Canucks top prospects of week 17: Gaudette, Brassard, DiPietro

This was a great week for some prospects you have not heard from in a while. We’re shifting over from Europe and focusing on the star performances from the prospects.

A tale of two weeks. In the NHL, the Canucks had a rough road trip end on high note, picking up their lone win in Dallas. The Good Guys put on a clinic for a Dallas team woefully unprepared to face the 28th placed Vancouver Canucks.

In that 6-0 thrashing, we got to see the team spread the offence around. Reid Boucher scored a pair of nice goals, leading to the question why Travis Green took so long to give Boucher a larger role. Jake Virtanen was noticeably motivated, scoring on a breakaway at full speed and picking up an assist. Hell, even Darren Archibald got his first assist of the season.

Our prospects had a great week. Elias Pettersson may not have picked up any points, but I like that a pair of prospects will get some of the spotlight once again. Don’t panic, Canucks fans. Even Pettersson can have the off night every now and then. Jonathan Dahlen, Olli Juolevi and Petrus Palmu were also quiet last week.

There is some bad news from on the prospect front. Once again, Jonah Gadjovich is injured. It happened during a play along the boards. The poor kid can’t catch a break. He’s been hurt twice this season and was sick after winning the World Juniors. Gadjovich’s season has been shortened, but he is showing his effectiveness in the fewer games he’s played.

I can’t stop talking about Kole Lind

I wanted to use this week’s prospect update to discuss other prospects, but Kole Lind is still finding ways to stand out. Before Kelowna’s game last night, Lind only had three points in as many games, so I assumed I would be clear to leave him off the list. I should have learned what happens when we assume.

Turns out I was wrong, as Lind scored two goals, grabbed himself an apple and was named the second star in a 5-4 win over Victoria. However, I want to still highlight the other prospects today, so I’ll give him the good ol’ Honourable Mention treatment.

There was a scary moment where Lind was belted and had to be helped off the ice. He did not return and his night was over.

Fortunately, it doesn’t look like Lind will be out for the long term. I don’t like how the defender left his feet, but it looks Lind never saw it coming. Thankfully, we have an update from Steve Ewen.

With that, let’s start with a goalie that we haven’t talked about in quite some time.