When the Canucks selected Jett Woo 37th overall in the second round, they not only added a great prospect, but also one of the best names in the draft.

They also had a chance at getting the best name in the later rounds of the draft. Instead of selecting Nando Eggenberger, however, they chose Artyom Manukyan and Matthew Thiessen. Even though they didn’t select Eggenberger in the draft, the Canucks did invite him to their prospect development camp.

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The Canucks have posted the official roster (subject to change) for their development camp, which takes place July 2-5. It features all but one of their 2018 draft picks — Artyom Manukyan won’t be making the trip from Russia — but also 18 invitees. These invitees are not drafted or signed, but will attend the camp to gain experience and hopefully make an impression on the Canucks’ brass in the process.

Every year, I do my best to let you know a little bit more about these invitees and whether they might have a future with the Canucks organization. Next up is Eggenberger, who is a legitimate prospect that they, unfortunately, cannot sign this off-season.

Nando Eggenberger – Left Wing

6’2″ – 198 lbs – Oct 7, 1999 (18)

Chur, Switzerland

HC Davos (36-3-2-5)

So, why can’t the Canucks sign Nando Eggenberger? Ryan Biech went into extensive detail over at The Athletic, but the crux of it is that Eggenberger didn’t play in North America last season, so isn’t eligible to be signed. Instead, he’ll go back into the draft for 2019.

This camp will give the Canucks a closer look at Eggenberger, however, which might influence whether they draft him next year. That’s what happened with Rodrigo Abols, who impressed at a Canucks camp, wasn’t eligible to be signed, and was picked in the seventh round in the 2016 draft. That wasn’t a great pick, but it’s at least precedent.

Eggenberger is a two-way winger with good size, decent skating, and a great shot. Heading into the 2018 Draft, several outlets had Eggenberger in the top-100 in their rankings, including Future Considerations, International Scouting Services, and Bob McKenzie. He also snuck into CanucksArmy’s analytics-influenced top-100 at 98th overall.

While independent draft rankings thought Eggenberger was good enough to go in the middle rounds of the draft, evidently no NHL team agreed.

Eggenberger spent his season in the top Swiss league, NLA. While he managed just 3 goals and 5 points in 36 games, he still played a full season against men as a teenager. He may not have been able to rack up points in the top league, but he was clearly too good for the junior Swiss league: in his one game this past season, he had a hattrick and six points.

Eggenberger was more prolific for HC Davos in the Champions Hockey League, where he tallied 5 points in 5 games. Again, that’s as an 18-year-old playing against men.

One of the keys for Eggenberger spending all season in the NLA was his solid defensive game. Scouts describe him as making life difficult for opponents with his physical play and battling for pucks. One scout with ISS said he was “excellent on PK, taking away shooting lanes,” though that would mostly refer to international tournaments, as he wasn’t used much on special teams with Davos.

Offensively, Eggenberger plays a power forward game, getting to the net with his size and finishing plays. According to several scouting reports, he’s not much of a creator himself and one of the main criticisms is his lack of puck skills, so you shouldn’t expect Eggenberger to be a playmaker.

When he does get the puck on his stick, however, Eggenberger has good goalscorer’s instincts and a wicked wrist shot.

That shot captures the most attention when you watch Eggenberger play. He has a superb release and his shot can beat a goaltender cleanly with its velocity and accuracy. The question is whether he can consistently get himself into a position to use that shot. He managed just 40 shots in 36 games with Davos.

Opinions are divided on Eggenberger’s skating: he has good top speed and he’s dangerous when he can build momentum through the neutral zone. What he seems to lack, however, is that quick two-step acceleration that can create separation from his opponent.

Eggenberger’s decision to stay in Switzerland with Davos, instead of attempting to play in the CHL like his countryman Nico Hischier, might have hurt his draft stock. Eggenberger averaged 10:47 in ice time per game, almost entirely at even-strength, so he had very limited opportunities on the power play.

His fourth-line ice time casts his lack of scoring in a slightly different light. It might have been different if his style of play lent itself to solo efforts and end-to-end rushes. It makes you wonder if he would have made a different impression on scouts if he had played in the OHL in a top-six role.

There are reports that Eggenberger might consider a move to the CHL for next season. If so, he’ll be in front of scouts on a more regular basis. That, combined with a third World Junior tournament with Switzerland, could lead to a lot more interest in Eggenberger at the 2019 draft.

UPDATE (06/28/2018):

Regrettably, Eggenberger will no longer be attending Canucks prospect camp.

Been advised that Nando Eggenberger picked up a minor "knock" in training the other day - thus is no longer attending #Canucks development camp. — Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) June 28, 2018

Eggenberger has, however, been selected by the Oshawa Generals in the CHL Import Draft. It will be interesting to see if he can show more offensive upside while playing within his age group instead of against men.