It’s a quiet night for the Canucks. No significant news is happening with the veterans, and the rookies have a night off to look back at their 8-2 loss to the Oilers. With that said, we felt that this would be a good time to look back at some of our prospect profiles. After all, we spent a month taking a look at everybody, so why not place it all in an easy to reference place?

Rather than clip you a snippet from this piece, I’m going to be upfront and tell you to go ahead and read it. J.D. Burke does an amazing job running down just about every Canucks prospect who didn’t make it into our top twenty, and chased down a lot of unique information about the group. It might be the most essential piece of the list.

“McEneny’s on-ice performance has mostly improved, and he’s been leaned on heavily by his coaches at the OHL level. This past season, for example, McEneny continued to post auspicious offensive totals and led all OHL defenseman in estimated time-on-ice per game, according to CHLstats.com.” – Thomas Drance

“Talking to some industry sources there is uniform praise for his overall level of skill with a particular focus on his skating ability. That praise though is generally couched in a “for his size” qualifier, but still, the projectable physical tools are undeniable. Tryamkin is a big, physical defenseman with decent wheels and some snarl.” – Thomas Drance

“That Zhukenov will spend his age-18 campaign playing in the CHL will also help us get a better handle on precisely how he projects going forward. We’ll be able to project his upside and skill set much better when we sit down to write his profile next year, and one might argue that no prospect in the system – aside from perhaps Guillaume Brisebois – has the ability to move up our rankings as swiftly as Zhukenov does. ” – Thomas Drance

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“Pedan’s development over time has been generally heading in the positive direction. As a defensive defencemen he has a long way to go to ensure he has a roster spot in the NHL, but if Pedan does make it to the big show, his cohorts suggest someone of a bottom pairing defencemen.” – Josh Weissbock

“Overall, Brisebois looks to be the type of defensemen who does most things quite well, but isn’t really off the charts in any one area. He’ll need to fill out his 170 lb frame in order to help him become a more intimidating physical presence, but for a fairly weak Canucks prospect pool at defense, Brisbois was a much needed addition.” – Money Puck

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“Based on what we know at the moment though, Jasek seems like a very wise bet by the Canucks as a sixth-round draft selection. There’s legitimate reasons to dream on Jasek as the sort of player that could significantly outperform his late draft slot.” – J.D. Burke

“There’s a very legitimate case to be made that Hutton in the best defensive prospect the Canucks have; particularly with Frankie Corrado effectively graduating and Adam Clendenning now in Pittsburgh.” – J.D. Burke

“Scouts are mixed on Subban. There’s the initial hesitancy because of his size but they praise his assets in his hockey IQ, his skill, and are easily willing to label Subban as one of the Canucks top 10 prospects though his defence remains something of a question mark.” – Josh Weissbock

“With his gigantic frame (6’4, 195lbs), his athletic ability, and his open mind to growing as a player, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Thatcher Demko become the next, great starting goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks.” – Jeff Veillette

“Valuable context needs to be added to the equation though, to draw the clearest picture of where Jensen’s development sits. His production – while far from earth shattering – has been strong enough that he hasn’t necessarily sunk his chances of developing into a full-time NHL forward by any stretch. It just mitigates the extent to which we can realistically project his ability at the next level.” – J.D. Burke

“When watching Gaunce his laborious stride sticks out at first glance and makes clear his limitations as an offensive player. His plus positioning and refined hockey IQ make up for this to some extent, though, and make him an apt playmaker in close quarters in and around the crease.” – J.D. Burke

“Kenins is such a good prospect that even his own name is plural. Ronalds Kenins is so sneaky good that in the mid-term review and in last summers review Kenins did not even make the top-20. Quantum leaps forward are possible though when you start the season in the bottom-6 in Utica and end it in the NHL, scoring key playoff goals.” – Josh Weissbock

“The consensus opinion of Grenier heading into last season was that his hands and offensive instincts were broaching on NHL level, but he struggled with taking advantage of his size (where have I heard this before) and play within the confines of his own zone. It would seem that his two-way game and the hardness with which he plays improved this season, at least to hear Utica Comets head coach Travis Green tell it.” – J.D. Burke

“In terms of his skill set Cassels is a bit of a jack of all trades. He’s definitely not an elite talent, but he’s strong defensively, with good vision and playmaking, and a pretty nasty wrist shot. He also has a well developed physical game, which bodes well for him given he likely projects to be a 3rd or 4th line center at the NHL level.” – Money Puck

“Corrado isn’t likely to have top pairing upside, but he’s the type of guy that you look forward to having in an NHL rotation. The mental side of his game is very strong, in the sense that he has a lot of patience with the puck and can shake off a mistake without it throwing off his game afterward.” – Jeff Veillette

“I don’t suspect Shinkaruk will challenge for a roster spot as early as this season, but if he takes on a more prominent role this upcoming campaign in Utica and can get back on track development-wise, it’s entirely possible he makes the big club next season. Certainly, it would be concerning if he didn’t.” – J.D. Burke

“As we can see, Boeser has a number of tools in his arsenal. He has a lightning quick release on his wrist shot, which is both hard and accurate, and he clearly has a knack for finding open space. With good speed and hands, he was able to generate a ton of offense driving hard to the net, a trait Benning seems to value highly, and with good reason.” – Money Puck

“Most likely, we should expect McCann to develop into a very solid defensive middle-6 player, with the lack of top-end offence being his weakness.” – Josh Weissbock

“Understandably, there’s some skepticism. But this is a situation where you can’t just point at other players and yell at the prospect for not being them. Virtanen, for better or worse, can only be himself. It’s up to the Canucks to turn him into the best version of himself possible – whether that involves him making the jump to the NHL now or taking one more crack at dominating the WHL as a 19-year-old remains to be seen. But if it all works out, watch out.” – Jeff Veillette

“With increased minutes, some powerplay time, and a coach in Willie Desjardins who has seen what he’s capable of when put in the right situation, patience and opportunity will be granted virtues.” – Jeff Veillette

How did you feel about our rankings? Did we miss anybody? Rate someone too high? Too low? Let us know!





