Now that we’ve ranked the top 20 prospects in the Canucks’ system, we’ve just got a couple more things to do before we get to the final lists. Today, we’ll dive into some of the players that just missed the cut. 

Before we get into it, here’s a quick review of the criteria: 

As a result, players that are considered to be “graduated” to the NHL (Brendan Gaunce, Nikita Tryamkin, Jake Virtanen, Anton Rodin) are not eligible.

When the Canucks signed Michael Garteig in the spring of 2016, it looked like a wise move. Garteig was hot off the heels of a 32-win season with the Quinnipiac University Athletics of the NCAA. His save percentage of .924 was good for second among Div 1 goaltenders, behind only fellow Canucks prospect Thatcher Demko. Since then, he’s had a bit of an up-and-down season with the Canucks’ ECHL affiliate, the Alaska Aces. In thirteen games, Garteig’s posted a .904 save percentage and averaged over three goals per game. For the 25-year-old Garteig, that doesn’t exactly bode well for his future in pro hockey.

Not all hope is lost, though. Garteig was a stellar BCHL goaltender, and also had a respectable NCAA career. College goaltenders have a tendency to experience the greatest growing pains among NCAA free agents, and Garteig could simply be struggling to adapt to the pro game. Still, Garteig will need to improve over the second half of the Aces’ season if he wants to earn another contract 

Mike Zalewski first joined the organization at the tail end of the 2013-14 season. Signed to an ELC as the final major move of the Mike Gillis regime, Zalewski made his NHL debut with the Canucks on April 12, 2014, playing a shade over 11 minutes, and acquitting himself rather admirably over that time frame. 

Unfortunately for Zalewski, that’s been the high point of his career to date. He was not given a qualifying offer following the 2014-15 season but signed to an AHL-only deal to remain with the Comets. The Canucks clearly saw something in the 24-year old, however, as he was offered a two-way deal in early 2016. 

While Zalewski’s numbers have never jumped off the page, he’s been consistently relied upon in high-leverage situations for the Comets, and has drawn accolades for his hard work and defensive play. 

Zalewski’s cooled off a fair bit this season, which is likely why he went unranked. After a decent sophomore AHL campaign in which he put up 33 points in 58 games while playing in all situations for the Comets, Zalewski’s seen his special teams usage and production atrophy, scoring just one goal in 24 games. This has likely been heavily influenced by the injury trouble he’s run into this season, so don’t be surprised to see him back on the low-end of our rankings in the summer if he has a good second half.

After adjusting for similarity, 9.6% of Zalewski’s stature and production-based cohorts went on to record at least 200 NHL games played, with Andrew Desjardins, Adam Burish, and Jay Beagle being among the most notable. If Zalewski does become an everyday player in the NHL, it will likely be in a defensively-slanted fourth line role.

The forgotten man amongst Canucks defensive prospects, Evan McEneny has put himself back into the conversation after falling off the radar last season. McEneny was signed as a CHL free agent by the last Canucks’ regim, and has taken the long road to the AHL, returning for his overage season in the OHL and even making a 38-game appearance in with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings in 2015-16. 

In his first full season of AHL action, McEneny has been a staple on the Comets’ blueline, playing mainly with Ashton Sautner in a second-pairing role at even-strength. McEneny also plays on both special teams, and seems to have earned the trust of Comets’ head coach Travis Green.

An impressive 18% of McEneny’s cohorts went on to play at least 200 NHL games according to the prospect Graduation Probabilities System, which is far and away the most impressive success percentage among unranked players. 

The last player on our list of honourable mentions is also the one I find most intriguing, Canucks’ 2016 6th round pick Jakob Stukel. Unlike McEneny, what’s put Stukel on my radar is certainly not how he looks through the lens of draft analytics. On a list of over 300 matches, only 3.2% became NHL regulars. When adjusting for similarity that number reaches just a 2% adjusted success percentage for Stukel.

 

So, we’ve established that most players of Stukel’s ilk don’t make the NHL. The thing is, Jakob Stukel isn’t most players. Just watch the way he’s able to separate himself from players in one or two strides with his speed: 

Stukel’s time with the Vancouver Giants and subsequently the Calgary Hitmen has given me an extended look at what he brings to the table. I can say, confidently, that he is one of the most beautiful, effortless skaters in the WHL. 

Unfortunately, one attribute does not a prospect make, and Stukel’s brain has never caught up to his feet. He is perhaps the most exaggerated version of what we’d expect from a winger drafted by the Jim Benning regime. He has great foot speed, a good shot, and almost no ability to play east-west whatsoever. Stukel has essentially one move: beeline for the goaltender, hope you can win a foot race with the defenders, and deke out the goaltender. Last season, that move earned him a 34-goal season, but this year he hasn’t had the same luck, and his production has tapered off.

Generally, drafting for one elite skill isn’t a great idea. It’s unwise to hope a player will suddenly take massive enough strides in the other areas of his game to turn him into an NHL’er. Still, Stukel’s speed is something that gets you fantasizing about what he could be if only he worked on his hockey sense.