Do the Canucks have interest in Brandon Tanev?
8 years ago
Earlier today, Darren Dreger of TSN revealed in his ‘Dreger Report’ that NCAA free agent Brandon Tanev was generating interest around the league from ‘as many as a dozen teams’
Are the Canucks one of those twelve teams interested in signing the younger brother of current Canucks defender, Christopher Tanev?
Here is the full excerpt from Dreger’s report today:
“‘Tis the season for college free agents to draw NHL attention.
Such is the case for 24-year-old Providence winger Brandon Tanev, the younger brother of Canucks’ defenceman Chris Tanev.
Sources say Brandon remains a hot commodity, with as many as a dozen NHL teams interested in signing him.
Tanev attended the Boston Bruins’ development camp last summer after scoring the game-winning goal in the Providence Friars national championship victory over Boston University.”
Brandon Tanev also attended Canucks development camp in 2011, before playing one season for the Surrey Eagles in the BCHL. He had an okay season there, putting up 33 points in 58 games for the Eagles. He then went to Providence College and appears to be a bit of late bloomer, and is close to a point per game in his senior year:
Brandon is a good two-way forward who has plus speed that can help an organization with their penalty kill, while chipping in offensively. Assuming the younger Tanev is inked to an NHL contract, it will be interesting to see whether this is an abnormal development curve or a flash in the pan, percentage driven last hurrah.
All that in mind, Tanev of the Brandon variety isn’t a can’t-miss prospect, no matter how loose the definition. In terms of assets, it would only cost the Canucks money and a contract spot to add Brandon to the mix. Being only 24, Tanev also would fit into the current age structure of the team going forward. He would join the group of early to mid-twenties players that the Canucks have.
The Canucks do have a couple of things working in their favour to win the Brandon Tanev sweepstakes – such as they are. The first and most obvious is that Chris Tanev is a huge part of the team and likely a mainstay going forward. The Canucks took a chance on Chris and it paid off extremely well for the both parties – a possible selling point to the younger Brandon.
It would also help for Brandon to come into a comfortable situation with his older brother already there. As mentioned earlier, Brandon played one year for the Surrey Eagles and attended his first NHL prospect camp here. So he is aware of his surroundings and the area, which will once again help with his transition to professional hockey.
The Canucks can easily pitch the youth movement to Brandon, pointing to a player like Mike Zalewski as an example of a college UFA who has been given a chance in the NHL.
The Canucks currently sit at 46 contracts and are likely leaving that space for the upcoming trade deadline and pursuing NCAA free agents. Brandon Tanev has shown enough growth over the last 4 years in college to be worth the minimal investment the Canucks can most certainly afford.
It’s not like there isn’t a precedent here.
