There are few prospects – nevermind just Vancouver Canucks prospects – who pull off what Ty Young managed to in 2024-25.

Our previously ranked prospects:

If you’re curious about our ranking criteria, you can find them in our HM instalment here. Let’s get into it.

At training camp less than a year ago, Ty Young didn’t know where he was going to play. After the Prince George Cougars made it clear that Joshua Ravensbergen was going to be their guy in the crease, Young was either going to get traded to another WHL team or turn pro just months after his 20th birthday.

The jump from junior to pro hockey is a significant one for any player, but traditionally, it’s especially hard on goaltenders. Moving from junior level to shooters to pro level shooters overnight is a big test, but it’s one Young passed with flying colours in 24-25.

As we wrote about recently, Young put a big focus on the mental side of the game last season, namely, having fun no matter what situation he found himself in. And that certainly paid off.

Young spent most of his time this past season in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings. There, he amassed a .926 save percentage through 22 ECHL games, the highest save percentage of any goaltender in the Canucks’ organization. He also spent some time with AHL Abbotsford, where he put up similarly impressive results, posting a .904 save percentage through 11 games as one of the youngest players — no pun intended — to suit up for AHL games.

Young fits the mould of goalies teams draft when they have Ian Clark in their ear. He’s big, mobile, and hungry to improve on some very promising raw talent. Young naturally seals off the bottom of the net very well and has improved plenty on his crease navigation and post integration. The big question now is: How will he follow up on a phenomenal rookie campaign?

The possibilities are seemingly endless for Young in 2025-26. He is ready to take over the Abbotsford goal crease as Nikita Tolopilo’s main partner — Jiri Patera will get some starts as well if Abby carries three goalies — but if he needs some more time in the ECHL, that option is available to Young as well.

Ceiling: It’s hard to put a ceiling on any prospect, but it’s even harder to put one on a goaltender, especially one who just blew all previous expectations we had for him out of the water. With that in mind, Young’s ceiling seems to be an NHL starter, which means he’ll probably be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2041.

Floor: Miraculously, Young has already established a fairly high floor for himself as a 20-year-old fifth-round pick. The floor for most fifth-round picks is playing out their pro careers exclusively in the AHL, ECHL, or one of the many pro leagues overseas. Young has already excelled at the ECHL level, so we’re going to tab his “floor” as a solid AHL netminder.

ETA: Young’s path to the NHL got a bit clearer following the Arturs Silovs trade. He currently slots in as the fourth or fifth goalie on the Canucks’ goaltending depth chart, and while it will be tough for him to move past Nikita Tolopilo as the clear-cut third stringer, Young is already further ahead of schedule than anyone expected. For now, his focus will be on having a solid sophomore pro campaign and taking another step at the AHL level. But if all goes well, there is a world where Young is knocking on the door for regular NHL opportunities — like Silovs was — at some point over the next three seasons. We’ll call it 2027-28 or 2028-29. 

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