Ranking the Top 10 Canucks Prospects

pmaliouguine
May 13, 2021
12 min read

The Canucks have a bright future thanks to their talented prospects across the world. Ranging from countries like the USA and Canada, to Finland and Russia, the Canucks have skilled forwards, defencemen, and even goaltending. If these prospects pan out the way they’re projected to, Vancouver has a bright future with all this young talent. In this article we will be ranking these young prospects from 10 to 1. We’ve looked over the list of the prospects in the Vancouver system, and chosen out the top 10 out of a long list.

10- Toni Utunen, Tappara/Liiga

(Credit: NHL.Com)

Toni Utunen is a small, defensive defenceman playing in the Finnish league right now. He’s got fantastic speed and quick and nifty hands. Although the 5’11 twenty year-old seems like a possible stud, he needs to work on his scoring ability and he needs to focus on his offensive touch of his game. The 5th round pick has only one goal and five points in 47 games in Finland.

Utunen is playing on one of the most skilled teams in SM-Liiga (roughly translated to “the Finnish Elite League”) and has managed to make himself a name on the bottom four defensive pair there. Utunen has won one gold medal with team Finland in the world junior championship in 2018. Where? Well, in Vancouver of course!

The 20 year-old does have a bright future in Vancouver especially with the current defence that the Canucks have. Although that seems promising, he has a long way to go. He’s a fantastic prospect, but if he’d like to be a full time NHLer, he needs to work on his offensive game. Toni Utunen was drafted in the 5th round of the 2018 NHL draft in Dallas by the Canucks.

9- Jacob Truscott, U of Michigan/NCAA

(Credit: Mgoblue.com)

Jacob Truscott has looked to be a promising defensive prospect for the Canucks. Truscott was drafted by the Canucks in the 5th round of the 2020 NHL draft. He was the 144th pick. Truscott has earned himself a hard-to-get roster spot as a defenceman on one of the best hockey Universities in the world, U of Michigan. A notable player that played at U of Michigan, Quinn Hughes.

Truscott played 26 regular season games and had one goal along with four assists for a total of five points. Truscott was not drafted for his offence, but for his outstanding defensive skill. His passing and his puck handling along with his strength and shot blocking abilities has been said to be his best attributes. Truscott has managed to make himself a name in Michigan as some fans even call him “the Great Wall of Truscott” because of his shot blocking ability.

Truscott tried out for Team USA back in December for the world juniors, but he was cut. The 2022 world juniors do seem to be more promising as he’s projected to be a second line- to a third line defence man. Truscott has been a defensive player his entire hockey career. He was never a high scoring defence man, but that’s what the Canucks quite obviously need. They have so much offensive skill on the defence, it’s almost like there is no one is there to play defence. The only issue is that Truscott isn’t a right handed shot…

In all seriousness, Truscott (like Utunen) can try and use a lot of his time working on shooting. Truscott has said that he doesn’t shoot as much as he would like. He never gets the opportunities, because he simply does not know how to play offensive hockey. It’s not bad, but to be in the NHL, every aspect of a players game needs to be fantastic. Truscott can be a full time NHLer in roughly 3 or 4 years.

8- Petrus Palmu, ERC Ingolstadt/DEL

(Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin)

Petrus Palmu is a little different from other prospects on this list. That difference being his age. A lot of these prospects listed are either 18, 19, 20, and maybe even 21. Palmu on the other hand was born in 1997, and is 23 years of age. His time is running short on being an NHL player, but if he can pick his game up a bit he can surely be a decent player one day. Palmu was drafted by the Canucks in the 6th round of the 2017 NHL draft.

Palmu is a Finnish player playing in Germany. Palmu has desperately travelled around the world to play hockey, going from Finland, to the OHL, to the AHL and then to Germany. He’s played hockey in 4 different countries. He hasn’t managed to find a home anywhere, but hopes to call Vancouver home one day. His only chance at becoming an NHLer came in 2019 when he played 12 games in the AHL. Palmu blew it, and had only one assist and one point. Palmu is a winger.

Palmu’s strengths in his game aren’t only on the ice. They’re off the ice too. Scouts have said he’s a fantastic leader and the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. Palmu is also a sniper who knows where to shoot to score. He can read goalies like a book and manage to pick corners and beat the goaltender easily. He is also a very fast skater and has fantastic edge work as said by scouts. His negatives come at the other side on the ice, the D zone. Palmu seems to fail to back check and fails to break the puck out. His passing also needs tons of work.

The clock is quickly running down on Palmu, and he’s told the Canucks management that he will play anywhere and do anything to get another shot at the NHL. That explains his constant travels just to make a name for himself. Petrus has 30 games, 5 goals and 16 points in the DEL (german pro league).

7- Arvid Costmar, Linköping HC/SHL

(Credit: TheCanuckWay.Com)

Canucks fans will love Arvid Costmar. Not only because he’s an amazing player, but because he is a steal and is exactly like Alex Burrowes. Before we get to his play style, let’s talk about Costmar and his draft position.

Arvid was drafted in Vancouver in 2019. He was a 7th round pick. That's right, a seventh round pick. He went 215th, third to last in that draft. It’s crazy to say how much of a skilled player almost went undrafted. When he was drafted, he was a 17 year-old that played most of his time in the “under 20 Swedish Hockey League” and had 4 games in the SHL. (The Major Swedish League). Costmar managed to earn himself a spot on the regular roster this season and had 22 games and only one goal, that being his only point.

That may sound a little sad, but as a 19 year-old playing in the third or fourth best league in the world, that is awesome. Goal scoring and points aren’t really his main skills though. As mentioned earlier, Costmar is like Alex Burrowes. He interrogates opponents and gets into their heads. He draws penalties and is considered “a rat” in the SHL. He manages to upset not only the other teams, but fans of the opposing teams. We saw this in the 2021 world juniors where he drew a ton of penalties because he managed to anger so many players. Speaking of the world juniors, Costmar played 5 games and scored two goals in that tournament. Canucks fans should be ecstatic to have another Burrowes-like player on their team soon.

6- Jonah Gadjovich, Utica Comets/AHL

(Credit: Lindsay Mogle/ Utica Comets)

Jonah Gadjovich had a butt load of hype surrounding his name going into the 2017 NHL entry draft. Gadjovich had just come off a 74 point season in the OHL with the Owen Sound Attack. He had 46 goals in only 60 games. Canucks fans were in absolute shock when they had learned they drafted him in the 2nd round with pick number 55. Fans thought he would be a late first round pick, if not an early second round pick. Instead the Canucks got him in the middle-late of the second round.

The season after that was a little tougher for Gadjovich as he suffered an injury causing him to miss 18 games. He played 42 games and had 48 points. After that tough season he signed his entry level contract with Vancouver and was off to Utica. He’s played two years in Utica so far, (in his third season now, we’ll get back to it) and in both seasons missed huge amounts of time with injuries. In those two seasons, Gadjovich only played 81 games total, and had only 27 points combined. It seemed as the once hyped up player turned out to be a bust.

Until this season. Gadjovich has 9 games in the AHL, and has 9 points. 8 of them being goals. It seems that his goal scoring ability has finally returned and his physicality has too. If this list was made one year ago, he probably would not have been on this list. But since Jonah has taken such a massive step as a goal scorer, and a penalty killer, he’s on here, and he’s not too low either.

Jonah Gadjovich has proved himself as a first liner in the AHL and has finally picked his game back up. He’s gotten into a fight, and has been scoring goals like crazy. Scouts have compared his play style this year to Matthew Tkatchuk. His skills are his Strength, Shooting & scoring, and also his hitting. His puck skills and his injuries can be worked on though. Other than those two issues, Gadjovich has started to play like the player the Canucks drafted him to be. If he keeps this pace up, we can see him in the NHL in a matter of months.

5- Jett Woo, Utica Comets/AHL

(Credit: Sergei Belski/ USA Today Sports)

Jett Woo, the coolest hockey name I’ve seen in a while. The Winnipeg born defenceman was drafted by the Canucks in the second round of the 2018 NHL entry draft. At the time of the pick, he was massively overhyped by fans across the NHL. Fans had described him as a generational defensive player before the draft. That didn’t really work out as he fell from a top 5 draft projection, to the second round. That didn’t stop Woo from tearing up the WHL and moving into the AHL this season.

Woo has played 9 games with the Comets and hasn’t recorded a single point yet. Although that doesn’t seem impressive, that’s not why he was drafted for. Woo has insane skill in his own zone and around the corners. His best skill is his acceleration. He’s managed to break players’ ankles with his fast and nifty moves. His speed, stick handling, and passing are also key factors to his game. Woo has amazing skill in his d zone, as we’ve learned so far in the AHL and the WHL. In the WHL he’s managed to put up 40 point seasons while spending most of his game in the defensive zone.

Woo currently plays on a line with Jack Rathbone in the AHL, and that line has been unstoppable. Rathbone has been putting up points like his life depends on it, and Woo has been shutting down chances generated by the other team. Woo seems like the perfect guy for Hughes to play with in the future. Woo has been described by scouts as “Chris Tanev, but even better”.

4- Kole Lind, Utica/Canucks

(Credit: Utica Comets/ Twitter)

Lind is a very interesting individual. Lind was drafted by the Canucks in the second round of the 2017 NHL draft. Lind played with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, recording one 95 point season and one 87 point season. Since then Lind has played three years in the AHL. The first two saw him start as a bottom six forward. In the 2019-20 season Lind was promoted to the first line, where he put up 44 points in 61 games.

This season Lind switched from his old position, a right wing, to the Center position. Lind is a right handed player, but has started an interesting new tactic while taking face offs this year. That being him switching his hands from right to left while taking faceoffs. Kole Lind is a right handed player, taking faceoffs with his left hand. This may sound crazy, but he currently has one of the best face off percages in the AHL this year. So obviously his tactic is working. Lind has 8 points in 8 games in the AHL this year. 5 of them being goals.

Lind’s best skills are his elite play making, his sweet puck handling and puck moves, as well as his leadership and teamwork. His teammates describe him as a joy to play with and a great leader. If Lind keeps playing the way he has been in the AHL, he can become a full time NHLer by next season. Speaking of which, his hard work and his skill has paid off, and he recently flew in to Vancouver and has officially joined the Canucks’ taxi squad. He has already served his quarantine, but will wait to play his first game until he is called up.

3- Michael DiPietro, Utica Comets/AHL

(Credit: VancouverIsAwesome.Com)

This one has some anger to it. Michael DiPietro is an amazing goalie who has been fantastic in the OHL, the world juniors and the AHL. He has also played a couple NHL games. Once Braden Holtby leaves the Canucks, DiPietro is expected to become the backup to Thatcher Demko. Even though it may seem like “oh so he’s only a backup? Why’s he up so high”, well that’s the thing. He’s too good to be a backup. He could be a future starting goalie. Vancouver can possibly have one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL if DiPietro pans out.

He’s got skills some NHL goalies don’t have. He can control rebounds, he’s got a fantastic mentality and he can cover the low shots. He is also really fast at recovering from falls and quick situations.

DiPietro has signs of becoming a full time NHLer soon, but it might not happen because he’s getting his best years wasted on the Taxi Squad. Michael DiPietro has shown signs of being a fantastic goalie leading back to his stats in the AHL and OHL. And not to mention the amazing world juniors he had in 2019 where he posted a whopping .952 save percentage and a crazy 1.23 GAA.

2- Jack Rathbone, Utica/Canucks

(Credit: TheHockeyWriters.com)

Jack Rathbone is one of the most underrated prospects in the Canucks organization. Rathbone is a 21 year-old defenceman playing his first year out of college in the AHL. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2017 NHL entry draft by the Canucks. The Massachusetts born defenceman played two years in the NCAA for Harvard University before coming to the AHL.

In those two seasons he impressed everyone a lot. In his first season, Rathbone had 22 points in 33 games. 7 of them being goals. In his second (and also last year), he scored 7 goals, and had himself 31 points in only 28 games. Did I mention he’s a defenceman? Yea, he’s a defenceman. After that amazing season, he signed his ELC with the Canucks. This year he started the season off with the Taxi Squad, but was later sent down to the AHL. Since arriving in Utica, Rathbone has had 5 points in 4 games in the AHL. One of them was a goal. He’s been insane offensively and fantastic defensively. He’s on this list for a reason, and that reason being that he has the chance of becoming the biggest steal of the 2017 NHL draft. Right behind Elias Pettersson at pick number 5.

Rathbone’s strengths are his offensive and defensive touches to the game, his passing and puck handling, and also his teamwork and leadership. The only area he can improve is his size and physicality. That was the reason he was cut from the main roster this season. Canucks fans should feel lucky to have a player like this in their system, as he looks like another Quinn Hughes, except better defensively and maybe a little weaker offensively.

1- Vasili Podkolzin, SKA Saint Petersburg/ KHL

(Credit: TheCanuckWay.com)

Free Podkolzin from the KHL. He’s an underplayed, underrated forward on his team. He averages roughly 5 minutes of ice time every game, and yet still manages to be one of the best offensive players on SKA. And they wonder why he doesn’t want to sign an extension there. The 19 year old was drafted by the Canucks 10th overall in 2019, obviously making him a first round pick. This 6’4 power forward brings up so much energy and hype to the table. Bo Horvat would love to okay with this guy, they have the same play style, except Podkolzin is better defensively and has less of a goal scoring ability.

Podkolzin has 35 games in the KHL in the 2020-21 season. He recorded 5 goals, and 6 assists, for a total of 11 points. To remind you, he averaged 5 minutes of ice time a game. To simplify that, that’s less than two minutes a period. The only reason the coach does this, is because Podkolzin won’t sign the extension. Wouldn’t say that’s the greatest idea. Benching your players so they could extend him? Alright then… Either way, he’s going to have a better chance with the Canucks when he signs his ELC.

Podkolzin was also the captain of team Russia in the world juniors and recorded 4 points in 7 games. This Power Forward and monster of a player is highly anticipated by fans across the NHL. His skills include his speed, puck handling, his shot accuracy, and his acceleration, as well as his leadership. Areas he can work on are his passing. Some of his passes end up being incomplete and cause turnovers. The Canucks don’t need anymore forwards turning pucks over. Even if he isn’t the greatest at passing, he still manages to impress fans and scouts every game he plays; even if it’s only 5 minutes a game. Canucks fans should be excited to see this guy play, a definite 60 point power forward one day, he’ll be fantastic on a line with Horvat and Höglander.