“His upside is very high. Once he adds more muscle to his frame, he’ll be able to get to the net more and win more puck battles,”

“His +/- was exceptional. He was dependable. His hockey sense is very good at both ends of the rink,” said Carlson, who also raved about his exceptional work ethic. “He just gets after it.”

An intense, hard-working forward who shows a lot of character in not backing down under adversity. A mobile and edgy skater, but needs to improve his explosiveness with the puck. Makes smart plays under pressure, never wanting to make a mistake; sometimes a bit too careful, holding onto dead plays, but this is not a problem that will be hard to curb. Likes to go hard to the nets. Needs to get stronger and more physically astute along the boards. Never backs down and never gives up; he thrives under adversity and pressure, and finds ways to come up big in the game’s critical moments. All-in-all, a forceful two-way forward that can be counted on for stability and energy when his team is lacking the spirit to surge forward.

[Neill] was a different player last year. big kid with a big shot from the point. [Neill] moves the puck pretty good, has the size to be a physical d-men but lacks consistency. Skating and footwork still need work as well. same goes for his defensive game. he was named captain of Sherbrooke after last season. play 1st PP with Sharks (2nd rounder) Jeremy Roy. 

Neil went undrafted in 2014 because of poor conditioning. [Neill] admitted himself, it was a wake up call. [Neill] also needed a minor heart surgery a year ago, that forced him to miss the Calgary Flames rookie camp.

Moving forward it remains to be seen how much offensive potential he has. [Pettit’s] skating and ability to carry the puck needs to improve if he wants to be more of a factor off the rush and I’d still like to see him use his size even more (adding a physical element to his game), especially in driving the net and maintaining positioning as a force near the crease.

This coming year, the Otters could do a couple of different things with Pettit, depending on how much development he shows to start the year. If [Pettit] looks good, they could play him on the wing on a scoring line and ask him to clear space for the likes of Strome, Raddysh, Debrincat, etc. Or he could play as the 3rd line center (behind Strome and Jake Marchment). That said, there’s also a chance Marchment or Strome don’t return and Pettit gets to stay down the middle on a scoring line (seems very unlikely to me). Either way, I’d be very surprised if he’s not at least utilized on the 2nd power play unit as a net presence.

We know that over-age players don’t usually stand a good chance of ever making an NHL impact, but defensemen are notoriously hard to project. Sautner has been an extremely effective player on a puck possession juggernaut the last couple of seasons to his credit, and is an interesting gamble for GM Jim Benning to make.

Ashton Sautner has been a consistently solid defenseman for the Edmonton Oil Kings over the last couple of seasons which included a few long playoff runs at the Memorial Cup. As a younger dman in the league he was a good decision-maker in his own zone, boxing out the middle of the ice using good angles while showing some glimpses of transitional intelligence. As a 19 and 20 year-old he took major strides forward in his puck confidence and high traffic distributing skills, making him a prominent player in all areas of the ice. Sautner has two-way potential moving forward as a solid, three zone defenseman that can log big minutes and play any situation. He’ll have to take some major steps forward to become an NHL-calibre defenseman, but he has the foundations to start that climb in the AHL next season.

MacKenze Stewart came out of nowhere to be drafted in 2014 and has signed a contract with the Canucks. The hulking defenseman played consistent defensive minutes for the Raiders last season, showing some improvements to his footwork and puck play, although both attributes remain very far from anything close to NHL-ready. Stewart has shown very little offensive upside over the course of his WHL career. His size and toughness are the two attributes that the Canucks hope will translate to success on the wing as they try to convert Stewart into a forward. I’m still surprised he was drafted, and even more surprised he was signed.

Tate Olson was one of my favorite sleepers for the 2015 NHL Draft. He doesn’t have any standout qualities, but he has shown very good progression as a defense-first blueliner with the confidence and swagger to pitch in with the occasional offensive burst. He is far from a sure thing, but Olson has projectable size, improving puck skills, and a fearless, competitive attitude to defending which makes him difficult to play against. On an improving Prince George Cougars team he will have ample opportunity to showcase and refine all aspects of his game. As he fills out his raw frame and continues to take strides forward in terms of his skill development, he could provide the Canucks with great late-round value. 

A big defensive defenseman with limited offensive upside and a bit of nasty streak. High level of compete in one on one battles, with a fearless approach to defending, doesn’t make anything easy on his opponents. Good use of his stick when breaking up plays, aided by a long reach and ability to track pucks oppositions movements. Not overly explosive or quick but sound positioning keeps him from being exploited, pivots are quicker than expected for a big rangy d-man. Wont expect much offence from the big swede as his shot and puck moving abilities are limited. Possesses the strength for higher levels of hockey and has the tools to one day fill a responsible depth role at the pro level.  Likely to land in the AHL for a few years before seeing a shot at the NHL, slow and steady development is the recipe for his possible success

Valk had a very impressive season in Kalamazoo. Developed instant chemistry with Ludwig Blomstrand and Dane Fox on a scoring. Despite his size, Valk can be quite feisty and never shies from the oppositions net. If not for a season ending knee injury in January, it’s highly likely that Valk would have finished the season leading the Wings in scoring.

Fox struggled from the onset of his professional career to earn the coaches trust and subsequent ice-time. Improvement in his work ethic and play earned him a spot on the first line, where he enjoyed great success. Put in considerable work to improve upon his skating this season and took major steps forward in that regard. Is a well disciplined player. Uses his size especially well when boxing out defenders in front of the opposing goaltender. Rose to the occasion of the playoffs and displayed a real intensity.

Blomstrand built on a strong 2013-14 season, further improving his two-way game and developing into one of the clubs better skaters. Is a strong physical player who reaches well above his weight class. Can be an absolute joy to watch, with his combination of raw physical tools and more refined two-way game. His shot is second-to-none on the Wings, as is his conditioning. Quickly becoming a fan favourite. 

Joe Cannata has been a pain in the ass of teams across North America since his time in the NCAA, and that’s not likely to change as he moves to the AHL on a more permanent basis in 2015-2016. Whether standing behind an adequate defense not, the former sixth round draft pick – who went 3-2-0 in five AHL games last season and posted a .932 SV% in the process – plays in net with all the confidence of someone you’d expect to ultimately succeed at the NHL level. He’s been largely overlooked in the wake of Vancouver’s never-ending goalie controversy, but he may be the biggest sleeper among their prospects next year.

The 25 year old netminder out of Wakefield, Massachusetts stands at 6 foot 1 and 200 lbs — but his biggest asset, despite being on the smaller side among goaltenders in the current NHL era, is his sense of calm in net. You don’t often see the former Merrimack netminder come out too far or overcompensate, instead playing with a pretty neutral and relatively deep positioning. His speed isn’t an asset that necessarily gets talked about, but – like nearly aspect of his game – there’s certainly no red flag in that area.

Cannata plays a position-based style game that capitalizes on well-timed rebounds (which Cannata has improved upon over time, sending his rebounds to the corners instead of ahead onto the stick of his opponents) and a willingness to stop play with a smothered puck or glove save. In a league where preventing goals can sometimes overshadow actually making saves, Cannata excels at both.

Cannata saw himself slip down Vancouver’s depth chart as a byproduct of the team’s goaltending dramas, with Joacim Ericsson, Eddie Lack, and Jacob Markstrom all getting AHL ice time over him and causing fans to believe the team was no longer high on the former NCAA star. This year, though, neither of them will stand in his way of taking a starting role in Utica (which he should split with Richard Bachman), and good enough AHL play could even see him get a look at the NHL level in the event of an injury or more struggles from Markstrom.

His biggest weakness is still playing the puck, but I’ve never been high on particularly aggressive goaltenders from a technique-based standpoint so this isn’t necessarily something to be concerned about. His goaltending coach back home is Brian Daccord (whose son Joey, an ASU commit for 2016-2017, was drafted by the Ottawa Senators this summer), who Canucks fans may remember as Schneider’s coach as well. He may have slipped out of the top prospect rankings, but there’s no reason not to still fall in love with his game.

I have no idea what Friesen and Zalewski are capable of at the next level. Both are more than competent players at the AHL level. Friesen has a lot of pluses – the biggest being he is just a very smart hockey player. He does everything well. Nose for the net, physical, very good positioning, very good defensively, useful on PK. His size doesn’t hurt him on the ice, but I think it might cause second thoughts on the part of some GMs and coaches. But he doesn’t play small.

Zalewski took a while to get going and to adjust to the speed of the pro game. Improved dramatically over the season, and became a defensive ace, usually skating with Gaunce and Hamilton. That was an impressive line. Pretty decent on faceoffs. Somehow couldn’t score much, although he created opportunities. Travis Green trusted him on the PK at times, so that says something. He is a big, strong kid and still learning.  Plays with an edge. So does Friesen, I guess.

Can these guys be successful in the NHL? I have no idea. I’m quite sure they can be very solid if not star players in the AHL and certainly can push younger guys and help them learn.