Vancouver Canucks final top prospect report: Utica Comets Edition

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With the final prospects report of the 2017-18 season, the Utica Comets are the last ones standing. Stay tuned for news on their playoff series and more.

All good things must come to an end. Vancouver Canucks fans had little to celebrate during the NHL season and the gut punch from the draft lottery just added insult to injury. However, one thing kept the spark for the team’s most ardent supporters: the prospects.

And this season had some incredible seasons to follow. Whether we saw Elias Pettersson breaking records, Kole Lind carving up the WHL or Jonathan Dahlén becoming a hero in Timrå, it was a lot of fun.

With any season, it had its ups and downs, but the prospects kept people interested in the team, especially when the Canucks lost their star rookie, Brock Boeser, to injury.

European prospects update

There are a couple notes about World Championship rosters. Elias Pettersson was named to the preliminary roster for Sweden. Anders Nilsson was also named as an aside. The Canucks could potentially have two representatives wearing the Tre Kronor. Unsurprisingly, Pettersson was named SHL rookie and forward of the year.

Rick Dahliwal noted this morning that Finland announced their roster and Olli Juolevi did not make the cut. You can’t be too surprised considering the NHL talent available. I would also remind you that Juolevi did not make the Olympic team earlier in the year either. Regardless, it is disappointing for him as well as Canucks fans.

Jonathan Dahlén was recognized for his remarkable season winning the Allsvenskan awards for best forward and MVP, per Ryan Biech.

Lastly, the Finnish Liiga is announcing finalists for some of their awards. Petrus Palmu is one of the three finalists for Rookie of the year. Congratulations to Petrus for his great season and nomination!

A close series

I have to give it to the Utica Comets. On paper, they had no chance in their series against the Toronto Marlies. Down 2-0 in best of five, it seemed like the end was nigh for the Canucks farm team. However, fortune shone brightly on the Comets.

More from The Canuck Way

When Comets leading scorer Reid Boucher ended his season prematurely with a hand injury in Vancouver, we did not expect him back for the first round of the AHL playoffs. Boucher healed up quickly and joined his team for a potential elimination game.

He opened the scoring in Game three and started an outburst that chased Marlies goaltender, Garret Sparks from his net. Utica took the contest with authority in a 5-2 victory, breathing new life into their own building.

The Marlies could not contain Boucher in Game four, where his two goals led to another 5-2 victory, tying the series. It was incredible. Utica was in a position to upset the best team in the AHL. However, the Marlies would receive some reinforcements of their own in Andreas Johnsson, who individually dismantled the Comets in a heartbreaking 4-0 loss in Game five.

Utica rose to the occasion and almost stole the series, but just came up short. An incredible way to end a season plagued by injuries and a rotating cast of new faces in the lineup. Next year could get very interesting with a few graduated Canucks prospects.

No. 3 – C Cole Cassels (Utica Comets, AHL)

The journey for Cole Cassels has been trying since his days in major junior. Drafted in 2013, the former Oshawa General excited many Canucks fans for his efforts in the 2015 OHL playoffs. He won the Memorial Cup, but people were more excited that Cassels “shut down” Connor McDavid.

A more accurate description is the Oshawa Generals kept the high powered Erie Otters at bay to advance. However, we get unrealistic expectations with the narratives we weave. And boy were those expectations lofty. Cassels had seven points in 67 games in his first season with Utica.

That convinced a good portion of the fandom that they were immediately wrong about what they had thought. It should serve as a reminder to not count your chickens before they hatch. More importantly, it shows how a small sample size can’t be used to determine much of anything.

Cassels is finiding his way in the pros, becoming a more reliable shut down centre for the Comets. This season, he bumped that point total up to 26 points, becoming a regular in the lineup. It doesn’t bode well for an NHL career, but Cassels is an important part of Utica.

Although, he does not usually hit the score sheet, which is why this week was exciting. In that incredible third game of the series, we got the return of Reid Boucher. However Cole Cassels scored twice in that game. With an assist in game four, Cassels finished the playoffs with three points in five games.

No. 2 – LW Nikolay Goldobin (Utica Comets, AHL)

Okay, I should disclose this now. Nikolay Goldobin is technically not a prospect according to my criteria. I view prospects in the lens of being under 25-years-old and yet to play 25 NHL games in a single season. So, both Boucher and Goldobin don’t exactly fit that description.

However, since we are at the end of the season and there aren’t any other prospects to talk about, I’m working with what I have. Besides, how could ignore what Goldobin did during the playoffs? The Russian winger was busy this week, picking up four assists in three games.

When the Comets were officially eliminated, Goldobin tallied six assists in the series. He was effective despite taking a few dirty hits into the boards.

Many players are crowding the left side of Vancouver’s forward group. It does not help Goldobin since he is a similar player to Sven Baertschi and Brendan Leipsic. Playing on the top line would put him in the best possible situation to grow.

This is part of the reason why I want to see Baertschi moved. Goldobin will need waivers for assignment next year and I would rather give him every possible chance instead of losing him. He is at that point where he is caught in between the NHL and AHL. Next season, he can show the progress made over a summer. Maybe, just maybe that turns into opportunity.

No. 1 – G Thatcher Demko (Utica Comets, AHL)

Robbed of the number one spot last week, Thatcher Demko takes the throne this week. And speaking of robberies, Demko committed many of them during this series with the Marlies. The goaltending battle continued to build with intensity, but Demko was far busier.

In that Game three win, the young netminder came up with 35 saves and the first star of the night. Next game, Demko made 40 saves for the win. The pivotal Game five forced Demko to make 34 saves, including this 2-on-0.

Through the conclusion of the series, Demko faced 191 shots. Garret Sparks faced 123 (remember he was pulled in Game three). We could not have asked for any better than Demko. Honestly, he kept the Comets in every single game. It was just too much to face, which should be expected from the league’s best.

Positives for next year

The Canucks still have a long way to go in their rebuild. However, they can be pleased with what they have in goal. Thatcher Demko is a top five AHL goaltender and looked pretty comfortable in his NHL debut. I look forward to training camp to see if he can secure a spot on the roster over Anders Nilsson.

Elias Pettersson and Adam Gaudette could potentially join the starting roster next season. The Utica Comets look poised to receive more prospects for next year, so hopefully the team won’t have to play with the veteran rule as often.

And of course, the prospect pool will grow by six people in June. We will get to see some new faces at this year’s Young Stars tournament and could be in for a few surprises by training camp.

Next: Canucks power play in 2018-19

With that, I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s made the decision to read my ramblings on prospects. Whether you have been here since the transition to this format or recently came across these, I appreciate it. The coverage is certainly more interesting with several high end prospects to talk about. So, here is to being ever hopeful that the Canucks continue to add more of these players to the pipeline!

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