October was a simpler time. Everybody was dipping their toes into the new season. New acquisitions like Brandon Sutter and Brandon Prust pleasantly surprised by putting up modest production. The Canucks were allowed to win hockey games. It was great.

On the prospect front, three future Canucks outright dominated to start their respective seasons. They were all out high pedigree, so there weren’t any exciting surprises, but damn was it nice to see. The trickiest part was deciding the order in which to put them.

We already knew that Thatcher Demko meant business after posting a 2.19 goals against average and a .925 save percentage in his sophomore year at Boston College. He was already the “goalie of the future” in many fans’ minds, and that was before he dominated the month of October 2015.

Demko started six games for Boston College in October, and in those games he allowed all of six goals – and that includes three goals in his first two games of the month and three goals in his final game. That, of course, leaves an fantastic three straight shutouts in between (which only becomes even more incredible when combined with the three consecutive shutouts he earned to start November).

Demko finished the month of October with a save percentage of .957 and a goals-against average of 1.00 – gaudy numbers for the San Diego native. He hasn’t slowed down much since either and is currently riding an 11 game winning streak into the start of December.

When Brock Boeser’s name was announced at the podium of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, lots of Canuck fans weren’t quite sure what to think. We north of the border are more familiar – and more comfortable – with CHL prospects than the NCAA variety.

Then we got a glimpse of some Boeser highlights and oh boy, was he something. He’s a big kid, and moves reasonably quickly, but nothing inspires awe quite like that Boeser shot.

Those in the know were confident that that shot could beat NCAA caliber goaltenders on the regular, and they were right. Boeser scored five goals and added two assists in eight games in the month of October, including a hat-trick in just his fourth official game, looking every bit like a seasoned NCAA vet.

At the conclusion of the month, Boeser’s University of North Dakota was one of the top teams in the NCAA and Boeser had already ascended to the top line, playing alongside Chicago prospect Nick Schmaltz and senior Drake Caggiula. Boeser is the youngest of the line, though and is, in fact, one of the most productive freshmen in the NCAA. As of December fourth, he is third among freshman in points with 16 (eights goals, eight assists).

Shinkaruk gets the first star for October first and foremost because he scored more goals than any other Canucks asset in October, and he did it in one of the most difficult leagues. He further deserves this great honour because, of the three players listed here, his start was the most unexpected.

Shinkaruk had already played a season in the AHL and tallied 16 goals, a decent number for a rookie. An uptick in production was only natural for a player of his talent, in concurrence with the fact that he had an entire offseason to prepare, unlike the rehab filled summer the year before.

But six goals in seven games to start the year? That was above and beyond anyone’s expectations.

On top of his goal scoring prowess, Shinkaruk came into Utica looking like a new man. He doesn’t wait for an opportunity to come to him anymore; he creates it for himself. He’s relentless on the opposition, turning pucks over and creating chances for himself and others. He was without a doubt the best Comet in October, and it was satisfying as a Canucks fan listening to the opposing team’s broadcasters talk about what a threat he was – especially when he’d score a goal just minutes later.