The future for the Vancouver Canucks looks good. It looks even better in playoff style.
With the Vancouver Canucks dropping out of the NHL playoffs, it is time to turn the gaze to the prospects. Canucks prospects from all over the leagues are getting primed for the playoffs while a couple of players have already begun their postseason play.
Last year’s group of prospects presented an awesome postseason play, headlined by the AHL’s Utica Comets making the Calder Cup finals. Cole Cassels had flashes of magnificence when his Oshawa Generals shut down the Erie Otters and star then-prospect Connor McDavid. Look where they ended up! Cassels has gotten nowhere with his development.
Jared McCann made some noise, recording 16 points in 14 playoff games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Meanwhile, Ben Hutton was flying low under the radar in the NCAA. Looking for NCAA hockey playoff stats is… quite the task.
This year’s prospects play seems to be making up for the lack of decent Canucks hockey. Vancouver also seems to have taken all the injuries, too. Why not? The future is bright.
European play
The European prospects have finished their respective seasons. Philip Larsen‘s team, the Jokerit Helsinki was eliminated from the playoffs in four games, in which Larsen recorded a goal and three assists. Newest Canuck Nikita Tryamkin’s Yekaterinburg Automobilist team was also eliminated in six games. Tryamkin had just one assist in the series.
Anton Rodin, who won this year’s Swedish Hockey League MVP honours, has not played a single game in the playoffs as he is currently battling a lower-body injury.
And with that, let’s look at the prospects that are still in action! From the NCAA to the QMJHL, here we go on this new edition of Canucks Prospects Playoffs Watch!
Next: The NCAA