Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet available in both decaf and regular.

Speaking of regular, the 2026-27 regular season is nigh. As these words are being written, we’re exactly one week away from puck drop on opening night for the Vancouver Canucks. That means as you read these words, we’re even closer than that.

Last year, we had some fun asking our readers to predict how the 2025-26 season would go, and then checking those predictions against reality at the end of it all. We’d like to do a few similar things this year, and that includes doing the whole standings-prediction thing all over again.
Last year, the predictions were fairly mixed. This year, we expect they’ll all trend in mostly the same direction – so, if you want your prediction to stand out from the crowd, make sure it’s specific!

Here, now, before any regular season games have been played, we’re looking for predictions on both the Canucks’ final place in the 2026-27 standings and exactly how many points they’ll earn on the way to that finish.

Then we’ll see you back in April to find out how you did.

This week, we’re asking:

Let it be known in the comment section.

Last week, we asked:

You answered below!

The draft positions point to Malhotra (#3) and Novotný (#24), but the big Rogowski has the most room to grow. Having only played hockey for two years, his ceiling remains unrealized.

I have The Big Rogowski as my number 1, but no doubt Adam Novotny was by far the best Canuck in the Prospects Showcase with Kraken and he is very much on my radar now.

Maybe a boring choice, but Malhotra seems like the most obvious as he has the most potential of the prospect group.

I don’t see any “stars” in this prospect group yet. Lots of good to great potential secondary guys though.

While I am excited about the growing prospect pool the Canucks are in the early stages of building, I am not convinced that there is a future star amongst them. In my opinion, a star level player possesses some superlative quality that sets him apart from his peers. Malhotra has a nice well-rounded set of skills and Novotny possesses a good shot and some physicality, but neither projects to be a top-10 player at their position in their prime at the current time.

Of all players in the system, Buium probably comes the closest to a star-level player. The best case comparables I have seen for him include Josh Morrissey and Morgan Reilly. Morrissey is currently a borderline top-10 defenceman, whereas Reilly had one really strong season in ‘18-19. This profile is certainly suggestive of a good, and even borderline great player, but does not scream star to me.

I’m hopeful for some lottery luck this year so that we can count a Dupont, Privalov, or Skvortsov as our next star.

I feel like it’s got to be Novotny. He plays the body, has good wheels, has a great shot, and has swagger. Maybe him becoming a “star” is a bit of a stretch, but I could definitely see him developing into a very impactful top-six winger in the NHL.

Novotný.

I understand the need or desire to want a potential star(s) in the prospect pool, but out of curiosity, who would you name as a standout star on the Hurricanes, the SC champs?

I also understand projections but we are, after all, dealing with 18-20 year olds in most cases. The Sedins certainly were front and center on the 2011 Finals team and were certainly very, very high-end players but even they took close to five years to get near or at the PPG level. I’m sure there were plenty of media and fans who thought they were not going to reach the levels they did.

The team needs more high-end talent, no doubt, but I’m not sure we should peg current prospects to certain levels before they’re even out of their teens and played NHL games.

Just keep drafting and drafting and in a couple years, keep your eyes open for a trade like the Canadiens did to get Suzuki from the Golden Knights. The whole plan right now has to be patience and being thorough in prospect assessment, evaluation, and development. Make trades when trades clearly help you heading forward not just for the sake of making trades as a few profess constantly.

Of the most recent draft class, Novotny to me has the highest star potential, however I would not say any have really high star potential.

Buium among all the players is probably the one with the highest star potential.

Adam Novotny, I’ve seen him play in international play and showcase games and he is definitely a step above his peers.

I really like his shot, his playmaking ability, his work without the puck, and he seems to be a play driver.

I think the Canucks were really lucky to draft him at 24th overall, and it will be seen as a draft steal in the future.

I don’t see any stars yet. Some good players, but the future star will be one of next years top three picks.

There is Novotny, who else it could be?

I think it’s too early to predict NHL stardom. I do think Novotney will become a top-six winger. For the others, it’s too early to predict ceilings.

I will have to go with Caleb since he is the highest draft pick and the youngest in his draft class.

Sure he had one truly successful season but I believe he is almost nine months younger than the #2 OA pick. That is almost a full season of developmental head start. If last season was the beginning of his breakout, he could be a star. Going to college is a good step up in competition. We will soon see.

The irrefutable, completely unhinged reason Connor ( Mc ) Davis is the Canucks next megastar:…

It’s basic hockey science. McDavid, Bedard, Hellebuyck…

The universe practically requires anyone named Connor to possess elite hockey abilities…

By pure name-based, nominative determinism, the hockey gods owe Vancouver a Connor to balance out the cosmic scales…

My recency bias screams Novotny. My old-school bias leans towards Rogocop. My optimism bias points to Malhotra. My scarred, beat-up Canucks fan bias is clearly none of them.

Alriksson it is then, solely because of the seemingly now-obsolete nickname of Ricky Bobby.

I’m just going to use my ’81 Delorean and fast forward 12 months and say Landon Dupont.

Sadly a EP40 renaissance is more likely than any of these guys becoming stars. So basically no chance. Our next stars haven’t been drafted yet.

Novotny has the size, speed, skill that it takes to be a star. I still think the son of Manny is going to be a good second line center, I’m not sold on his scoring skill set. Hey, maybe we can reincarnate Jacques Lemaire and model this team after the 95 Devils?

Even if you want to set the bar low, I still ain’t convinced any of them will be a star. It’s way too soon to start counting any chickens here.