2018 is coming to a close and since most leagues are on holiday break, we are replacing the usual Vancouver Canucks prospects of the week with a winter report card. If you haven’t been following closely, here is your chance to see how everybody is doing.
It’s almost Christmas, Vancouver Canucks fans. If that’s not your thing, Festivus is tomorrow. I will air my grievances the day after, so stay tuned for that. However, today we are focusing on what our prospects have been up to since September.
Report cards always signaled that a break was on the way. Good or bad, you knew you were getting time off and that is true for the majority of our prospects. In case you missed it, the Canucks have four prospects at World Junior camps right now. Rosters will be finalized on December 26th, but we do know that Michael DiPietro is confirmed for Team Canada.
It’s safe to assume that Quinn Hughes is a lock for Team USA and I think Tyler Madden has a good chance of sticking (he’s playing exhibition games with projected 2019 first overall pick Jack Hughes). Toni Utunen also has a good chance of staying with Team Finland.
Not every prospect was off this week, so here is a quick recap. Artyom Manukyan scored a goal for the first time in a while. And after returning to TPS Turku, Petrus Palmu picked up two assists in as many games for the club.
The Utica Comets won two games and lost a third. They play their last game today before the holiday break against Binghamton. Thatcher Demko had a win and a loss while finishing the third game when Richard Bachman went down with an injury. Lukas Jasek also had a goal and an assist this week.
The report cards
Players covered today must meet two requirements to be considered prospects. First, they have to be under 24 years old. Second, they have to still be eligible for the NHL’s Calder (i.e. played less than 25 NHL games in one season). That means no Adam Gaudette, Nikita Tryamkin or Elias Pettersson. I know two of them are technically eligible, but they are completing their first NHL seasons right now. They don’t count.
Anybody who started the season injured, like Yan-Pavel Laplante will be excluded as well. Eligible players from Utica need to be signed to a contract with the Canucks. New prospects like Mitch Eliot won’t count either.
The grades will be simple. Nobody will fail. To me, a failing grade is a bust. An “A” means exceeding expectations, “B” is meeting expectations and “C” is not meeting expectations. For some prospects, I’ll have a lot to say. For others, I’ll have little. Prospects will be listed in alphabetical order by last name. Normally, I cover rosters from forwards to defence to in goal. Let’s flip that around. Here is your 2018 Canucks prospect report card.