The second second-round pick the Vancouver Canucks made in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft was Niklas Aaram-Olsen at 41st overall. It was clear from the three picks ahead of him that the Canucks entered this draft with a plan, a mould for the players that they wanted – and Aaram-Olsen is a swing at the upside of that concept.

Standing at 6’1″ and 185 lbs as an 18-year-old, the Norwegian winger has plenty of room to grow both in terms of physique and on-ice performance. But there are clearly high-end tools there with a very solid potential to become an everyday NHLer.

A top-six scoring winger to round out the top of the lineup is something that the Canucks have struggled with acquiring for a good bit. There’s been plenty of experiments with mixed results, with the more recent, more desperate ones being even more of a tire fire than usual.

It’s why Aaram-Olsen’s offensive skillset pops out just that much more. Every scouting report raves about his shot, and the film backs it up. This kid can absolutely rip a puck. It’s not just sheer power, either, despite having a deadly one-timer in his arsenal. Aaram-Olsen has a variety of releases, quick, deceptive angle changes, and always seems to put the puck on net.

Having another young winger in the system with a top-end shot is a no-brainer for this Canucks organization that has been starved of offence. In his draft year campaign, Aaram-Olsen put up 20 goals and 20 assists in 29 games in the U20 Nationell for Örebro HK, which was ever so slightly more than 2022 first-rounder Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s 20 goals, 15 assists in 26 games for Djurgårdens IF’s U20 outfit during the 2021-22 season.

Aaram-Olson is also used to carrying plenty of offensive load on a team. Hailing from relative hockey minnows Norway, he played a key role in helping his country earn promotion to the top division in this year’s U20 Division 1A World Junior Championships. Aaram-Olson tied for the most goals in the tournament with six, leading his country, while sharing Norway’s top point-getter title with 10 tallies to his name, good enough for a joint third in the Championships as well.

There’s added intrigue with his skating, athleticism, and hockey IQ. Aaram-Olsen zips around the rink, flying from end to end, even if the overall consistency at both ends isn’t quite there yet. He shows a willingness to force turnovers and get his teammates involved in plays, and has plenty of agility to get stuck in on the forecheck and backcheck.

One of the biggest knocks, and probably a big reason why Aaram-Olsen fell to the second round, is the concerns surrounding his game outside of that high-end shot. While his speed and agility are good, his motor hasn’t quite caught up to that yet. The Norwegian sometimes settles for long-distance shots, which are probably going in at the junior level but not against men, especially in the NHL.

The difference is pretty stark when looking at his play in the SHL, when Örebro HK has brought him up to play with the big club. While Aaram-Olsen wasn’t getting prime deployment, he didn’t look too convincing in his brief stints in Sweden’s top division. The winger finished with zero points in 16 games in this draft year, compared to the aforementioned Lekkerimäki’s 9 points in 26 contests during his own draft year.

Those concerns with translateability definitely affected his draft stock. Again, Aaram-Olsen isn’t loafing on offence or is a perimeter player in general, with good compete and hustle overall. However, the consistency of his getting to those greasy areas, dominating and cutting to the middle of the ice against men, is something that the winger would need to improve on to truly hit his high ceiling.

Like most second-rounders, Aaram-Olsen is fighting against the odds to become a full-time NHLer. While the offence certainly helps his case, the ideal goal is that he doesn’t become a Daniel Sprong, where there’s only offence with putrid work on his own end. The Norwegian has good tools to ensure it won’t happen, and it definitely already appears to have a stronger work ethic at both ends of the ice – but seeing it translate to the next level will be a big test. Having a solid secondary skill set, separate from the defining exceptional talent, could make the difference between Aaram-Olsen being a career AHLer and carving out a niche in a team’s middle-six.

This is a high-upside swing. If Aaram-Olsen can take that step, finding his full 200-foot game and translating his offence when playing against men, this could be a gem of a pick. The elite shot and scoring ability are there, and coupled with great skating and his frame, the Norwegian could become a fixture in the Canucks top-six at a very appealing timeline for the franchise’s rebuild efforts.

It’s the kind of pick that one would hope for from a second-rounder, a swing at what a prospect could become. Vancouver clearly was looking for size and speed, along with an elite trait that can make a player stand out. What matters now for Aaram-Olsen is everything else beyond that, to make sure he puts those tools together in the right toolbox. Otherwise, he’ll be a classic case of a “too skilled for the bottom-six, not good enough for the top-six” mushy bubble.

His development will be interesting to keep an eye on. Aaram-Olsen is heading to Boston University this fall, crossing the pond to make the jump to North American ice. He joins Canucks’ third-overall selection Caleb Malholtra as a BU Terrier, and the two look to potentially develop some early chemistry already. It’ll be good to see how the Norwegian winger fairs against NCAA competition, especially as he gets his feet under him on the smaller rink. Perhaps it’ll also be the perfect transition point for him to play against older but not quite full-grown men competition in the ECAC, coupled with the dimensions to help him develop more of an interior, middle-heavy game as well.