Vancouver Canucks 2016 NHL Draft Profile: Jacob Moverare

The Vancouver Canucks are preparing for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft — and so are we.

Unfortunately, the 2015-16 season was cut short for the Vancouver Canucks, which means we have a long offseason ahead of us. Canucks GM Jim Benning and his staff will use the time to prepare next season’s roster, and the 2016 NHL Entry Draft will certainly play an important part in that process.

Vancouver started off strong in the fall of 2015 but ended the season with a thud. Thanks to their abysmal 28th rank in the league standings, the Canucks owned seven picks early in each round. That changed after trading the second and fourth-round selections to the Florida Panthers, but who knows what will happen on draft day to get those back. Benning did a great job in his first two years at the job and another successful draft could certainly help boost the rebuild.

Here at The Canuck Way, we will do our best to prepare you for the upcoming event by profiling as many draft-eligible players as we possibly can. Keep in mind that we are not saying these are players the Canucks are targeting. Instead, these are players that we think the Canucks could or should have interest in.

With Vancouver’s third-round pick ever so valuable, we take a look at another option for 64th overall: HV71 defenseman Jacob Moverare.

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Name: Jacob Moverare

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height, weight: 6’2”, 198 lbs

Team/League: HV71 U20, SuperElit

Stats (from eliteprospects.com):

PIM

+/-

4151621223

NHL CSS Ranking: 29th (North American Skaters)

Risk, Reward: 3.5/5, 4/5

NHL-potential: Top-Four Defenseman

Draft Range: Mid-Second to Early Third Round

Scouting report

Swedish defender with good size, footwork, and stick. He doesn’t wow you with high offensive attack skills, but nonetheless is a very smart and responsible defenseman. He is an excellent backward skater with good physical package. A rangy defender who maintains his gaps and seems to make good decisions on when to attack the puck carrier and when to back off. His big stick gets in the passing lane and displays smart body placement in his end. He can take or receive a puck and quick change direction and transition the puck up-ice. He skating motions a bit stiff laterally, but there’s nor denying he can quickly get where he wants. He walks the blue line on the PP attack. Has a strong point shot but it’s accuracy and placement are areas for improvement. Simply doesn’t seem to have the head to help comntribute much as an attacker. A prospect you let develop his feet and attack skills, but looks like a good safe bet for the team that will do just that. (Bill Placzek, Draftsite.com)

Strengths

Jacob Moverare is a two-way defenseman with good size, who plays a smart and effective game. A late 1998-born player, Moverare almost missed eligibility for the 2016 Draft. In regard to his age, it is a little tougher to evaluate him, but it promised big strides in his development over the next years.

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Moverare has great offensive and defensive hockey sense, helping his team at both ends of the ice. He drives the puck up ice and distributes it well, with hard and accurate passes. The same can be said about him when he is in the offensive zone, as he displays great vision and can easily spot developing passing lanes. That does not only help in 5-on-5 play, but also on the man advantage.

But, Moverare can also handle the puck himself, using quick dekes and changes of direction to fool defensemen, buying some time to work with the puck. He makes good decision as to when he will pinch in on the attack or lean back and wait for the play to develop. There is nothing particularly flashy about his offensive game, especially compared to projected first and second-round picks like Samuel Girard, but Moverare is very effective in what he does. If there is one special thing about his offensive abilities, it is his extremely powerful slapshot.

If the puck is turned over in the offensive zone, Moverare is quick on the backcheck and he controls the gap to the attacking player very well. He has an active stick that he uses for accurate pokechecks and to interrupt passing lanes. Moverare is not overly physical, but he uses his 6-foot-2 frame to gain possession and protect the puck once he has it.

Weaknesses

For the longest time, Moverare was criticized for his skating, but it improved mightily over the 2015-16 season. His stride still looks slightly choppy when he skates with the puck, and he might want to continue working on that. Given his age and past development, however, that is something that might go away with time and work over the next couple of years.

Furthermore, Moverare could be a much better player if he played more physical. European teams generally don’t play very physical, but it is usually easy to spot North American players, because they are the ones who finish each and every one of their checks. Moverare needs to continue playing his style, especially playing in Sweden, but he needs to work on his physicality.

While he uses his frame to protect the puck, Moverare does not use it much in any other situation. He profits from a mature frame in board battles, but he does not embrace physicality which can hurt him in the defensive zone. When forwards come at him, he shows good skating speed and gap control, but you seldom see him rubbing opponents off against the boards. He usually opts for the poke.

Final Thoughts

Jacob Moverare is 348 days younger than Auston Matthews. Matthews profited from playing in Switzerland instead of the NHL, but Moverare could fall to the third round instead of being an early second or even first-round pick next year. The reason is that every additional year gives you more insight on a prospect, and players change more in their younger years. Next season in the Swedish Hockey League will be huge for Moverare and, if he keeps up his good development, he could look like more of a first-round pick by the end of it.

For the Vancouver Canucks, the 64th-overall selection will be huge after trading away the second and fourth-round picks. Moverare could end up being a big-time steal, if he develops right. But because of that, he could also be long gone by the time Vancouver is on the clock. Trading up is certainly an option, but that would cost even more valuable picks.

Next: More 2016 NHL Draft Profiles

If Moverare falls to 64, the Canucks are extremely lucky. If not, well, they might still get someone like Andrew Peeke — but, again, only if they are lucky. In my final three-round mock draft, I have Moverare going to the Calgary Flames at 54, while the Canucks end up with Peeke. A good scenario, but it could be better.

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