We’re now starting to hear more teams check in with the Vancouver Canucks about some of their players who’ve been made available.

Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal mentioned the Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens as two teams calling the Canucks on Kiefer Sherwood:

“It seems like to me, five-to-seven teams are well-positioned to take a run at Sherwood and give the Canucks what they want, which is a young player as opposed to a futures deal. It wouldn’t surprise me if two teams that are showing more than passing interest in Sherwood are Minnesota and Montreal.”

Don’t worry, we’ll dive into the Canadiens soon. But this is now the second time this week that Dhaliwal has mentioned the Wild as a potential suitor for Sherwood. So let’s dive into some young players the Canucks could go after if they were to swing a deal with the Wild.

Just to remind everybody, this is for a trade surrounding who the Canucks have made available. Those are veteran players, mostly their unrestricted free agents – not Quinn Hughes at this point. So, keep in mind that these are rental prices for teams that are adding players who will help them push toward the playoffs.

With that in mind, the young players/prospects we’re deeming too rich of a price tag in these trade scenarios are: Zeev Buium, Danila Yurov, and Jesper Wallstedt.

Wallstedt has been one of the best goaltenders in the NHL over the last month. Since November 1, Wallstedt leads the league in goals against average (0.98) and save percentage (.977%) and four shutouts through his seven starts. Buium and Yurov are also playing key roles for the Wild. Buium is logging over 18 minutes per night on the blueline and is currently quarterbacking the top power play. Yurov has been filling in as the top-line centre between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, with Marco Rossi out with an injury.

Here are seven young players/prospects the Canucks could look into if they’re making a trade with the Minnesota Wild:

Benák, 18, fell to the fourth round of the 2025 draft for the Wild to select him at 102nd overall. He spent his draft season with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, where he scored 17 goals and 42 assists for 59 points in 56 games. He added three assists in three postseason games with the Phantoms as well.

The Czech has transitioned to the OHL and has popped offensively. Benák has 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points through the first 25 games of the season, playing for the Brantford Bulldogs.

The biggest gripe about the left-shot centre is his size. According to EliteProspects, Benák stands at just 5’8″ tall and weighs 163 lbs. However, at just 18, he still has time to grow. But even if he doesn’t, we’ve seen shorter, offensively-minded forwards fall in the draft and end up far outplaying their draft position. His offensive prowess and playmaking alone make him an intriguing prospect for the Canucks to consider.

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis broke down every team’s top-10 prospects heading into the 2025-26 season. Ellis ranked Benák as the Wild’s 10th-best prospect and provided us with his thoughts on the Wild prospect:

“Benák was one of the biggest high-risk, high-reward players in this draft – and it mostly comes down to his smaller frame. But after taking Kiviharju in 2024, the Wild stuck with talent over (a lack of) size and snagged one of the most skilled playmakers available. The 5-foot-7 forward has the most points in Hlinka Gretzky Cup history and has generally been downright dominant at the junior national team level. And after a slow start in the USHL, Benák bounced back by putting up more than a point per game in the USHL while being more physically engaged, too. Benák played last year in Youngstown but was selected second overall in the CHL Import Draft by Brantford – a team I think he’d excel on, thanks to their wealth of talent.”

Haight, 21, was drafted by the Wild in the second round (47th overall) of the 2022 NHL draft. He spent the following two seasons in the OHL, splitting his time between the Barrie Colts and the Saginaw Spirit. The right-shot centreman scored 46 goals and 81 assists for 127 points in 130 games following his draft, before making the jump to the professional ranks for the 2024-25 season.

The Ontario native spent the entire season with the Wild’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. He scored 20 goals and 14 assists for 34 points in 67 games. And after impressing at training camp, and the Wild dealing with injuries, Haight was recalled before the season opener and made his NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues earlier this season. The 5’10” forward appeared in the following game after that, but after a minus-two rating in less than nine minutes of ice time, Haight was then returned to Iowa.

In 14 games in Iowa, Haight has scored four goals and one assist for five points. And with the Wild currently dealing with injuries down the middle, Haight was recalled to Minnesota just three days ago. However, he did not suit up in Tuesday’s match against the Edmonton Oilers.

“The clear-cut best of the lot is Haight’s puck skills. You’ll often see him use that handling ability in unexpected, creative ways to get around opponents, outmanoeuvring them with deception at points and pure talent in others. An advanced give-and-go game allows him to work past well-positioned defenders, repositioning himself to collect the return pass and continue his approach. And once Haight gets past the first layer of the defence, there’s more than enough shooting and passing skill at his disposal to press his advantage to productive ends.”

Heidt, 20, was selected in the second round (64th overall) of the 2023 draft by the Wild. He spent his draft-plus-one and draft-plus-two seasons in the WHL with the Prince George Cougars. In 126 games over those two seasons, Heidt scored 68 goals and 139 assists for 207 points with the Cougars.

The 5’11” left-shot centre took the jump to the AHL this season, where he has two goals and four assists for six points through 20 games this season. While the points will come for the offensive dynamo, Heidt has emphasized improving other aspects of his game as he hopes to take strides toward becoming an NHL centreman.

“Heidt had another productive season, breaking the 90-point barrier for the third straight year. He wasn’t close to touching the 117 he had in 2023-24, but he still showed how great of a playmaker he is while not sacrificing his need to get pucks on net. Heidt will join Iowa for 2025-26, where he’ll look to keep the offense flowing. Some scouts don’t think he’s rounded enough to excel outside of a scoring role, but his natural ability to make things happen with the puck should give him an opportunity to generate quality opportunities at the next level. This year will be big for his development given he has plenty of other young talent to try and overcome.”

Öhgren, 21, was drafted by the Wild in the first round (19th overall) in the 2022 NHL draft. He racked up 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points in 36 games with the Djugardens IF of the Swedish Division 1 league.

The following season, Öhgren split his time between Farjestads BK Karlstad of the SHL, scoring 12 goals and seven assists for 19 points in 26 games. He then travelled overseas, where he joined the Wild organization. He played in three games for Iowa before joining the big club in Minnesota for the final four games of the season. While he failed to register a point at the AHL level, Öhgren scored his first NHL goal and finished that brief stint with two points in 14:31 minutes of average ice time.

The 6-foot left winger split last season between Iowa and Minnesota, adding another two goals and five points to his NHL tally in 24 games. This season, he’s appeared in 14 of the Wild’s 27 games, but has been held off the scoresheet. Analytically, it hasn’t been the best showing for Öhgren, either. He has a 24.29% expected goals for percentage, a 25.45% scoring chances for percentage, and a 22.22% high-danger scoring chances for percentage.

However, it should be noted that Öhgren has skated mostly in a fourth-line role, averaging 9:18 minutes of ice time. He’s spent the majority of his ice time with Ben Jones and Tyler Pitlick. If acquired by the Canucks, Öhgren would likely get an increased role alongside more offensive players, which could lead him to take the next step at the NHL level.

“Öhgren had a 24-game stint with the Wild last year, putting up a modest five points while playing around 11 minutes a night. It wasn’t much, but I felt like he made the most of it near the end of his time with the club, doing a lot to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Öhgren was great in Iowa, serving as one of the team’s premier offensive leaders despite playing around half the season. I like what he does with the puck, and while he isn’t aggressive, Öhgren seems to make his linemates better with his work ethic and passing ability. I think Öhgren can become a top-six threat for the Wild, and I expect him to get much more ice time this season.”

Ritchie, 19, was selected by the Wild in the second round (45th overall) of the 2024 NHL draft. He spent his draft year playing alongside 2026 consensus number one overall pick, Gavin McKenna, scoring 29 goals and 32 assists for 61 points in 53 games. He has since joined Boston University of the NCAA, where he has four goals and seven assists for 11 points through 15 games.

Ellis ranked Ritchie as the Wild’s seventh-best prospect. Here’s Ellis’ thoughts on Ritchie:

“Ritchie had his best WHL season to date, bouncing back from injury to put up 29 goals and 61 points with Medicine Hat. He won the WHL title after putting up a point-per-game in the playoffs, and was excellent to close out the season during the Memorial Cup – only failing to score in the final game. Ritchie is one of the more prominent CHLers to jet off to the NCAA next year, where he should get plenty of power-play time with Boston University. Ritchie should be in the hunt to make Canada’s World Junior team, too, and you have to imagine they’ll be all over him after watching him put up excellent numbers at various international events in the past. I want to see him get physically stronger at BU, but I like where his game is overall.”

Stramel, 21, was drafted by the Wild in the first round (21st overall) of the 2023 NHL draft.

Typically, we leave Ellis’s comments for the end, but we want to provide an update on his words on Stramel.

Ellis ranked Stramel as the Wild’s eighth-best prospect. Here’s Ellis’ thoughts on Stramel:

“Stramel’s development has been quite fascinating to watch. At 6-foot-3 and more than 220 pounds, he’s got the size teams crave. However, the offense never materialized, and he ultimately left the University of Wisconsin after two years to join Michigan State. Suddenly, he transitioned from a depth player to a key piece of the team’s success, culminating in 27 points during his junior year. I think Stramel is going to be relegated to bottom-six duty in the NHL, but he should be good at it. He’s defensively aware and is a good playmaker, too. I just don’t see too much high-end upside, and I don’t think his senior year will change that.”

Ellis did not believe Stramel’s senior year would change his high-end upside. However, Stramel is having the best offensive season of his NCAA career. The big right-shot centreman has six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 14 games with Michigan State. Those point totals have him second on the team in points and tied for 25th in NCAA scoring. His linemate and the Flyers’ most recent first-round pick, Porter Martone, has just two more points than Stramel.

Stramel has a solid build that can translate to the centre position at the NHL level, and now that we’re seeing a boost in his offence, he might be a perfect match for what Vancouver needs, and could make the jump to the NHL after the NCAA season.

Jiricek, 22, was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets just over one year ago. The Czech defenceman grew frustrated with his drafted team after he struggled to find consistent ice time. However, it hasn’t worked out the way the Wild or Jiricek had planned.

The 6’4″ right-shot defenceman appeared in six games in Minnesota last year, where he scored one goal and two points, but spent the majority of the year in Iowa, where he tallied six assists in 27 games. This season has been a bit of the same. He had a solid opening night, finishing with a plus-three rating in 13:25 minutes of ice time. But saw his ice time decline after his first five games, averaging 11:07 over the following seven games, with a minus-seven rating.

After being held pointless through 12 NHL games, Jiricek was returned to Iowa. In the AHL this season, he has one goal and two points with a minus-six rating. We aren’t terribly high on Jiricek after struggling with now two different franchises. In this author’s opinion, there are better options on the Wild to target than Jiricek.

Ellis ranked Jiricek as the Wild’s second-best prospect. Here’s Ellis’ thoughts on Jiricek:

“The Blue Jackets no longer saw a future for Jiricek in Ohio and shipped him out to Minnesota late in 2024. Unfortunately, an injury in the spring ended his season early, prematurely cutting off perhaps his most difficult campaign to date. He spread his time between four teams in the NHL and AHL and never seemed to find his groove. He didn’t even look that comfortable in the AHL, either. Jiricek has played a ton of pro hockey already at 21 years old, and he has been yo-yo’d a bit too much for my liking. But if he can bounce back fresh and ready to go next year, I still think the Czech-born defender can get the job done.”

All in all, the Wild have some intriguing forward prospects who could help the Canucks address their needs. If they’re looking for a young roster player now, Öhgren would be their best bet. However, if they’re looking at roster construction and what better fits team needs, it might be worth it to set their sights on Stramel and wait for the 6’3″ centreman.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Which one of these prospects would you like to see the Vancouver Canucks target in a potential trade with the Minnesota Wild? Let us know in the comments below!