We are back with our 2025 mid-season edition of our CanucksArmy top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings.

If you are curious about our ranking criteria, check them out in our HM installment.

Number 10 is…

Team: Barrie Colts | Age: 19 | Position: Right Wing | Height: 6’1″ | Weight: 190 lbs | Shoots: Right | Drafted: Sixth round, 162 overall, 2024 | Last year’s rank: 10

As we’ve already established in these rankings, the Vancouver Canucks amateur scouting has done a relatively astute job at finding late-round gems in recent years.

Could we chalk Anthony Romani up as their latest find? The jury is still out. At the very least, the sharpshooting Ontario kid carries a ton of intriguing qualities.

Almost 20, Romani was taken in his second go-around at the NHL draft. With an explosive 58-goal, 111-point season under his belt, many had wondered how he could have slipped through to the sixth round, let alone his first draft.

Well, for starters, he had yet to truly pop. With just 57 points through 134 games through his first two OHL seasons, his production didn’t necessarily scream “top talent.”

In addition to the lack of production, there were notable skating and defensive concerns. While he’s made significant strides in both areas, those concerns remain prevalent today.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t take long to see where the excitement stems from. While we lean toward his shot, it’s difficult to pinpoint the sharpest tool in his offensive kit: his shot or vision.

For our money, it’s the shot. Scoring 58 goals – which finished second among all OHLers last season – is no joke. And the sheer velocity and whip he’s able to generate off his release is top-notch.

Whether in tight, from the half-wall on the power play or off the rush, Romani carries that unteachable ability to whip the puck to beat netminders clean. He gets the puck off quick, and he gets the puck off hard.

Here are some of his shots, both on the net and high, to showcase the release.

When he connects, boy, is it deadly.

He gets into the necessary spot to complement that shot by leveraging high-IQ plays. He knows how to evade coverage and slip into those deadly zones. Furthermore, he also uses that IQ to his advantage in the assist department. He finds teammates from everywhere using quick-thought and sneaky one-touch passes or long stretch passes.

His skating isn’t terrible, as he has good edges and shiftiness. Yet, it’s not exactly efficient, either. Using a stand-up style, he lacks explosiveness and tends to do everything at a slower pace. Simply put, he doesn’t have a ton of separating speed, even for the junior ranks.

That lack of motor does creep into his defensive game as well. Going forward – especially with the systems in both Vancouver and Abbotsford – his effort levels and details in the defensive zone will have to be worked on.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t had much time to work on said needs, as he’s had a forgettable draft-plus-one season. After just six games – and five points – Romani took a relatively innocent hit in the corner, resulting in a broken clavicle.

That setback cost him three months of action. To add to the madness, his rights were dealt with just weeks before he was set to return to the lineup. Joining fellow Canucks prospect Riley Patterson, Romani was sent to the Barrie Colts, where he has struggled to get back to form.

Despite seeing top-line minutes and obvious power play time, he’s posted just five goals and a minus-4 rating through 11 games. He still sees tons of looks and generates shots, so we aren’t concerned. Finding one’s game from months of no skating while navigating new systems and linemates is never easy.

However, we fear that this setback may interfere with his timeline. Turning 20 in July, we had pencilled him in as a potential transition into the pro ranks. With his development held back, we question whether he’ll return as an overage skater to build through one last season among the OHL class.

For now, he continues to sit as one of the more intriguing prospects and potential “steal of the draft” candidates within the prospect realm.

Ceiling: The development has to go perfectly, but Anthony Romani’s combination of high-end goal-scoring, playmaking, and hockey IQ makes him an easy top-six hopeful at the NHL level.

Floor: A looming question surrounding a player with his profile is simple: can he do it professionally? There are many examples of high-end point-getters from the junior ranks who failed to translate those tools to the pro level. At the very least, we can see Romani forming a fruitful career as an AHL scorer.

ETA: As we’ve established, there’s a real sense of uncertainty surrounding his immediate future. The injury setback put a huge damper on his development as a drafted prospect. Regardless of where he plays in 2025-26, we should still expect a two-to-four-year timeline before we are ready to talk NHL deployment.

That’s our #10 spot. Stay tuned for another installment later today here at CanucksArmy.