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.