Who Stood Out for the Canucks at the Prospect Showcase?
That’s a wrap! The Canucks prospects finished up their two-game series against the Seattle Krakens prospects, and there is a decent amount to talk about. In a way to keep order, I will be going through each tier I laid out in my last article, going into this series. Before I get into that, let’s go through the games and what happened.
In the first game, the camera was over center ice for most of the first period. Luckily, nothing big was missed as the scoring didn’t start until the second, with Vilmer Alriksson powering his way to the net and firing it past Kokko. It would be quickly followed up by Gabriel Chiarot getting a quick shot past Kokko. They would get one more with Poisson redirecting D Petey’s pass home for a 3-0 lead. They would then let in 5 unanswered and fall in game one 5-3. The Second game would be better for them as Lekkerimaki would pot one to open the scoring. Then it would be Obobaifo with nice patience waiting out the goalie, then roofing it to make it 2-1 after a Kraken goal. They would add one more off the stick of Patterson, and although the Kraken would get one to make it close, they would hold on and win 3-2 in game two.
With a record of one win and one loss, it was the result that both teams were fine with, but not the one they wanted. Now that we’ve recapped the games, let’s get to the players individually and how they did. To start, let’s look at the players whom I saw for the first time.
A lot of players in this group I didn’t see too much of in the games, as they played lower lines, but two players didn’t play, and those are Zach Sandhu and Xander Velliaris.
So I have no notes on them. The players that I had minimal notes on, but did have plays that stood out, were Oreskovic, who had a nice defensive play that turned into offensive pressure for the rest of the shift, which impressed me. Other than Obobaifo’s goal, I didn’t see much from him as I missed most of game two, and he didn’t play in game one. Poisson had a goal in the first game and had a good chance for another, but that’s about it. Chiarot and Dervin were the same, but I was happy with how much I noticed them in game one.
Now, to the Players that impressed me the most in this group, with the only forward being Ben Berard, who not only set up D Petey for his assist, but he also had a great shift in front of the net, adding pressure to the goalie, and he impressed me enough to be excited to see if he plays in Abby. The second last player in the group is Aku Koskenvuo, who, in limited time, impressed me in game two. He was holding on to the lead and made some great saves to keep the Canucks on top. Although he might not play in Abby, he should have a good year in Kalamazoo. Last but not least is the other goalie in Alexei Medvedev. He really impressed me in his game, even in the loss. He was kind of let out to dry and made some good saves, but he needs a bit better rebound control. Overall, his performance was good for a younger player just out of the draft.
The middle group of players consists of the players that I had heard of, so I knew what to expect from them. The first two players in this group are players I didn’t have any notes on and didn’t really notice, and those players are Cooper Walker and Joe Arntsen.
There are two players I noticed in not great ways were Sawyer Mynio, who I thought was weak on the goal that Medvedev made a great save on, as he didn’t get in between his guy and the net. The other player is Jackson Kunz, who, on the 4th Seattle goal, had a couple of chances to get the puck out of the zone but was too weak on each try, and with them holding the zone, they ended up scoring.
These next players impressed me a decent amount, starting with Parker Alcos, who I thought was very impressive in the defensive zone, which, for a player that will try to compete in Abby, should help him get a bottom pair spot there. The next is Josh Bloom, who, other than a pass that I thought was weak, had a really impressive offensive shift in game 1 and showed potential that I hope gets to be shown in Abby. A player whom I would have more notes on if I watched more of game two is Riley Patterson, as I didn’t have any notes on him in the first game, but he looked impressive in the second game, as he had an elevated role and delivered with a goal and an assist, and I’m excited for his year in Niagara this season.
The last player in this group is the guy who I was most impressed with and fully expect him to play in Abby this year, and that is Vilmer Alriksson. He had a great game one and looked good in the limited time I saw in game two. He is a perfect combination of size and skill with the ability to play well defensively. Although he’s not a superstar, he should be able to transition to AHL hockey pretty quickly.
The last group is small, but it is the group that most fans will know of already, as 3 of these players played NHL hockey last year. The first player whom I thought was solid but didn’t have a lot of notes on is Krill Kudryavstev, who should have a good season in Abby this year. The next player only played 2 periods and left with an injury, and that is Braeden Cootes. I liked how solid he looked defensively, and if it weren’t for his injury, he would have had more than an assist.
The next players are the skaters who had the most notes, and we will start with the one who had more negative than positive. That being Jonathan Lekkerimaki had high expectations as he was the forward who was the closest to the NHL out of all of them, and he did not meet expectations in game one, as he was getting beaten up and wasn’t the offensive dynamo we expected. It looked like he got better in game two, and he did pick up a goal, but I expect that he starts in Abby as well, but that's been my expectation before these games.
The second last player should be an easy one, as he looked just as good as he did in the NHL, and should be the only player to make it, and that is Elias Pettersson (defenceman) or D Petey. We knew what to expect with him, and we got it only knock on his game is the bad penalty he took in game two near the end, but that’s it. Can’t wait to see him in Vancouver.
The last player in this group is the most hyped, as he is our top prospect at the moment and was expected to make a big impact in these games, and that is Tom Willander. Although he had mistakes, I didn’t mind his play and thought he looked solid. His skating and speed helped with the transition, and he joined the rush a couple of times, and that was nice to see, but I don’t think that he is NHL-ready, and that was my expectation of him this summer as well. Hopefully, he gets top minutes in Abby and progresses throughout the season, and who knows, he could see NHL time at the end of the season.
In Conclusion, although these games are a chance to see where these young guys are at, but aren’t total evaluations, as it’s just two games, but from what I take from these games are mostly positive. I think the Canucks need a better prospect system, but that is just not realistic, and I think what they have is nice. The top guys stood out, goalies were solid, and the depth wasn’t bad at all. Can’t wait to see where they play and how they do. Hopefully, some get some NHL games in this year. I'll be back for the training camp scrimmage and the preseason games that start the next day. Thanks for reading, sorry this was so long. See you then!!