Vancouver Canucks: Three NHL prospects if they pick 11 to 20th

The Vancouver Canucks are currently a playoff bubble team. There’s  time to secure a playoff spot, but also time to fall to the basement of the standings. For now, let’s imagine the Canucks were to fall in the 11th to 20th range in the draft. Here are the prospects they should be looking at.

The Vancouver Canucks sit at 23-22-26, good for 52 points, and tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

When teams use their first round pick, many of us can expect them to simply draftthe  best player available. It’s common knowledge that first round picks are more likely to hit than any other round, but at the same time, you don’t want to reach too far and end up grabbing a lesser player due to positional need.

Luckily for the Canucks, the centre depth is solid right now. The emergence of Elias Pettersson and big steps taken by Bo Horvat have been more than we could have asked for this season.

Pettersson has shown immediate potential to be a sure thing a No. 1 centre, and Horvat looks to be the right guy you would want to have centering a second line on a playoff team. So where does that leave the rest of the team?

The goaltending looks nice with the new NHLer Thatcher Demko getting games while backing up Jacob Markstrom. Meanwhile, prospect Michael DiPietro is hanging tight in the wing for now. His time is coming.

Two positions are locked down for now, so let’s get to the other spots.

The wingers and defencemen.

I’m not going to name off the guys we have on the team right now but with young players in the system like Quinn Hughes, Jett Woo, Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich, Tyler Madden and Zack MacEwen, there is something in the pipeline.

Unlike what we have seen in the past with this team. So what should the Canucks target in the 2019 NHL draft? As much as I’d love to see Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko in the blue and green, or black and yellow? Let’s not forget, we will be seeing those sweet flying skate jerseys next year.

It’s likely that the Canucks don’t draft in the top two. We will have to do more research on players outside of the top 10, in regards to whom the difference makers could be for this team.

This exercise is to inform about some players out of the much debated top 10 that could turn out to be something down the road for the Canucks, while at the same time fitting the mold of what they’ll likely be targeting in the draft.

Cam York, left defencemen

5″11′, 172lbs, USDP, Committed to Michigan University

HockeyProspect.com #20

McKeen’s Hockey #12

Corey Pronman of TheAthletic.com (subscription required), not in top 25

Cam York is an American left shot defenceman who has been one of the driving forces on the United States development team this season. York is a two-way defenceman who has the ability to play both on the power play and the penalty kill. York played as a power play partner of Quinn Hughes in the 2017-18 season while playing with the development team for the United States.

He has a good fast stride and can skate backward with a smooth crossover step that is high-end for a defenceman of his age. He possesses a sneaky shot, too.

I wouldn’t say it’s the biggest bomb but it does not lack the ability to find the net, he often was able to get a shot on net from a one time pass on the power play and is also very confident when trying to avoid defenders with the man advantage.

The key for York is his size. At 5-foot-11, you would like to see elite speed to consider him a sure pick in the top 10. York is still one of the new age defenceman that we see being selected often in the first round. His first pass is crisp and strong and for the competition he currently plays against he is adequate defensively.

His biggest strength is likely his movement with the puck, whether that be carrying it up through the zone himself or making the first pass out of the zone he does know how to get the puck into the offensive side of the ice and that would be something Canucks fans would be pleased with.

He was formerly coached by Scott Niedermayer and has some chemistry with Quinn Hughes already, so it seems the Canucks could be very interested in York if the time is right in the draft.

Arthur Kaliyev, winger

6″2′, 190lbs, Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)

HockeyProspects.com Not ranked in Top 31

McKeen’s Hockey #17

Corey Pronman of TheAthletic.com #25

Arthur Kaliyev is a purebred sniper, playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs in the OHL, arguably the best Major Junior league in the CHL.

Kaliyev possesses one of the best shots in the juniors; his one-timer from the right slot is elite, and he can run the bumper position on the power play. Kaliyev is a big and strong winger who can rip it like no other. His ability to find the back of the net from any angle at the junior level is an incredible sight to see, though we all know that not every OHL star can translate their game to the NHL level.

One of his main strengths aside from his shooting is his offensive awareness. He has an amazing ability to move away from defenders and find open ice where he would find soft spots in the defence and score easy tap in goals with his quick release.

The passing ability of Kaliyev is also something to see. His game really shines on the power play unit, where he has 15 goals.

15 of his 36 goals this season have come on the man advantage. Though he does score a lot on the power play, he does still produce at a very high level in five-on-five play as well. He looks like a man amongt boys when getting more open ice, in four-on-four action.

The rankings show that Kaliyev is one of the most controversial players in the 2019 draft, according to Corey Pronman of The Athletic. “I’ve had scouts argue to me that I’m crazy if I don’t have him in my first round, and others say I’m crazy if I do (have him in my first round)”.

Arthur Kaliyev looks like he’s not giving a full effort at times, he can be caught leaving the zone early in certain situations, trying to create an odd man rush or a breakaway for himself. He quietly has been the best draft eligible scorer in Major Junior hockey, even outscoring Brett Leason of the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL. In goals that is, Leason out-points Kaliyev 73-71, but this Raiders team is absolutely stacked.

That’s what brings me to the teammates of Kaliyev, aside from Matthew Strome, there is not real standout players on this Bulldogs team, which results in the being 12th in the OHL with a record of 23-23-4.

Kaliyev had a great rookie season with the Bulldogs last year, when they were competing for a Memorial Cup, he had 30 goals in that rookie year and that was the most by any 16-year-old OHL player since Alex Galchenyuk scored 31 for Sarnia in 2010-11.

Obviously, the Canucks could benefit from Kaliyev in the bumper spot on the power play, and his ability to find open zones in the offensive zone could sneak him into many NHL teams top six. The biggest question is his overall drive, he isn’t super physical when it comes to laying hits. But he does shelter the puck well against big defencemen. Of course, they get a lot bigger when you jump in both the AHL or NHL.

Kaliyev will be one of the most talked about prospects that we’ll hear about once we get closer to the draft. If he can translate his scoring ability to the NHL, he will be a steal if a team grabs him in the second half of the first round.

We could even have a “Why isn’t anybody taking Arthur Kaliyev?” sound bite if he were to fall into the second round.

Who do you like?

York, Newhook and Kaliyev are widely ranked differently by myself and many draft prospect ranking sites. Some of these guys don’t even show up in certain prospect site’s first round boards, either.

Newhook and Kaliyev both show high potential to be top six forwards, thought they are both far away from jumping into an NHL roster (Kaliyev is definitely closer than Newhook). Both of these forwards show an ability to score on the power play, and they and also move the puck from their own zone to the offensive zone. The Canucks needs more players that can do that.

Speaking of moving the puck, Cam York would fit nicely with the Canucks as well. After Quinn Hughes comes out of Michigan, the Canucks would surely love to slide another prospect right into that great NCAA program, while at the same time getting William Lockwood another Canucks property prospect to play with.

Out of these three, I am highest on Newhook. I see him play frequently on the Vancouver Island, and it seems like sometimes he goes full Thanos mode, snaps his fingers and takes over a game. No matter what level you play in, that is a quality that few players have.

I’ll try to put out some more of these articles as we approach the draft. This year’s class is deep in the first round, but it’s going to take the skill of Judd Brackett to find some late round gems.

Question for the comments section: What is your take on some of these players and who do you believe would look best in a Canucks jersey? And seriously, go out at watch the Victoria Grizzlies when they come through your town, you will not regret it.