Canucks come in at 22nd on Daily Faceoff’s ranking of NHL prospect pools
10 months ago
The Vancouver Canucks have the 22nd-best prospect pool in the NHL, according to Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff.
Ellis released his ranking of every NHL club’s prospect system and the Canucks find themselves behind teams like the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, and Seattle Kraken. The Chicago Blackhawks sit atop Ellis’ list with Vancouver native Connor Bedard being the biggest reason why. The Buffalo Sabres sit in second place, with Ellis calling Zach Benson a “steal of a pick”. The Canucks chose to pass on Benson at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, instead electing to draft Tom Willander with the 11th overall pick.
Here is what Ellis had to say about the Canucks:
“With Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko being the core of this group, the Canucks have a decent base to build around. With the right coaching, this team has what it takes to challenge for the playoffs. But does the pipeline have enough to make this team a realistic contender for the next decade? I don’t think so. The majority of the team’s top prospects are likely more complementary players, and not difference-makers.”-Steven Ellis Daily Faceoff
The Canucks don’t have many high-end prospects, but they have significantly added to their depth and improved their overall developmental process since Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin took over. They’re building out their depth from the ground up in Abbotsford, and seem to be improving their overall process when it comes to drafting and developing.
They’ll now need to hope their revamped development staff can turn prospects like Aatu Raty, Tom Willander, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki to full time NHLers with long careers ahead of them.
How do you feel about Ellis’ ranking and the Canucks’ prospect pool as a whole? Let us know in the comments section below! Read the full ranking from Ellis by clicking here.
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