize the hard work it takes to keep your AHL franchise roster full and competitive too. I strongly believe you need a stellar AHL team to have an even more successful NHL team.

[Zhukini]

Thats what happens when you dont pick in the first round 2 years in a row. That's one of the weakest farm systems in the league. 

 

Put up or shut up Jim. The moment the team falters a little from here on out...

Edited August 18, 2021 by Zhukini

[wildcam]

1 minute ago, Zhukini said:

Thats what happens when you dont pick in the first round 2 years in a row. That's one of the weakest farm systems in the league. 

 

Put up or shut up Jim. 

Drafting is fine, Jim has done a very good job drafting...We right now have 3 players in the NHL that are 22 and younger and 2 more coming this season.

Petey, Hughes, Hoglander  with Rathbone and Podkolzin will also be full time NHL players this season??

How many NHL teams have 5 players 22 and younger playing ?Ottawa would be the only other team?

So of course farm team or prospect list looks bare...

Podkolzin, 20, 6'2, 210 lbs will be exciting to watch -- 2021-22  GP 75   G 18--21  -- PTS 38--42

Rathbone 22, 5'11 -- His elite skating and offensive skills will have him a #4 D man by Xmas...

[taskicon]

We need to stock the cupboard only because we are in the middle of making a delicious dinner

[NewbieCanuckFan]

6 hours ago, spook007 said:

Rankings seems about right...

Don't like the swipe about stocking the cupboard... Can't have it both ways, unless extremely lucky.

I'm sure Benning would like more prospects, but he has now built a team ready to compete...hopefully.

If they compete well, he may have his picks for the next draft...

Only two defensemen in that top ten is a potential problem.  Though Rathbone is looking as sure as one can be (with a prospect) as being an NHLer.  Particularly when you look at our blueline (two of our top four are north of 30 in terms of age).  Can always trade one (or more) of those forward prospects for defensemen prospects though.

Edited August 18, 2021 by NewbieCanuckFan

[Bure_Pavel]

1. Vasily Podkolzin, RW

2. Jack Rathbone, RD

3. Olli Juolevi, LD

4. Mike DiPietro, G

5. Danila Klimovich, RW

6. Jett Woo, RD

7. Jonah Gadjovich, RW

8. William Lockwood, LW

9.  Aidan McDonough, LW

10. Joni Jurmo LD

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

42 minutes ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

Only two defensemen in that top ten is a potential problem.  Though Rathbone is looking as sure as one can be (with a prospect) as being an NHLer.  Particularly when you look at our blueline (two of our top four are north of 30 in terms of age).  Can always trade one (or more) of those forward prospects for defensemen prospects though.

Jett Woo hitting as an NHLer is pretty important, given our current chart.

 

Like you say, Rathbone is pretty much a sure thing, and that creates almost too much NHL grade LHD.

 

But we really need a physical, two-way RHD to push into the lineup, ideally opening the potential to move Myers, replace his minutes rather cheaply, and free up that 6M salary to help address some of the extensions in the next two years (Boeser, Horvat, Miller, etc).

 

There are plenty of “hopes and prayers” types of late round picks on the reserve list who offer small odds of success. Guys like Persson (RHD) and Jurmo (LHD) have top-4 D upside, and if they hit development targets, and show progress, they would quickly become top-10 ranked prospects in the system, with NHL potential.

 

But we really need some of these darts to hit the bullseye. Otherwise, we definitely have a weaker looking prospects system that’s rather thin on players expected to graduate to significant roles in the NHL.

 

Definitely can’t have JB trading away any more high picks. Ideally we find a way to recover a couple picks (maybe trading Pearson, Myers, even Motte, if his extension demands are too high), and hold onto the picks we have. Otherwise, once Podkolzin, Rathbone, Juolevi, and DiPietro graduate, our remaining prospects pool will be very thin. 
 

It’s kinda funny to think, but as things stand right now, if JB’s current gamble fails, the team struggles and misses the playoffs, and we don’t see some “surprise” development from our mid-to-late round picks, we could see a new GM come in and justifiably argue that the Benning regime “left the cupboards empty.” 

Edited August 18, 2021 by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME