The NHL season isn’t the only one winding down. Collegiate hockey south of the border is in the home stretch too, and that means the rush to sign the unaccounted for stand-outs isn’t far behind.

I profiled some of the more well-known NCAA UFA’s available last week, checking into their historical comparables and whether to buy the hype. Drake Caggiula and Andrew Poturalski rate highly – Brand Tanev, not so much. Not long after that post went live, the Carolina Hurricanes signed Poturalski. As many as 19 teams had their interest in Poturalski confirmed thereafter. 

Given the leaguewide interest in Poturalski, the ball was in the players court. It’s the Catch-22 of going after the NCAA’s best. Sure, I mean, you want them because they’re the best. On the other hand, so does everyone else. It might serve the Canucks long-term goals to temper expectations.

Hell, it might spare them the pain of finishing second, third or fourth and land them a few great pieces all the same.

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning did a radio spot this week, wherein he talked about the club’s desire to explore the NCAA UFA market. Though Benning didn’t specifically plant defenders in his cross hairs, it’s safe to assume they’re prized game for the Canucks.

Looking at some of the lower profile free agents may be a worthwhile venture. so let’s take a look at five NCAA UFA defenceman who may not be as well known.

The right-handed defenceman who captains the St. Cloud State University Huskies is an interesting case. He is a very good puck-mover and skater who can control a power play. The senior exploded offensively this season with 35 points (8-27-35) in 34 games at the moment, doubling his career high in goals. What should be particularly attractive the Canucks, is as mentioned above, that Prow is right handed and plays the right side. Given that is only 5’11” and 185 lbs, there is some concern if he will be able to handle the size of players at the next level.

When looking at comparables, 10.2% of his matches went on to become NHL regulars. Which is a reasonable number to roll the dice on. As some of the higher profile UFA defenceman actually rate lower. Given the Canucks current defensive prospects, Prow would be a very good fit. He would be able to go down to Utica next season and work on rounding out his game while given ample opportunity on the power-play.

Born in Salmon Arm, Shane Hanna played for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in the BCHL before heading to Michigan Tech. The left-handed junior is a good puck moving defenceman who isn’t afraid to jump into the rush to help generate offence. Unlike Prow, Hanna does play the left side, and has consistently put up close to a 0.50 PPG in his three years. Coming in at 5’11”, Hanna does currently weigh more than Prow at 194 lbs.

When we look at comparables, Hanna does rate lower than Prow, as only 4.0% of comparables went onto becoming NHL regulars. He did look better last season with a comparable rate of 6.8%, so the drop in offence he saw (dropping from 21 to 18 points) is the reason for the dip. But given that Hanna is born and raised in BC, it would be a good story for the Canucks to add Hanna. Playing for your province’s team would likely give Hanna extra motivation to push, which isn’t something we can include when strictly at comparables. If Hanna was born and raised anywhere else, I may suggest not looking at him, but given the local connection, he may be worth a shot.

Image: Hockey Futures

Gavin Bayreuther is exactly the type of defenceman the Canucks should be targeting. The left-handed defenceman had a fantastic freshman season where he had 36 points (9-27-36) in 38 games, but slipped in second year with 17 points (6-11-17) in 37 games. However in his junior season with St Lawrence, he rebounded putting up 11 goals and 17 assists in 36 games (so far). Regarded for having a hard and accurate slapshot, he also has the skill-set to run the power play with his hockey sense and passing abilities. Basically, he isn’t out there just shooting away, he is able to recognize when to use his shot but also able to control the play. 

He plays the left side of the ice.

He is also 6’1″ and 195 lbs, so is the size that is needed to be an NHL defenceman. Ideally, he would add another 10 pounds of muscle in his upper body. When looking at comparables, Bayreuther rates well as 11.3% of his comparables go onto becoming NHL regulars.

Both Beyreuther and Hanna are young, as they both turn 22 later this year.

Drew Brevig was someone who has been suggested as a worthwhile target to me by a few people on twitter. Brevig isn’t a player who will stand out offensively on the scoresheet, but would still be a worthwhile add given his defensive play. He plays well positionally and is able to use his good skating skills to defend his zone very well. He is someone who plays the game ‘hard’ but won’t be noticeable as the things he does extremely well are the ‘little part’ of the game.

When looking at comparables, Brevig does not show well with only 2.4% going on to become NHL regulars but that is equal to Providence forward Brandon Tanev’s numbers. So, with the old ‘eye test’ a team may still see enough out of Brevig’s game to take the risk with a contract. However his teammate, Josh Healey stuck out to me immediately as an alternative target. Both being in their junior year but Healey is a full two years younger than Brevig and having a higher PPG rate, Healey has a 7.5% comparable rate, and may be someone that the Canucks should target instead.

The Minnesota native is a player that teams, and the Canucks even more so, should be targeting. Gross is on the smaller side measuring in at 5’10” and 190 lbs but is a right-handed defenceman who plays the right side. In his sophomore year, he set new career highs in goals, assists, points, PIM’s and +/- already. He has excellent skating skills, vision and puck moving abilities, but as with anyone his size, he will need to improve his strength to make it at the pro level. Given that he is a sophomore, he can return to Notre Dame for 2 more years, so teams will need to have a really good sales pitch to get him to turn pro now.

Looking at a comparable rate, 13.3% of Gross’s matches went on to becoming NHL regulars. Gross is only 20, so getting him to leave school now would be an advantageous proposition for any team that does sign him. For example, the Canucks would be able to get him into a full-time role with the Comets before he is even 21 years old.

One player that was excluded was University of Vermont defenceman Alex Privitera. He originally attended Boston University but left after being suspend for the later half of his sophomore season for a plethora of off ice issues. He went to the USHL for a season before returning to the NCAA and attending U of Vermont. Given his off-ice issues, I would expect that the Canucks will be avoiding him and given that his comparable rate was only 2.6%, it isn’t an egregious error to ignore him.

Hopefully by looking at comparables, we may find some hidden gems within the market. As with any free agent prospect, there is risk but looking at the Canucks system specifically, there is a gap in defensive prospects so adding any of their wildcards through the NCAA UFA market is the right thing to do.

Tomorrow, we will look at some NCAA forwards who didn’t make the cut as a ‘high profile’ free agent.