Vancouver Canucks prospect Tom Willander.

Photo credit: Bob Frid – Imagn Images

An NHL insider is preaching patience with the team’s top defensive prospect Tom Willander as he begins his first season of professional hockey here in North America.

Making the jump to professional hockey is never easy, whether you’re coming from a junior league such as the OHL, QMJHL, WHL or College – NCAA, such as Tom Willander and even thought there might be high expectations and fans wanting to see those players right away, being patient is the smartest thing to do when developing a prospect.

In the case of Tom Willander, he put pen-to-paper on his entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks back in the spring after a bit of a standoff which was reportedly due to a disagreement over bonuses and after a solid showing throughout training camp & preseason, the Swedish blueliner was assigned to the AHL to begin life as a pro in North America.

Vancouver Canucks fans are hoping to see Tom Willander in the National Hockey League at some point this season and while he certainly has the talent needed to play at the highest level, one NHL insider is pumping the brakes on a potential debut anytime soon.

NHL insider preaching patience with team’s top defensive prospect Tom Willander

During a recent appearance on Halford & Brough on Sportsnet 650 radio, National Hockey League insider and co-host of Donnie & Dhali Rick Dhaliwal spoke about a number of topics regarding the Vancouver Canucks including top prospect Tom Willander.

From what he’s seen so far this season, Rick Dhaliwal believes that that Tom Willander’s stint with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks isn’t going to be a short one and that he’s going to need quite a bit of development time down there before he makes an appearance in the NHL with Vancouver.

I think he’s going to need a lot more time in Abbotsford than we think. Dhaliwal said.

Given Vancouver’s defensive situation right now and the depth they have, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as Willander’s path to the National Hockey League, at least this season, is blocked.

If the Canucks are able to keep him in the American Hockey League for an entire season, allowing him to season and refine his game without the need to come up and be an injury replacement, that would be the best case scenario for both the player and the club.

Next summer, Derek Forbort is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent and he could be joined by Pierre-Olivier Joseph, if he’s not issued a qualifying offer by the club, leaving potentially two spots on the 2026-27 opening night roster, one of which will almost surely be Tom Willander’s, if he is able to perform well on both sides of the puck this season in Abbotsford.

Previously on Canucks Daily

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