Rank Canucks' prospects

[MS]

It's been 7 games. That's not a year i don't think. I'll wait and judge what he did this year, at the end of the year. Longshot prospect anyhow, but 7 games doesn't erase everything else he's done to this point in his career.

If he was 21, sure, but he’s 25 before the season is out. If he’s a prospect he needs to dominate *now*.

 

[Blue and Green]

If he was 21, sure, but he’s 25 before the season is out. If he’s a prospect he needs to dominate *now*.

Weird start for Tolopilo:

Games 1-3: Strong
Game 4: Mediocre
Game 5: Very Bad (worst that I've ever seen him play)
Game 6: Bad
Game 7: Mediocre

He came out of the gate well, and then suddenly a four-game stretch that was clearly worse than any four-game stretch from all of last season. I have no idea what happened.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

If he was 21, sure, but he’s 25 before the season is out. If he’s a prospect he needs to dominate *now*.

He's a goalie. I hear they're voodoo. Jacob Markstrom was on nhl waivers at 25, and a vezina candidate at 29. You are right that if the rest of this year goes like the last month or so his NA adventure is probably over.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

So that's four draft picks flushed out the door for two months of Zadorov and Lindholm. Thus in the 2024 entry draft the Canucks were without a first, a second (previously traded); a fourth and a fifth. It's fair to speculate how many of those picks might have eventually have shown up on the list of 'top Canuck prospects'.

Not really.

The only pick of real consequence is our 1st. The rest are a collection of darts on a blackboard. Outside the first round, very few picks ever produce impact players, especially 3rd round and below. Of course, it happens. Practically every team has a diamond in the rough, so to speak. But you can't be afraid to make moves based on hope and pray you'll find said diamond.

Another factor to is we had no way of knowing Demko would go down after one game and we'd lose Boeser for game 7. That pretty heavily impacted what could have likely been a longer playoff run.

 

[ChilliBilly]

Not really.

The only pick of real consequence is our 1st. The rest are a collection of darts on a blackboard. Outside the first round, very few picks ever produce impact players, especially 3rd round and below. Of course, it happens. Practically every team has a diamond in the rough, so to speak. But you can't be afraid to make moves based on hope and pray you'll find said diamond.

Another factor to is we had no way of knowing Demko would go down after one game and we'd lose Boeser for game 7. That pretty heavily impacted what could have likely been a longer playoff run.

I see it the opposite way. You only find diamonds in the rough if you have enough "rough" to look for them in. In other words, you need to have a decent collection of picks to have some pan out. Our 1st round picks have been a real mish-mash since Gillis. Wins - Horvat, Hughes, Pettersson, Boesser. Bad - Virtanen, Juolevi. Meh - Podkolzin (pretty disappointing). Looking promising - Willander and Lekkerimaki. 2020 draft - garnered JTM. 2021 draft- perhaps Jimbo's biggest blunder - a 1st 2nd and 3rd to acquire a player that will be costing us for another 3 years just to dump some contracts that would be expiring in a year.

Anyhow, we were contender for the first time in a decade last year. Not enough track history to justify going all in, IMHO.

 

[VanJack]

Giving Allvin the benefit of the doubt, they traded just about every pick they had from rounds 1-4 in the 2024 entry draft.

That tells me they might not have been too enamored with the entire draft, once you got past the top-10 players or so. And the players they did pick like Fernstrom, Romani and Pattersson might have been 'flyers; who fell because they had inconsistent seasons or were in their second year of draft eligibility.

So upon reflection, I suppose that in some years, sacrificing picks at the TDL can be justified based on the strength and depth of the entry draft. For the Canucks sake, I hope 2024 was one of those drafts.

 

[Blue and Green]

Canucks Army is going to rank their top 20 prospects over the next couple of weeks so I'll update mine from November and see how it compares. Their criteria are slightly more restrictive: 24 or under instead of 25 or under, and 25-game limit vs 50 (goalies 30) in mine. Karlsson (who I forgot to include in my first list), Raty, Sasson and Silovs are ineligible for their rankings.

(Parentheses) indicates my November ranking if there's been a change.

1. Willander
2. Lekkerimaki
3. Pettersson (4)
4. Mynio (3)
-----------------
5. Kudryavtsev (6)
6. Raty (5)
-------------------- Outside of maybe Mancini, it really drops off here
7. Mancini (NR)
8. Mueller (18)
9. Silovs (8)
10. Sasson (16)
11. Bains (9)
12. Young
13. Klimovich (10)
14. Alriksson (11)
15. Pattersson (13)
16. McWard (15)
17. Karlsson (NR)
------------------
18 Tolopilo (19)
19 Woo (NR)
20 Koskenvuo (17)

 

[sting101]

Lekkerimaki
Willander
Pettersson

Raty
Mynio
Kudryavtsev
Mancini
Alriksson
Bains
Sasson

Silovs
Patterson
McWard
Mueller
Karlsson

 

[Knight53]

1. Tom Willander
2. Jonathan Lekkerimaki
3. Elias Pettersson
4. Sawyer Mynio
5. Kirill Kudryatsev
6. Arturs Silovs
7. Aatu Raty
8. Victor Mancini
9. Ty Mueller
10. Ty Young
11. Vilmer Alriksson
12. Max Sasson
13. Riley Patterson
14. Danila Klimovich
15. Parker Alcos

 

[Lindgren]

Canucks Army is going to rank their top 20 prospects over the next couple of weeks so I'll update mine from November and see how it compares. Their criteria are slightly more restrictive: 24 or under instead of 25 or under, and 25-game limit vs 50 (goalies 30) in mine. Karlsson (who I forgot to include in my first list), Raty, Sasson and Silovs are ineligible for their rankings.

(Parentheses) indicates my November ranking if there's been a change.

1. Willander
2. Lekkerimaki
3. Pettersson (4)
4. Mynio (3)
-----------------
5. Kudryavtsev (6)
6. Raty (5)
-------------------- Outside of maybe Mancini, it really drops off here
7. Mancini (NR)
8. Mueller (18)
9. Silovs (8)
10. Sasson (16)
11. Bains (9)
12. Young
13. Klimovich (10)
14. Alriksson (11)
15. Pattersson (13)
16. McWard (15)
17. Karlsson (NR)
------------------
18 Tolopilo (19)
19 Woo (NR)
20 Koskenvuo (17)

That drop-off really is steep.

I'm hoping that we see Mancini in each of the five games Abby plays over the Four Nations break—it'll give us something to go by. Maybe he rises to 4th, maybe he drops ... out of sight.

 

[Nuckles]

This might be controversial, but I'd rank Junior Petey above Lekkerimaki right now.

He looks like a legit NHL defenseman at age 20 (soon to be 21) albeit with very limited ice time. I'd be very surprised if he's not in the lineup to start next season.
EP2 has serious top 4 potential, and even if he doesn't reach it he can still make it as a well-rounded bottom pairing guy.

I can't say the same regarding Lekkerimaki. I've had questions about him transitioning his game to the NHL level, and his two short stints in the show didn't leave me feeling any more confident in him doing so.
He seems like a top 6 or bust kind of forward prospect, and I don't know if he'll get that kind of opportunity with this team/coaching staff. Lekk really needs to step his game up in these next 7 months if he doesn't get traded.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Willander, D-Petey, and Lekkerimaki are top 30 prospects in the game, with 2 of them being in the top 15.

For a team that hasn’t really had a ton of draft pIcks and has traded 1st rounders, that’s prettt damn f***ing good. And 3 real good B prospects (Raty, Kudryavtsev, Mynio).

 

[Josepho]

1) EP2 -- Willander has had a pretty pedestrian year relative to expectations, and EP2 has an interesting combination of frame, mobility, puck skills, and a mean streak.
2) Willander
3) Lekkerimaki

absolutely enormous gap

4) Mancini -- Seems like there's more upside than any of the guys below him, but idk how likely he is to hit it.
5) Mynio
6) Raty
7) Kudryavtsev

another gap

8) Mueller
9) Sasson

anyone beyond here is a serious longshot and idk who to put at 10, maybe bains.

 

[Hodgy]

Canucks Army is going to rank their top 20 prospects over the next couple of weeks so I'll update mine from November and see how it compares. Their criteria are slightly more restrictive: 24 or under instead of 25 or under, and 25-game limit vs 50 (goalies 30) in mine. Karlsson (who I forgot to include in my first list), Raty, Sasson and Silovs are ineligible for their rankings.

(Parentheses) indicates my November ranking if there's been a change.

1. Willander
2. Lekkerimaki
3. Pettersson (4)
4. Mynio (3)
-----------------
5. Kudryavtsev (6)
6. Raty (5)
-------------------- Outside of maybe Mancini, it really drops off here
7. Mancini (NR)
8. Mueller (18)
9. Silovs (8)
10. Sasson (16)
11. Bains (9)
12. Young
13. Klimovich (10)
14. Alriksson (11)
15. Pattersson (13)
16. McWard (15)
17. Karlsson (NR)
------------------
18 Tolopilo (19)
19 Woo (NR)
20 Koskenvuo (17)

This is a really good list from my perspective. The only minor comment I have is that I would have Romani at 11. I think he has a decent anoint pod potential but needs some time to get back up to speed after his injury.

This might be controversial, but I'd rank Junior Petey above Lekkerimaki right now.

He looks like a legit NHL defenseman at age 20 (soon to be 21) albeit with very limited ice time. I'd be very surprised if he's not in the lineup to start next season.
EP2 has serious top 4 potential, and even if he doesn't reach it he can still make it as a well-rounded bottom pairing guy.

I can't say the same regarding Lekkerimaki. I've had questions about him transitioning his game to the NHL level, and his two short stints in the show didn't leave me feeling any more confident in him doing so.
He seems like a top 6 or bust kind of forward prospect, and I don't know if he'll get that kind of opportunity with this team/coaching staff. Lekk really needs to step his game up in these next 7 months if he doesn't get traded.

This is a classic higher potential /ceiling player vs. lower potential / ceiling player with the former being more likely to bust. With that said, I think EPII recent stint proved he has a higher potential than many thought and is also even less likely to bust, so I can see someone picking him over Lekkerimaki.

 

[credulous]

1. elias nils pettersson

i had a lot of doubts about this player but his compete is a real difference maker. i dunno he has the physical attributes to be a real top four defender but his size and his tenacity will probably mean he always has a place in an nhl lineup. his puck movement has been better than advertised to and if he can keep developing that part of his game he could be a very good player. has less upside than some of the players below him on this list but more certainty

2. jonathan lekkerimaki

great shot but lacking in all other aspects of his game. i think his shot is good enough he could be at the very least a power play weapon who takes sheltered shifts at 5v5 but you'd hope he figures out a way to make time and space for himself and earns a place as a top six winger

3. tom willander

love his skating but really dislike his lack of intensity and his predilection to lay back from the play and rely on his stick and his positioning rather than forcing plays. he can look decent in transition and make a nice pass or take a quality shot at times but he often looks like a passenger when his team has possession standing back and watching the play rather than finding ways to get involved. i think his coaching has been bad at bu so there's some hope that he'll look a lot better once he turns pro. he certainly has the makeup for it

4. kiril kudryavtsev

his size might sink his hopes but he has every other attribute needed to be a good nhl defender. on the plus side he does play bigger than his 5'11 would indicate and i think if he's given a real shot by a team could carve out a nice career

5. sawyer mynio

intriguing package of skills with decent size and skating. has shown flashes of being a real prospect at times. i'd rank him higher but he needs to show he can play against good competition first

6. ty mueller

never gonna be a top of the lineup guy because of his physical limitations but his attention to detail, his compete and his work ethic mean i think he'll find a place as a very good 4th liner or a decent 3rd liner eventually

7-12. max sasson, aatu raty, arshdeep bains, cole mcward, linus karlsson

all these guys might play nhl games but i don't think any of them will ever rise above nhl depth. they've all had a shot and they're all pretty much finished products

there's some other guys who should probably be ranked (romani, patterson, mancini) but i don't have any kind of handle on what they are yet

i don't rank goalies. no slight to any of them i just have no idea how to predict which goalies will make it and which won't

 

[WTG]

I am not knocking Mynio because I haven't really got a chance to look at him aside from the pre-season and some WJC games. But what has he really done to be ranked that much better than Kudryavtsev? From what I've seen in the AHL is that Kudryavtsev isn't that far off Pettersson right now. He's a better puck mover than Pettersson at the same age.

Is it the size? I think that the 5'11" listed isn't his "NHL size" it's probably 6'0" which isn't undersized. His pre-season was the best out of all the young defenseman. Is it the fact he's a 7th round pick? I'll try and catch some hitman games soon and check it out. But despite being a huge riser this season, Kudryavtsev is still being underrated IMO.

Also, Mancini is rated to be a really good prospect that has already played in the NHL is a solid B-prospect at this point. I haven't gotten the chance to take a look at him (I will tonight if he plays finally) but I suspect that he's not some throw-in in a trade.

 

[Jyrki21]

This might be controversial, but I'd rank Junior Petey above Lekkerimaki right now.

He looks like a legit NHL defenseman at age 20 (soon to be 21) albeit with very limited ice time. I'd be very surprised if he's not in the lineup to start next season.
EP2 has serious top 4 potential, and even if he doesn't reach it he can still make it as a well-rounded bottom pairing guy.

I can't say the same regarding Lekkerimaki. I've had questions about him transitioning his game to the NHL level, and his two short stints in the show didn't leave me feeling any more confident in him doing so.
He seems like a top 6 or bust kind of forward prospect, and I don't know if he'll get that kind of opportunity with this team/coaching staff. Lekk really needs to step his game up in these next 7 months if he doesn't get traded.

Yep, based on position and combined with proof of concept -- in a small sample size, yes, but his competence has been mind-blowing -- it's hard to argue otherwise. Until Willander is seen at the NHL level, there is good reason to rank D-Petey over him, too, just because there is a degree more certainty.

 

[MS]

This might be controversial, but I'd rank Junior Petey above Lekkerimaki right now.

He looks like a legit NHL defenseman at age 20 (soon to be 21) albeit with very limited ice time. I'd be very surprised if he's not in the lineup to start next season.
EP2 has serious top 4 potential, and even if he doesn't reach it he can still make it as a well-rounded bottom pairing guy.

I can't say the same regarding Lekkerimaki. I've had questions about him transitioning his game to the NHL level, and his two short stints in the show didn't leave me feeling any more confident in him doing so.
He seems like a top 6 or bust kind of forward prospect, and I don't know if he'll get that kind of opportunity with this team/coaching staff. Lekk really needs to step his game up in these next 7 months if he doesn't get traded.

I posted a list in the prospects thread a few days ago and I agree completely.

Lekkerimaki and EP2 are the same age. Both have seen NHL action this season. And at the position that generally takes players longer to adjust at (which is also the higher-value positon), EP2 is *clearly* ahead of Lekkerimaki in terms of ability to play in the NHL right now. And when it comes to upside, if EP2 projects as a #2-3 two-way D and Lekkerimaki projects as a 30-goal winger, to me the defender has more value/upside.

I almost rated EP2 ahead of Willander, as some others have done here. What he's done is really, really impressive.

1. Tom Willander
2. Elias Pettersson
3. Jonathan Lekkerimaki
4. Sawyer Mynio
5. Aatu Raty
6. Victor Mancini
7. Kirill Kudryatsev
8. Max Sasson
9. Arturs Silovs
10. Ty Mueller
11. Linus Karlsson
12. Arshdeep Bains
13. Vilmer Alriksson
14. Riley Patterson
15. Aku Koskenvuo

I forgot about Young, and I'd probably have him ahead of Koskenvuo, actually.

 

[Blue and Green]

I am not knocking Mynio because I haven't really got a chance to look at him aside from the pre-season and some WJC games. But what has he really done to be ranked that much better than Kudryavtsev? From what I've seen in the AHL is that Kudryavtsev isn't that far off Pettersson right now. He's a better puck mover than Pettersson at the same age.

Is it the size? I think that the 5'11" listed isn't his "NHL size" it's probably 6'0" which isn't undersized. His pre-season was the best out of all the young defenseman. Is it the fact he's a 7th round pick? I'll try and catch some hitman games soon and check it out. But despite being a huge riser this season, Kudryavtsev is still being underrated IMO.

Also, Mancini is rated to be a really good prospect that has already played in the NHL is a solid B-prospect at this point. I haven't gotten the chance to take a look at him (I will tonight if he plays finally) but I suspect that he's not some throw-in in a trade.

I think that Mynio's a little better 19YO than Kudryavtsev was. They're both very smart defensively, compete well and can move the puck. Mynio is thinner than Kudryavtsev but has more reach; similar agility with more straight-line speed. More velocity on his shot. Gap isn't huge but I definitely rate Mynio above; just see more upside potential. My opinion of him might be slightly higher compared to most observers but that's fine.

My top six from November are the same top six group now (and the original #7 got traded), just a few moved up/down one spot-- so at this point I'm reasonably satisfied with my original prognostications, happy that Pettersson has upped his stock a little, and we'll see what happens from here. Mostly I'm just pleased that there are six young guys, possibly seven (I don't know much yet about Mancini) with legitimate chances to be something other than replacement level or very near to it. Been a long time.

 

[Chaos Giraffe]

I think people who have Raty below #4 have him way too low. IMO the following can be in whatever order you want, but Raty follows right after them:

Willander
D-Petey
Lekkerimaki

He's 22 and already a point per game in the AHL. You can't possibly have guys like Mueller (same age as Raty, at barely over 0.5 ppg) above him.

Silovs has been complete ass this season and is barely AHL material. And aside from his heroic playoff performance (which was still sub .900) last season, his AHL season was really subpar.

 

[Blue and Green]

I think people who have Raty below #4 have him way too low. IMO the following can be in whatever order you want, but Raty follows right after them:

Willander
D-Petey
Lekkerimaki

He's 22 and already a point per game in the AHL. You can't possibly have guys like Mueller (same age as Raty, at barely over 0.5 ppg) above him.

Silovs has been complete ass this season and is barely AHL material. And aside from his heroic playoff performance (which was still sub .900) last season, his AHL season was really subpar.

Like plenty of things about Raty but straight-line skating is a real issue. He also needs to firm up his defensive work to be a centre in the NHL. Over the likes of Mueller, Silovs, etc., definitely, but I'm fine with putting him at #6.

This is a really good list from my perspective. The only minor comment I have is that I would have Romani at 11. I think he has a decent anoint pod potential but needs some time to get back up to speed after his injury.

I had Romani near the bottom of my November list. Not a guy that I've watched so by no means an expert on him. My reasoning is this: he was undrafted in his first year of eligibility, put up 111 points the following season and still was only drafted in the sixth round, and is struggling through injuries and below-expected performance this season. Will he get an ELC? Maybe, given that there isn't a ton of upcoming competition for contract slots, but just as easily maybe not. Could've kept him in the bottom three; any of the guys at the very bottom of the list are big longshots in my opinion, didn't give it a ton of thought.

 

[VanJack]

This might be controversial, but I'd rank Junior Petey above Lekkerimaki right now.

He looks like a legit NHL defenseman at age 20 (soon to be 21) albeit with very limited ice time. I'd be very surprised if he's not in the lineup to start next season.
EP2 has serious top 4 potential, and even if he doesn't reach it he can still make it as a well-rounded bottom pairing guy.

I can't say the same regarding Lekkerimaki. I've had questions about him transitioning his game to the NHL level, and his two short stints in the show didn't leave me feeling any more confident in him doing so.
He seems like a top 6 or bust kind of forward prospect, and I don't know if he'll get that kind of opportunity with this team/coaching staff. Lekk really needs to step his game up in these next 7 months if he doesn't get traded.

Have to agree with D-Petey. He's only 21 and has 'arrived' as an NHL d-man. I don't know how you take him out of the lineup right now?

Until Lekkerimaki sticks in the NHL; or Wilander comes in and actually plays NHL games, then Elias Pettersson II should be no worse than third overall right now, and might even be challenging for top spot if he continues to be lights out for the Canucks down the stretch.

 

[Ernie]

1. Lekkerimaki
What he's doing is special - he's at a 50 goal pace in the AHL and that's not luck driven, he's putting up almost 4 shots per game. As a point of reference, no player has scored 50 goals in the AHL in any season in the last decade. That's because players of Lekkerimaki's skill level are rarely playing in the AHL. He may have a lot to learn at the NHL level still but he didn't look like a 1 dimensional player who will need to be sheltered. His pure shooting ability may be the best the team has had since Markus Naslund. It will be a surprise if he isn't in the top 6 to start next season and a staple on PP1.

2. Pettersson
He's been very sheltered in his NHL minutes so far, but he's crushing them. Something will have gone very wrong for him to not be on the NHL roster next season. It's incredibly hard to find a player that combines a physical edge with this level of skating and puck moving skills. He'll start off on the bottom pairing but looks very ready to contribute.

3. Willander
He seems sure to be an impact player, but players can struggle when moving between levels. Will his puckhandling translate to a faster NHL game? I ranked him below EP25 because I feel Pettersson has shown more at the pro level and there may be some growing pains with Willander.

4. Kudratysev
Lots of NHL projectable skills but I don't see anything that suggests that he'll be an impact player. Lot of time to improve though.

5. Raty
His waiver exemption will expire soon and he's yet to solidify himself as a roster player. He's a smart player who won't hurt you but doesn't have much of an identity. He's shown himself to have limited offensive skills at the NHL level and doesn't bring speed or physicality to the bottom six. He may carve himself out a role as a Manny Malhotra type but it's nearing make or break time for him.

6. Mynio
He's been popular in this forum since his WJC selection but he's got a long ways to go to become an NHL player. He's 20 and will need several AHL seasons before he'd be ready for the NHL. Does the team have the patience for that right now?

7. Silovs
He's the kind of player who could be an average NHL goalie but might get hot and win a cup along the way. I think it's hard to place goalies in prospect lists because their path to the NHL is usually convoluted. He has that rare ability to elevate his game when the pressure is on, but has a long ways to go before you could consider giving him the keys to the kingdom.

Everyone else: not worth thinking too much about. They're just kind of around. Lots of people have Mancini on their lists but he's 22 and not close to being able to hold down an NHL shift. Would love to see what his skillset looks like on the wing.