I was reading a
Minnesota Wild blog post about players that they could’ve drafted instead of Flip Johansson and one of the players mentioned was Jett Woo. The author cited this bold analysis from Hockey Prospecting:
Jett Woo (37th overall, Vancouver Canucks) is a Judd Brackett pick who struggled in the AHL these past two seasons, perhaps partially due to COVID-19’s impact. Still, Hockey Prospecting pinpoints his development curve as being similar to offensive defensemen like Alex Pietrangelo, Jakob Chychrun, and his No.1 comparable, Adam Fox. Even if that overstates his potential, that’s more than Minnesota has right now.
That is counterintuitive to my understanding of Woo’s NHL potential. My impression was that he was close to being a bust—and definitely not being on the same curve as some of the best defensemen in recent years... I’m not sure I ever heard such lofty appraisals of his potential going back to his draft. Not even from notoriously optimistic Canucks fans.
Does anyone know what Hockey Prospecting is going about here? Has anyone seen the analysis they are referring to that would lead to them “pinpointing” such a development curve?
His potential was never that high, but
he rose heavily in his D+1 year when he put up over a point per game playing alongside fellow top-prospect Josh Brook. He took a step back again in his D+2 year, though he was
traded to the Hitmen and wasn't playing with anywhere close to the same quality of players before the season was shut down due to COVID.
In the AHL, people were expecting more offense, but he hasn't been bad.
He's a late birthday so he's still technically only 21.
The Utica Comets/Abbotsford Canucks had Jack Rathbone playing ahead of him for 1PP, but they looked good together when paired. I don't think they played as much together in the second season, but Jack Rathbone has been the top defenseman prospect in Abbotsford since arriving. Woo had long-term injuries holding him back from playing a full season in each AHL season so far. The Canucks want to see what he can do with a full season and big-minute deployment before they make any hasty proclamations about his long-term potential.
I peg Woo's development curve (and playing style) closer to a Kevin Bieksa, if we had to compare him with a fellow Canuck. I expect his career and peak will look like that if he makes the NHL. Jett Woo is an all-around defenseman who will probably see a lot of his powerplay minutes come on the second unit. His career seasons will be when someone like Quinn Hughes (or whichever defensemen is playing the 1PP) is injured for an extended period.
edit: clarity
