Vancouver Canucks Rookie Camp Invitees, Part Two: Defencemen

On Wednesday I took a look at the four forwards who will be representing the Vancouver Canucks at this year’s Young Stars tournament in Penticton who are undrafted and do not currently have a contract with either of the Canucks or Utica Comets.

Today, I will look at the three defencemen who fit into that same category.

Brahaney is a six-foot-one, 181lbs, left-shot defenceman. The Hastings, Ontario native turned 19-years-old in March. He split the 2015/16 season between the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL and the Kingston Voyageurs of the OJHL. Brahaney went pointless in his 16 game audition with the Frontenacs but put up 10 assists in 23 games with the Voyageurs.

Brahaney spent all of the 2016/17 season with the Frontenacs, getting into 53 games and putting up five points. Things picked up for Brahaney last season when he scored five goals and assisted on 25 more to give himself a tidy 30 points in 67 games.

McFadden is a 21-year-old, left-shot defenceman. The native of Kincardine, Ontario stands five-foot-eleven and tips the scales at 181lbs. McFadden was another player who appeared at the Canucks development camp earlier this summer.

Leadership would seem to be one of McFadden’s qualities as he has been the captain of the Guelph Storm for the previous two seasons. During his 292 games with Guelph, McFadden has accumulated 32 goals and 115 assists to give himself 147 points. He had a four-game audition last season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, picking up one assist along the way.

Scott Walker, who works with the Canucks on the player development side used to coach McFadden in Guelph and is still a part owner of the team. I wonder if Walker may have something to do with McFadden getting a look at camp.

If McFadden shows well enough, it is possible that he could get a longer look with the Comets or Kalamazoo Wings down the road.

Bulych is a six-foot-one, 165lbs, right-shot defenceman. The product of Yorkton Saskatchewan turned 18-years-old in January. The Bulych name will be familiar to fans of the Vancouver Giants as he has played parts of three seasons with the club.

The offensive side of the game hasn’t come yet at the WHL level for Bulych as he has just nine points in 80 games played in the league. Putting up points isn’t completely foreign to him, however, as he did have a 13-goal, 25 point season in the SMHL in the 2016/17 season.

Bulych is the second Vancouver Giant that we find on the list of invitees as he joins forward Owen Hardy as players in the Canucks’ backyard who are getting a look this year.

Stay tuned as camp gets closer and more offseason news trickles in. CanucksAmry will have you covered.