The Vancouver Canucks are rebuilding through the draft and have supplemented those prospects with some others acquired through smart trades.
In our first Canucks prospect report of the season, which will be followed up by monthly posts throughout the year, we look at the top 10 players in the system.
1. Brock Boeser, 20, RW
Drafted: First round, 23rd overall, 2015
Not since Daniel and Henrik Sedin were chosen second- and third-overall in 1999 has a Vancouver draft pick kindled as much anticipation and expectation as Boeser, a pure finisher who releases the puck like another Canuck great, Markus Naslund. Fast-tracked straight to Vancouver last spring from the University of North Dakota, where he piled up 43 goals and 94 points in 74 games, Boeser scored four times in nine games in NHL garbage time. Boeser’s not especially fast, but smart and strong with the puck and lethal around the net. No one should be shocked if he scores 20-25 goals as a rookie.
2. Elias Pettersson, 18, C
Drafted: First round, fifth overall, 2017
Pettersson’s high offensive ceiling led the Canucks to draft the Swede last June. His dazzling puck skills will get him to the NHL, but only when he fills out his 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame. Playing against full-grown professionals last season in his country’s second division, Pettersson had 19 goals and 41 points in 43 games for Timra. He has moved up this season to the top division, with Vaxjo, debuted on the first line and memorably made a Henrik Sedin-like drop pass through his skates. On a breakaway. Dripping with offensive creativity.
3. Olli Juolevi, 19, D
Drafted: First round, fifth overall, 2016
There is debate whether the Finnish defenceman actually improved in his draft-plus-one season with the London Knights, for whom he merely matched his 42 points from the previous year. Juolevi is touted by the Canucks as an all-around defenceman who has an understated game, but does everything well. Think Nicklas Lidstrom Lite. But he failed to stand out among peers at the Canucks’ prospects tournament in September and will almost certainly be spending this season back in Finland. This tends to alarm Vancouverites, but Juolevi still has time and pedigree on his side and is easily the Canucks’ best blue line prospect.
4. Jonathan Dahlen, 19, C/LW
Drafted: Second round, 42nd overall, 2016 (by Ottawa)
This dynamo has the potential to become Benning’s best trade. The Canucks acquired him at the deadline for 35-year-old Alex Burrows as Dahlen was finishing off a season in which he scored 25 goals and produced 44 points in 45 games for Timra of Sweden’s second division. He was 18, playing against men, and flourished on a line with future Canuck draft pick Pettersson. Dahlen scores most of his goals near the net, so there are questions whether the 5-foot-11 forward will be strong enough for the NHL. But he has a ton of offensive upside and determination to succeed in North America, where he will start this season on an AHL salary instead of a Swedish Elite League one.
5. Thatcher Demko, 21, G
Drafted: Second round, 36th overall, 2014
Demko was anointed the Canucks’ goaltender-of-the-future the day he was drafted, and nothing in his trajectory since then has diminished expectations. He capped a brilliant three-year term at Boston College with a 27-win, 10-shutout season in 2015-16 that included a 1.88 goals-against average and .935 save rate. Demko transitioned to pro hockey last season in the American League and became the Utica Comets’ starter, posting a .907 save rate that should improve this year. He is 6-foot-4, strong technically and mentally wired for NHL pressure. All he needs is a little more development time.
6. Kole Lind, 18, RW
Drafted: Second round, 33rd overall, 2017
Canuck GM Jim Benning was elated to find Lind still on the board when the Canucks’ chose in the second round in June. The winger scored 30 goals and put up 87 points in 70 games last season in Kelowna and did most of his damage at even strength. His 79 penalty minutes were indicative of the element of grit in his game and at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, he may not be too far away from challenging for an NHL spot. Lind looked good in the prospects tournament, and upon his return to the WHL he merely poured out eight points in two games and was named player of the week.
7. Jake Virtanen, 21, RW
Drafted: First round, sixth-overall, 2014
Just three years after his selection, there are fears the power forward may never justify his draft position — ahead of a handful of talented forwards headlined by Willy Nylander, Nikolaj Ehlers, and David Pastrnak. While those guys were lighting it up in the NHL, Virtanen spent last season learning to crawl in the AHL, where he had just nine goals and 19 points in 65 games. But Virtanen, trimmed down to 215 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame, still possesses the speed, ruggedness and heavy shot to make him a highly-effective pro. He didn’t score 45 goals in 71 games for WHL Calgary by accident. And the best news: Virtanen has a more mature attitude after last season’s hard lessons and his new NHL coach, Travis Green, is the one who mentored him in the minors.
8. Nikolay Goldobin, 21, RW/LW
Drafted: First round, 27th overall, 2014 (by San Jose)
The Russian scorer was Benning’s second deadline-day steal last season, as the Canucks leveraged veteran Jannik Hansen to get Goldobin from the Sharks. In 106 games over two AHL seasons in the San Jose organization, Goldobin scored 36 goals and 85 points. The Canucks’ dangled a 12-game NHL carrot to Goldobin near the end of the last season, and he scored three goals. Then he went to the Utica Comets and pumped in four goals in three games. He looks close to NHL-ready, but he’s been run over by the Boeser Train and may need to play a third season in the American League.
9. Jonah Gadjovich, 18, LW
Drafted: Second round, 55th overall, 2017
Benning’s “other” second-round pick from June, made possible by the Columbus Blue Jackets’ hiring of ex-Canuck coach John Tortorella, is like found money to the organization. And that money could turn into a fortune if Gadjovich, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, continues to progress. He plays a heavy, physical game that should translate to the NHL — if his skating gets a little better. He scored 46 goals and 74 points in 60 games for OHL Owen Sound last season, looked good at the prospects tournament and has the potential to become a net-front presence in the NHL.
10. Adam Gaudette, 21, C
Drafted: Fifth round, 149th overall, 2015
The strong, offensive forward rocketed upward in his draft-plus-two season, boosting his scoring to 26 goals and 52 points in 37 games at Northeastern, far surpassing his freshman numbers of 12-18-30 in 41 games. He’s not the fleetest skater but, clearly, knows how to finish. He looks like the diamond-in-the-rough every NHL team hopes to unearth late in the draft, but Gaudette will require more development time.
