Faber’s Canucks Prospect Rankings: Honourable Mentions outside of the top-10

As grim as it has been over the past few years, we are now starting to see the Vancouver Canucks’ prospect pool injected with some talented youth.

We ranked the top-10 prospects after the 2022 draft and this year’s top-10 has five new names compared to a year ago, and four new names since our last prospect review at the 2023 All-Star game.

Since we will be doing eight prospects in this article and only one per article for the next 10, this will just be us filling out our five basic levels of evaluation and predictions.

The top 10 will have more time spent on them but our honourable mentions will just have the board filled out and then maybe a clip here and there.

Let’s look at who just missed the list and what we have for our projections of them as of July 2023.

Ceiling: Third-line winger who can kill penalties.

Floor: AHL top-six winger.

Production (and how): Josh Bloom was over a point per game in his final OHL season. He went on a run to the OHL playoff finals with the North Bay Battalion and Bloom was a leader on the top line and on both special teams units. He has a heavy shot that he can fire with consistency on the rush and he goes to the net hard. There’s enough skill there to get excited about his offensive potential in the AHL. He may be a player who fits better in a pro system as well. This kid is a coach’s dream and he will bring you shorthanded offence as well.

Prediction (for the 2023-24 year): We can see Bloom playing in 60+ AHL games this season and maybe even an NHL game or two if he makes a smooth transition to the pro ranks. Our prediction is 12 goals and 20 assists in the AHL next season.

ETA: Bloom could see NHL games as early as next season but we think he will take a year or two to develop in the AHL before he gets an extended run in the NHL. If he plays in NHL games next season, he is either much further ahead than we thought or there has been a ton of injuries on the wings.

Ceiling: Bottom-four defenceman who thrives with his skating ability.

Floor: AHL depth.

Production (and how): Joni Jurmo had five goals and eight assists in 52 Liiga games last season. He got a bit of time on the power play but all of his offence came at five-on-five aside from one assist on the power play.

Prediction (for the 2023-24 year): Jurmo is heading back to Liiga but with a new club. He is joining his former World Junior coach Antti Pennanen at Ilves and Jurmo believes he can be a 20-minute-a-night defenceman for Pennanen. His coach saw Jurmo at his best — which was the 2022 World Juniors. We will have to see if Jurmo thrives under a coach who likes his style.

ETA: We expect Jurmo to sign his ELC this spring, at the conclusion of his Liiga year. He may be able to join Abbotsford late in their season or in the playoffs. As for an NHL estimated time of arrival, we just don’t know right now. Jurmo will likely require two full seasons in the AHL before the NHL is a possibility and Jurmo has a lot to improve on over that time. Our ETA for his first NHL game is February of 2026.

Ceiling: Fourth defenceman.

Floor: Top-pairing AHL defenceman.

Production (and how): Jett Woo led the Abbotsford Canucks defencemen with seven goals last season. He did a lot of his damage at even-strength and saw limited time on the second power play unit.

Prediction (for the 2023-24 year): We’re expecting Woo to begin his transition to the NHL so we see him getting into about 50 AHL games and 4-10 NHL games. We predict his statline to look something like five goals and 12 assists in 55 AHL games while adding an assist in seven NHL games.

ETA: We should see Woo make his NHL debut this season. He’s in the mix for a spot on the Canucks’ right side right off the bat at training camp.

Ceiling: Fourth defenceman.

Floor: AHL depth defenceman.

Production (and how): Though he was injured for almost half of last year, Jacob Truscott found much more of an offensive touch this past season. He had three goals and 19 assists through his first 66 NCAA games and then had four goals and 12 assists in 23 games last season.

Prediction (for the 2023-24 year): Truscott is off to be the captain of Michigan and he is not without both Luke Hughes and Owen Power (his last two defence partners). There will be more offence for Truscott to find this coming season and we can see him getting 10 goals and adding 20 assists.

ETA: Our expectation is that Truscott turns pro after this NCAA season and will join the AHL team sometime in late March or early April.

Ceiling: Bottom-pairing defenceman with physical and penalty-killing upside.

Floor: AHL depth.

Production (and how): Jackson Dorrington isn’t going to be known for his offence, he had no goals and siz assists in 35 games last season during his freshman season with Northeastern.

Prediction (for the 2023-24 year): We see Dorrington moving up in the depth chart and being a staple in Northeastern’s top-four — he may even see an extended period of time as a top-pairing guy. He should find the back of the net a few times and add double-digit assists.

ETA: It’s a long road for Dorrington but we like the physical play style that he plays with. There will be a couple more years in the NCAA before some time in the AHL and then hopefully the NHL. We see that NHL day coming somewhere in 2026-27 if it ever comes.

Ceiling: Bottom-four defenceman.

Floor: AHL top-four defenceman.

Production (and how): Kudryavtsev was one the top-scoring defenceman in his age group last year in the OHL. He had eight goals and 42 assists last season. His best offensive trait is how he skates with the puck and moves it through the neutral zone with crisp passes. He’s a sturdy piece on the power play and gets a lot of his shot attempts on target. He makes hard passes on the power play that get the goaltenders off-balance and load up his assists totals.

Prediction (for the 2023-24 year): We can see a world where Kudryavtsev is the top-scoring defenceman next season. He will likely be going pro after this year and making the transition to the AHL. Our prediction is 16 goals and 57 assists for 73 points.

ETA: After his OHL career, he will need a full season in the AHL before a call-up comes into the equation. We will guess that Kudryavtsev makes his NHL debut in January of 2026.

Ceiling: Bottom-six centre.

Floor: AHL top-six centre.

Production (and how): Max Sasson had a very productive offensive season in the NCAA as he was a part of the top-scoring line in the NCAA. He jumped into the AHL and found some early success. He had two goals and one assist in 13 games but created a lot of scoring chances and was solid on the penalty kill.

Prediction (for the 2023-24 year): We see Sasson being a leading man for Abbotsford this season. He should easily be a top-six centre and may be Abbotsford’s 1C next year. We see him having 16 goals and 30 assists in a full season spent with Abbotsford.

ETA: There’s an outside chance that Sasson gets tasked with a few NHL games next season. We honestly see it happening so his ETA for one NHL game is this coming season. As for an extended stay in the NHL, we believe that attempt with come during the 2024-25 season.

Ceiling: Fourth line centre.

Floor: KHLer.

Production (and how): He had just one assist in 18 KHL games but had seven goals and six assists in 33 VHL games. Zlodeyev didn’t see much time on the power play units as he is more of a defensive-minded centre with some good enough hands to add some offence here and there.

Prediction (for the 2023-24 year): Zlodeyev signed a two-year KHL deal with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. We see him being a middle-six centre there next season and should have somewhere around nine goals and 18 assists.

ETA: He’s two years away from being two years away. There’s going to need to be a couple of seasons of AHL play before a call-up is a real option. Zlodeyev may get some NHL games in the 2026-27 season if he comes to North America after his current KHL contract.

There goes out honourable mentions. It’s time to dive into the top 10.

In your eyes, which of these prospects should be in the top 10?