The Vancouver Canucks' prospect pool isn't in the top tier as they remain in the NHL's mushy middle, writes Tony Ferrari. But that's about to change.

As the NHL off-season ticks on, Tony Ferrari continues to analyze each team’s prospect pool, with the Vancouver Canucks next up.

In this series, Tony Ferrari digs into each team’s strengths and weaknesses, their latest draft class, where their positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for a shot at the NHL. Note that a player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer considered a prospect for the purposes of these exercises unless mentioned otherwise.

Introduction

The Vancouver Canucks have been on the underside of the mushy middle for quite some time now. They flashed their high end during the bubble playoffs, but much of that success came on everyone being hot all at once and their Thatcher Demko playing lights out in goal. The Canucks have some incredible young talent, such as Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Demko, but they aren’t as young as they once were, and the team hasn’t found a way to build around them.

Their prospect pool isn’t bursting with talent, but that is beginning to change. When they moved out Bo Horvat last season, they acquired Aatu Raty in the deal. Raty was once considered a player who could challenge to be the first overall pick in his draft year, but after a poor showing, his draft stock fell. On draft day, his stock fell further than most would have guessed. He was taken 52nd overall and has played with a chip on his shoulder since then. His first full AHL season, split between Bridgeport (NYI) and Abbotsford (VAN), was very good, with 27 points in 52 games while seeing NHL action with the Canucks and Islanders.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki was the Canucks' 2022 first-round selection, and his draft-plus-one season was a bit of a disappointment. He played with Djurgarden at the Allsvenskan level and failed to surpass his production from the year before in the SHL. Lekkerimaki is a shooter with a great snap shot and a quick release. He can be lethal when he is on his game, but he never seemed to get there last year. Now in a new environment in Orebro, he’s already looking for comfortable in the pre-season.

Danila Klimovich, 20, took a solid step in his second AHL season last year, more than doubling his goal total from the year before. He is a high-energy, relentless attacker with excellent finishing ability from around the net. He lacks the dynamism that you’d want in a top-six scorer, but he has a future as a key depth scorer who works hard in the middle of the ice.

Lucas Forsell has greatly outperformed the expectations of a seventh-round pick. He’s proven to be a capable goal-scorer in the SHL and found a way to be productive across men’s hockey in Sweden. He was especially impressive when he was recalled to the SHL from the Allsvenskan, showing that his time in the second-tier league taught him well. The 19-year-old looked outstanding last year, and a top-six role in the SHL for the entirety of the upcoming season should be the goal.

Sometimes, prospects take the long road to the show, and Linus Karlsson is on that track. After developing in the Allsvenskan and finishing a very strong season in the SHL, Karlsson took his talents to Abbotsford, where he had 24 goals and 49 points in 72 games. The 23-year-old winger has shown a knack for being in the right spot offensively, and he’s taken big steps defensively.

The Canucks have been waiting for Jack Rathbone to establish himself in the NHL, and he just hasn’t quite done it yet. The puck-moving defender has a point-per-game season in the AHL under his belt but took a step back last year with just 14 points in 37 games. The 5-foot-10 blueliner hasn’t found a way to play his game at the NHL level, often looking a bit behind the play and struggling in his own end. The hope is the 24-year-old can get it figured out so that the Canucks can have a reliable playmaker on the back end outside of Hughes.

Joni Jurmo has been turning heads with his play in the Liiga. The 6-foot-3 blueliner is a strong transition player who uses his speed to move the puck effectively. He has never really shown himself to be a high-end offensive player, but he is a more than capable facilitator from the blueline. His defensive play has improved, but it still remains a work in progress. He mistimes his reads, fails to take care of the back door at times and just needs to make better decisions as a whole. The physical tools are tantalizing, but he still remains a bit of a long-term project.

The Canucks made us all happy when they drafted the other Elias Pettersson. The Swedish defenseman looks like a legit prospect. Pettersson is an excellent rush defender who can eliminate play quickly because of his skating ability. When defending in-zone, he is a smart and effective player who can shut play down. He isn’t a flashy offensive player, lacking the puckhandling and dynamic skill, but he should be able to play steady minutes as a pro.

2023 NHL Draft Class

Round 1, 11th overall - Tom Willander, RD, Rogle J20 (Sweden Jr.)

Round 3, 75th overall - Hunter Brzustewicz, RD, Kitchener (OHL)

Round 3, 89th overall - Sawyer Mynio, LD, Seattle (WHL)

Round 4, 105th overall - Ty Mueller, C, Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)

Round 4, 107th overall - Vilmer Alriksson, LW, Djurgarden J20 (Sweden Jr.)

Round 4, 119th overall - Matthew Perkins, C/W, Youngstown (USHL)

Round 6, 171st overall - Aiden Celebrini, RD, Brooks (AJHL)

The 2023 NHL draft was an interesting one for the Cancuks. They may not have made the picks that their fans would have made in a few spots, but they managed to snag a few very solid players in good sports. 

Tom Willander was one of the hottest risers throughout the year. He is a gifted skater who never stops moving his feet and understands how to defend at an advanced level. He rarely looks like he is struggling to keep up in his own end and has the processing ability of a player much older than him. His flashes of offensive ability, particularly at the international level, give hope that there is more to uncover in that regard as well. At the end of the day, there aren’t many players that are more aware of what they can and can’t do depending on the competition than Willander.

Landing Hunter Brzustewicz in the third round is solid value. He has been an impact scorer from the back end wherever he has played, and an injury derailed his U-18 year with the NTDP. Moving to the OHL for his draft year as a late-2004-born player, it took a while for Brzustewicz to get rolling with the Kitchener Rangers, but once he did, he was a lethal puck-mover. His transition game and offensive prowess was all based around his impressive mobility. If Vancouver can get him to where many believe he could be prior to the NTDP injury, they could have a steal.

Sawyer Mynio is a defensive blueliner with capable puck-moving ability. None of his physical tools standout as high-end but he blends what he has well. He reads opposing rush attackers well and stays with puck carriers, guiding them to the outside and forcing dump-ins. He takes solid routes to the puck on retrievals and moves it simply and effectively.

The selection of Ty Mueller was an interesting one. He isn’t a particularly skilled or offensively impactful forward, and his tools don’t project him to be such. Mueller is a solid defensive forward who understands how to make the next play in a simple manner offensively. He won’t ever blow you away, but he often finds a way to just advance play. Simple is the name of the game with Mueller.

Vilmer Alriksson is a 6-foot-6 forward with some impressive skating for his size. He shows some shiftiness in transition and has flashed more skill than you’d expect from a big man. His physical strength is a bit lacking as he is a lanky kid who needs to fill out still but the skating and size combination is very intriguing. There is a lot of work to do on Alriksson’s game but the swing in the fourth round was worth it for Vancouver.

Drafted as a 19-year-old, Matthew Perkins has had an interesting path to this point. He played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League as a first-time draft-eligible and then moved to the USHL for this past season. After putting up 15 goals and 44 points in 60 games, Perkins helped the Youngstown Phantoms to a championship. Next season he is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He will look to add more dimensions to his game as he is currently a bit of a simple pass-to-the-slot playmaker who passes and hopes for he best at the moment rather than someone who truly takes on the role of playmaker.

The jokes have been made that Vancouver’s selection of Aiden Celebrini was just the first step in trying to convince 2024 draft star prospect Macklin Celebrini to find his way to Vancouver but Aiden is a solid player in his own right. He is a very good skater, and he loves to throw the body. As a defenseman, he isn’t a high-flyer like his brother who plays center, but he is a very steady player in his own zone.

Strengths

The Canucks prospect pool has improved over the last year and a half, but they are still a bit weak all-around. Their biggest strength as of right now seems to be on the right wing, with Lekkerimaki, Klimovich, and Karlsson. They’ve all been very solid players in their own right and if Lekkerimaki can bounce back this year with Orebro, they could represent the depth chart down the right side in a few years. All three have NHL potential, with varying degrees of scoring prowess and skill to their names.

Weaknesses

The Canucks have a few weaknesses overall, but the depth down the middle is a big issue. Raty may be the only player in the system that can truly play center at the NHL level and even then, his ceiling is likely capped as a middle-six option. The Canucks depth at the NHL level down the middle is a concern, so finding a way to fill out their pipeline at center is going to be key for them going forward.

Next Man Up: Aatu Raty, C

Raty played a few NHL games with Vancouver after his trade to the organization and with the depth of the bottom half of the lineup being as bleak as it is, it will be on Raty to earn a role with the Canucks this season. Raty has a heavy release, good transition game, and an understanding of how to play at both ends of the ice. Raty needs to become a bit more of a dynamic passer, but the scoring talent that he has is a desperate need for the Canucks. He could wind up on the wing to start his NHL career, just to make his life a bit easier. With players such as Phil Di Giuseppe, Dakota Joshua and Nils Aman to compete with, it will be up to Raty to assert himself.

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: Josh Bloom, Lucas Forsell, Arshdeep Bains, Aidan McDonough

C: Aatu Raty, Connor Lockhart, Jackson Kunz

RW: Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Danila Klimovich, Linus Karlsson

LD: Jack Rathbone, Joni Jurmo, Elias Petterson, Jacob Truscott, Sawyer Mynio

RD: Tom Willander, Hunter Brzustewicz, Viktor Persson, Filip Johansson

G: Arturs Silovs, Aku Koskenvuo, Ty Young

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook, Prospects Unlimited, and Future Watch editions of the Hockey News print edition.