Vancouver Canucks Prospect Pyramid 2025
All right, it’s Vancouver Conucks time. Welcome back to Scouching’s NHL prospect pipeline series. There’s a really interesting group of players here for Vancouver. They have been in and out of the draft over the last little while, but through it all and drafting around the middle of the first round a lot of the time, I think they’ve done a decent job adding some really intriguing players that should be able to help this team become more relevant over time. At least I hope. There’s nobody really in the franchise or the core tiers for me, but there’s a few really solid options in the depth category. Leading the way, I wanted to say the other Elias Person is in here, and this is not really necessarily because I feel like he’s this massive steel that’s going to be a huge role player for this team, but he did crack the NHL roster here and there this year, and from what I saw, I don’t think he looked that out of place. This is a guy who I could definitely see being a bottom pair sort of minutes eating guy who maybe isn’t the flashiest dude in the world, but he’s pretty big and skates pretty well and keeps things relatively simple and safe and I think is a pretty good example of the type of player that maybe I need to value a little more in the draft. It’s just a matter of as always where you draft these types of players. But Patterson has come along faster than I expected based on what I remember and he has worked his way up into this tier. However, we’ll see where he is if Vancouver becomes a playoff team anytime soon and if he is an everyday player when the team is in that position. But the three other guys here probably shouldn’t surprise anyone. Jonathan Laramaki, Tom Wanderer, and Braden Coots. I’ve knocked Laramaki down a peg. He’s getting a little bit older for the pipeline here and I just haven’t seen the results at the NHL level that really give me any more confidence that there’s a really really really high-end overall NHL player there, but a very very good goal scorer who could be an excellent complimentary scorer in the NHL night in night out as soon as this season. I could very easily see that. There just is a lot of things with guys that score a lot of goals and don’t have a whole lot of assists where as you pay attention you notice maybe why that might be. And I think Laramaki has always been one of those players. But I do think he could be a player in the NHL that does do that, but in a good way. Scores a bunch of goals and maybe is a bit one-dimensional or maybe a little bit limited, but you love having him on the team regardless. Tom Bander is a guy that I’ve also always really liked. I don’t think I would have drafted him as high as Vancouver took him, but a solid middle of the lineup defenseman, he absolutely could be. I’m not sure if it’ll be as soon as this season, but I guess you could say there are some job openings on the defensive group for the Vancouver Conucks this year potentially. I think Wander is a player who I took a lot of flack for my thoughts on Axel Sandy and Pelica in the Detroit video and I go back to the World Juniors this year and all eyes were on Axel Sandy and Pelica and in the offensive zone that’s for good reason. But I think Tom Bander is a really good example of a player that plays off of a player like Axel Sandy Pelica extremely well. He’s not the most offensively daring and confident crazy offensive defenseman that you’ve ever seen, but he does have that skating ability, a skill level to him, a relative ability of getting around the ice, chipping in at both ends that just elevates the abilities of those guys like an Axel Sandine Pelica. And I think at the World Juniors, if you took Tom Bander away from Sandine Pelica, he probably would have played really well. And if you took Sandine Pelica away from Wanderer, I think there’s a little bit of a risk that you might open yourself up to some defensive gaps when your line is out there. But again, they’re both very good players, but I think Wanderer could be a really, really solid everyday NHLer. And I think the same thing about Braden Coots, who they just drafted this past summer. I’ve really, really liked Braden Coots. In all honesty, he was one of the better defensive workhorse centers in this entire draft class. To me, I think this was a draft class filled with guys that may very well turn out to be third line centers. And considering some of these players went fourth, fifth, top 10, to get Braden Coots where they did, who may very well have a similar ceiling, even if he is a little bit smaller than those other players, I think is a great pickup. I think his offense was better than his points might indicate since his team kind of struggled to generate offense. There were some really good creative moments offensively. I thought his under 18 was really good. So, I think this group of four players at the very least should be everyday NHL players for Vancouver. I might be the least optimistic about an Elias Person, but based on what I saw last year, I could easily see it. There’s a lot of interesting players in the maybe category, too. I really loved the pickups of guys like Matthew Lancing, even a Kieran Dervin this year. Sawyer Mo had a really solid season in the WHL, but I still am not sure about everyday NHL output. I liked the Gabe Sherat pickup, all things considered. Maybe not the most incredible player, but based on what I saw postdraft, an interesting pickup to say the least. Tai Young had a very successful year in the East Coast League and net. Alexe Medvidev has always been a goalender this season that I’ve liked watching. I would expect him to play a lot of games for the London Knights this year and we’ll see how that goes. But overall, I’m not totally sure about all of these guys being everyday NHLers. Atu Ratu is in here and I do feel like there definitely is an NHL player there somewhere, but it’s going to really come down to coaching or the system you want to deploy because I feel like he’s just a player that’s too good and too successful in the AHL right now, but still just kind of struggles to find a role in the NHL that really works. But similar to a guy like Person, whenever I saw Ratu play for the Canucks this year, I thought he looked pretty solid. He might not be the top six guy people thought when he was 15 16 years old, but I do still feel like you really don’t want to throw him out with the trash at this point. If he’s a guy that ends up on waiverss, I would probably take a swing on him and see what he can do at the bottom end of a lineup, work his way up because I think there’s some good stuff there and we’ll see how this year goes for him. In the everyone else category, there’s not a whole lot I really want to go over. For my definition of a prospect, Akoskin Vvu is reaching the end of the timeline, but he had a pretty solid year in college hockey last year. I’ve liked Kuril Kudriavv’s output. He cracked the NHL a little bit here and there, but I don’t think he’s a long-term mainstay in the NHL. There’s still maybe some hope for guys like Denilleovic, but I’m not betting on it. I’ve never been a huge fan of him. But he is a capable goal scorer, and he’s doing an okay job in the AHL right now. I do like the guys down at the back end that they’ve got. Bazil Sansinins and Parker Alos are two guys that I’ve always just enjoyed watching. I feel like there may be these guys that have a really solid style of play but just can’t quite hang in the NHL. But they might have a career similar to a guy like an Elias Patterson where they just take little baby steps over and over, but always positive ones and end up depth NHLers. But I think these guys still have a longer way to go than a guy like Person did at this age. But solid players. I’ve always liked watching them, even if they aren’t the flashiest guys around or the highest end potential players. So, the Vancouver Conucks are going to be another one of these teams this year who get a 2A. I think all things considered, top to bottom, there’s just a lot of solid players here. I don’t think there is a lot of really, really high-end potential steals, enormous value picks that they’ve made over the years. But I do think that there is a group of players here somewhere that can round out the roster for the Vancouver Conucks pretty well. They’ve got a couple of interesting goalending prospects and overall considering this is a team that has been a bubble-ish team or a really really good team a couple of years ago, they haven’t drafted super high very often and I think all things considered they’ve come away with about what you could expect for teams with a mid-first round draft pick. Solid middle of the lineup players, maybe some decent swings later on, but this is also a team that hasn’t drafted a whole lot recently. So, we’ll see how it goes for them. But all things considered, interesting group and definitely some interesting ones that might graduate as soon as this year. And with that, we’re going to call it. 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In this episode of the Prospect Pyramid series, Will Scouch takes a look at the Vancouver Canucks’ prospect system. From the top-tier talents pushing toward the NHL to the depth players working to carve out a role, every prospect gets their place on the pyramid.
Will goes tier by tier through Vancouver’s pipeline, giving his thoughts on how the Canucks’ future is shaping up.
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6 comments
Safe to assume Mancini not being listed is because he’s just over age line for your database?
i'd have put Willander up a notch. i think he'll end up a solid No.2 guy like a more athletic Dan Hamhuis in his prime.
crazy raty disrespect
I'm the opposite. I think Willander will be an NHL'er, Lekk is shaky. But Vancouver needs everyone to pan out.
Why is it that you always have bad opinions when it comes to prospects? First it’s completely undermining the Oilers and their goaltending prospects like Connor Ungar and Samuel Jonsson, putting Washington’s prospect pool above Detroit’s, and now SEVERELY underrating Vancouver’s prospects like Elias Pettersson (D-Petey), Tom Willander, Aaty Räty, and Linus Karlsson.
Keep in mind that Vancouver’s AHL Team which has most of their prospects won the Calder Cup where Linus Karlsson and Aaty Räty were going off. Linus Karlsson was over a point per game in the Calder Cup Playoffs which by far makes him ready to jump to the NHL as a full time member. Aaty Räty in the NHL has dominated with 7 goals and 4 assists in 33 games even with the limited amount of minutes he has and is projected to have a career year as at least a 3rd line center. Tom Willander at Boston University had amazing chemistry wi Ty Aidan Celebrini and did incredibly well WITHOUT Axel Sandin-Pellikka being present. D-Petey was completely tearing it up in the NHL making a lot of amazing defensive plays with the amount of minutes he had.
I’m genuinely tired of you giving such bad opinions on prospects where their performance and stats clearly outshine whatever bleak outlook you’re giving them. If you refuse to give proper credit where credit is due with these prospects like you’re doing now, at this point, you’ve by far have lost whatever credibility you have left and frankly should be ignored instead of being called some sort of expert.
Maybe I'm off here but I would put Cootes 1st, Willander 2nd, and then Lekkerimaki and Pettersson on the same level at 3rd. Lekkerimaki's got no forechecking game and in his NHL mintues he was a fish out of water. Maybe this summer he'll put on weight and can still work in the NHL but it feels like he's 2-3 years out now which is just too long a timeline to think he'll be a great player. I would maybe classify him and Raty in the same tier of fringe-NHLers who could carve out a strong role, although Lekkerimaki feels a lot more volatile here.
I think you hit the nail on the head for Willander, a more steady defensive presence who you think is more likely to hit 1,000 NHL games than 500 NHL points. Of any defenseman with a similar amount of hits or puck battles won, all of them are 01s or 02s, Willander is an 05. He plays this older style of hockey that I think could compliment Hughes in the future, especially since it's the modern style of prioritizing great skating habits. I don't trust him to ever run a powerplay or be a steady rush-option but he could be Adam Larsson of the Canucks?
Cootes is a crazy one because his transition game is so strong that even though he "prioritizes" defense, I wonder if there's a future in the NHL where he's more Chytil than Blueger (in Canucks terms 😂). He worked the boards as well as a Carter Bear and was getting as many slot passes as a Cole Reschny. My main gripe is his inabiltiy to get into a high-danger area. Is that a teammate issue? Maybe, but more often than not you see the top-end guys create those great looks in their draft year on their own. We'll see how it goes from here but I like him the best of anyone in Vancouver's system.