Vancouver Canucks top prospects of week 16: Pettersson, Lind, Gadjovich
No. 3 – RW Kole Lind (Kelowna Rockets, WHL)
It was a close race between Kole Lind and Jonah Gadjovich for the number two slot this week. Kelowna played last night and I was keeping an eye on Lind while the Canucks were on Hockey Night in Canada.
Simply put, the game was ugly. No, not the Canucks game. The Everett Silvertips took Kelowna to the cleaners with an 8-2 thrashing. Lind was held pointless and snapped his 20-game point streak.
He finished the week with three points in the trio of games. As of writing this, his 72 points are tied for the ninth best total in the Dub. Lind only scored once this week, but it was a beauty:
That right-shot. A perfect one-timer. He’s wearing number 16 and in the “spot”. You could have sworn it was Brock Boeser taking that shot when he was in North Dakota. Well, not quite. Boeser’s shot is unreal, but this is a pretty good impression.
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Lind is more of a playmaker as his 45 assists are in the top 10 of the WHL. The one benefit of an October birthday is the fact that Lind can play in the AHL a lot sooner.
Due to an agreement between the CHL and NHL, players have to turn 20 years old before moving on to the American Hockey League. This is not always the best option for development if a prospect is not ready for the NHL, but too good for major junior.
I think Lind has a good chance of playing for the Comets next season. Based on this incredible post-draft season, there aren’t too many reasons for him to stay in Kelowna. He’s on the right track and hopefully, he can carve out an NHL career some day.