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3 Canucks prospects who are playing for an entry-level contract this season

Photo credit: © Tav Morisson-CanucksArmy

By Jacob Fraser

Aug 15, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 14, 2026, 22:42 EDT

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Throughout the offseason, we’ve given our CanucksArmy top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings. We dove into which Canucks prospect will be the first to make their NHL debut, and now we’re going to discuss a few prospects who are playing this season for a chance at an entry-level contract.

All three players we’ll discuss will see their rights expire with the team at some point next offseason. If they don’t sign with the Canucks who originally drafted them, then they’ll have to look elsewhere to continue their hockey careers.

In the Canucks organization, there are currently three players that meet the criteria of having their rights expire next season: two forwards and one defenceman who were all drafted in 2022 or 2023.

Daimon Gardner

The first player on this list, and the highest selection of the three, is Daimon Gardner. The Ontario-born centreman is headed to his fourth season in college hockey, with what will be his third school during his NCAA career.

Selected out of the USHL, Gardner was an intriguing centreman prospect with some upside given his towering size. The 6’4” 205-pound centreman had a very solid draft-plus one season in the USHL, after being selected by the Canucks in the fourth round, 112th overall in 2022.

Following his 42-point season in 46 games with the Tri-City Storm, Gardner went to Clarkson University for his freshman year. In that first year in the NCAA, Gardner only managed to produce six points in 29 games. In his past two seasons, Gardner has been at St. Cloud State University; his first year with the team has been his best so far in college hockey, with 14 points in 32 games.

The production in the NCAA for Gardner has been underwhelming; this year he’s headed for Minnesota State University, which should be a good opportunity for him to step up into a bigger all-around role. However, given the previous production and the tools Gardner has as a player, we’re likely looking at someone who’s going to be an AHL forward. He has the size and the frame, but there is a lack of consistency at both ends of the ice in his game that he’ll need to round out this season to get the opportunity to sign with the team that originally drafted him.

Matthew Perkins

Matthew Perkins was drafted in a similar spot just one year later than Gardner, taken in the fourth round, 119th overall in 2023. Like Gardner, Perkins is also heading into his senior year in the NCAA and his second year at Northeastern University.

Perkins is a smaller frame, listed at 5’11” and 174 pounds; he can play both down the middle and on the wing.

His first year of college hockey, in what was his draft plus-one year, was promising. At the University of Minnesota, Perkins put up 15 points in 35 games. Since then, however, his role has been reduced, and his production has declined.

In his first season with Northeastern last year, Perkins had just seven points in 29 games. Perkins plays a very solid two-way game; his skating, college production, and size, however, make it difficult to project him as anything more than an organizational depth piece.

The Canucks could look to add him to the AHL or even ECHL roster following this upcoming season, but he’s going to have to prove there is still some upside there if he’s going to earn a contract with the team.

Aiden Celebrini

Aiden Celebrini is the lone defenceman on this list and might be the most likely to earn a contract within the Canucks organization. Of course, he’s the older brother of Macklin Celebrini. This season, Aiden will be headed into his fourth year at Boston University.

He hasn’t produced much throughout his college career, but Celebrini wasn’t expected to be an offensive defenceman. Drafted out of the AJHL with the Brooks Bandits, the Vancouver native was regarded as a defensive defenceman with shutdown ability, taken by the Canucks in the sixth round, 171st overall in the 2023 draft.

In his first three years at Boston University, he’s been consistently deployed in a third-pairing role, seeing some deployment in the team’s second pairing.

Given his work ethic and defensive ability, along with the fact that he has familiarity with Abbotsford Canucks new Head Coach Ryan Papaioannou from their days with the Brooks Bandits, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the organization give him an opportunity in the AHL at the end of this season and to begin the next year.

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