5 first round calibre prospects that could fall to the Canucks in the second round

Every year, there are a handful of players who fall through the cracks on day one of the NHL Entry Draft.

The Vancouver Canucks will make their first selection at ninth overall on day one of the draft and will then shift their to which player they can select with their second-round pick.

Every team that has two picks in the top-50 has to believe that they are getting two first-round calibre players. When the Canucks are on the clock in the second round, they will be adding another top prospect to their system. A prospect who very easily can slot in as the second-best prospect in the pipeline (with all due respect to Mikey DiPietro, of course).

Here are five legit talents who could end up sliding into the second round like Arthur Kaliyev did in 2019 or Alex DeBrincat did in 2016.

Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven is one of the most creative and effective scorers outside of the top ten. He is a shorter player at only 5’8″ but similar to Nils Höglander, his height doesn’t mean that he plays small.

Stankoven is a powerful right winger who has spent time at centre with the Blazers but projects as a winger when he turns pro. His motor runs as hot as any in this draft and the only real knock on his game is his size.

There is no question about his offensive skill as he possesses a strong wrist shot that explodes off his stick and his relentlessness to go to the net will help him become a point producer at any level.

The reason why he may drop is due to his height and this is indicated in Bob McKenzie’s rankings as polled by NHL scouts that had Stankoven at number 44 in his April rankings.

There are a lot of questions about the big Russian defenceman. These questions may result in this first-round talent dropping to the Canucks in the second round and help fill their need for defence prospects in the pipeline.

The questions surrounding Chayka are primarily about his hockey IQ, and for that reason, EliteProspects has him ranked as the 77th best prospect in the draft. Aside from EliteProspects, most scouting sites have Chayka ranked in the first round. Our friends at FC Hockey have Chayka at 28th overall in their draft rankings.

His offensive is impressive as he’s got one of the best shots from the point in the draft. He is comfortable and confident in his slap shot and looks smooth with his one-timers on the power play. The control of the puck is something that pops off the screen when scouting him as he controls the puck at the point extremely well for a big man. There is room for him to grow as a skater but he does move well and could benefit from maturing a bit.

Chayka has already played in KHL games and that is huge for a prospect of his calibre. He has the potential to be an effective NHLer and though EP is not high on him, it seems like everyone else is.

If there’s a candidate to be a faller in the draft, Chayka fits the bill as any knock on a player’s hockey IQ spreads like wildfire through the scouting world.

He has some second-round steal qualities to his game and his offence from the backend is a nice fit for the Canucks moving forward on a long-term plan with Chayka.

The United States National Team Development Program has been an elite producer of talent over recent drafts. This year’s crop looks to be a weaker class with what appears to be a limited amount of top-end talent. Arguably the third most talented prospect from the USNTDP in this year’s draft is the program’s leading scorer from the 2020-21 season.

Pastujov has a knack for being in the right place at the right time and is an offensive standout. The reason why he may fall out of the first round comes from his below-average skating ability.

We all see the NHL getting faster every season and Pastujov may end up sliding due to his lack of skating ability. A scout told me “his skating is well below par, it sucks because if it was even average, he’d be really good.”

As for an option at 41, it is a bold swing for the Canucks when so many defence options will be available.

There will be a lot of defencemen available for the Canucks with their second-round pick. Another star from the USNTDP could be an option for the Canucks to bolster their back end.

Sean Behrens is a puck-moving defenceman who skates well and some scouting sites are very high on.

He skates well, sees the ice with a high hockey IQ and the only thing keeping him out of the first round is his size and not having a strong shot.

Behrens does an excellent job defending the rush with his angles and good positioning. He’s a smart player who will head to the University of Denver next season and projects as a bottom-four defenceman who can play alongside many different types of defence partners.

Coming out of high school hockey, there are a ton of question marks surrounding Scotty Morrow. He is a big right-shot defenceman who has first-round talent but there are some questions about the level of competition and some off-ice issues as well.

Morrow is a slam dunk for the Canucks organization. He’s a right-shot defenceman who can bring offence and next season at the NCAA will show how talented he truly is.

I wrote a lot more about Morrow in this article.

He’s my guy for the Canucks at 41.