We continue our 2026 mid-season Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings with our final prospect outside of the top ten here at CanucksArmy. Slotting in at #11 is a creative two-way centre navigating his first full season in Major Junior hockey.

If you’re looking for a refresher on our ranking criteria, be sure to check out our Honourable Mentions installment before diving in.

Jumping up three spots from our summer rankings, Kieren Dervin remains one of the more difficult Canucks prospects to pin down. But there’s no denying that there are flashes of upside.

Drafted out of prep school, Dervin entered the draft with just 10 OHL games under his belt before the Canucks stepped up and selected him in the third round. For some, that felt like an aggressive bet on a limited sample. For Vancouver, it’s clear they see the creative mind and two-way acumen as assets they can work with as he progresses in his young career.

So far, that gamble is beginning to make sense.

At his core, Dervin profiles as a versatile, two-way forward capable of contributing in all situations. He’s trusted in the defensive zone, used on the penalty kill, and sees time as a bumper option on the power play. Averaging just over 19 minutes per night, he has quickly become one of Kingston’s most relied-upon forwards despite playing in his first true season in the OHL.

Dervin currently sits second on the Frontenacs in scoring with 30 points in 39 games, despite missing nearly a full month with an upper-body injury. Kingston has struggled to generate offence as a team, ranking among the bottom five in goals scored league-wide. In that environment, Dervin’s ability to produce at age 18 holds a little more weight than the raw totals suggest.

Stylistically, he isn’t a physically imposing player. In fact, it’s his physical tools that will likely play the largest role in his ability to become a true NHLer or not. But his defensive awareness allows him to disrupt plays through positioning and timing. He moves well north-south and is most dangerous off the rush.

In the offensive zone, his hands and instincts take over. He can attack defenders one-on-one, create in tight, and find scoring chances around the net rather than living exclusively on the perimeter. While Dervin has been deployed at centre, his faceoff results remain a work in progress (45.9%), and there’s a realistic scenario where his skill set eventually fits better on the wing. The offensive awareness and defensive responsibility are there; we just wonder if he’ll be too limited to provide from the middle at the next level.

The question now is how his game translates against stronger, faster competition. Dervin doesn’t play an overly aggressive style, and while he competes, adding strength will be critical. Committed to Penn State for the 2026–27 season, he is going to give himself the best opportunity to spend time in the weight room and compete against mature opponents. There are downsides to the new rules allowing CHL players to flock to America, but for a player like Dervin, it’s probably the best-case scenario.

He remains an interesting prospect within this organization’s system.

Ceiling: A creative middle-six contributor with the versatility to play both centre and wing. If everything clicks, there’s a path to a second-line role driven by intelligence rather than physical dominance.

Floor: An AHL forward who can play in all situations and provide lineup flexibility and scoring.

ETA: Dervin remains a longer-term project. Expect at least one (likely two) NCAA season followed by AHL development, putting realistic NHL considerations at three to four years down the road.

That’s our #11 spot. Stay tuned for another installment later today here at CanucksArmy.