Canucks prospects of week 10: Madden, Woo and Gadjovich

Each week, I will be featuring the Vancouver Canucks top three prospects. Here’s a look at who stood out in week 10.

The depth of the Vancouver Canucks prospect pool was especially evident this past week. There were numerous outstanding accomplishments worth mentioning.

Many of those performances would ordinarily be sufficient to make it into the top three, but this week will have to settle for many honourable mentions. Canucks fans should be very encouraged by the progress of these young men.

1. Tyler Madden

For the second straight week, Tyler Madden has turned in stellar performances. He is quickly becoming what appears to be an absolute draft day steal. Madden, selected in the third round of the 2018 NHL draft with the 68th overall pick, has a multi-dimensional game. Madden has always displayed the defensively responsible aspect of his game; however, of late, it is the offensive flair that is taking center stage.

This past weekend that offensive prowess helped the Northeastern Huskies to a pair of victories over their Hockey East conference rivals the Maine Black Bears.

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In the Friday contest, Madden would open the scoring just over a minute into the game with his ninth goal of the season.

On the goal, he would take a pass from fellow Canucks prospect Aidan McDonough, cross the blueline and work a give-and-go with linemate Grant Jozefek and then out-maneuver the goaltender to slide it in the open side.

Madden would add his second goal of the evening a few minutes later, working another give-and-go, this time with McDonough, to put the Huskies up 2-0. He would complete the hat-trick by snapping home a shot from the slot midway through the second period.

Early in the third period, he would add an assist for a four-point game, sending the Huskies on to a 5-2 victory.

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In the Saturday contest, Madden provided the secondary assist on the game’s opening goal. The Huskies would once again prevail, downing the Black Bears 3-2 for the weekend sweep. As a result of his three-goal weekend performance, Madden climbed into a tie for the NCAA goal-scoring lead with 11, which is one shy of his freshman total of 12 goals.

2. Jett Woo

It was a busy week for the Calgary Hitmen, which saw them take seven of a possible eight points in their four games. Canucks prospect Jett Woo factored in the scoring in each of those contests. In the first of those contests, he would provide the primary assist on a third-period goal, which would tie the game 2-2. Unfortunately, the Hitmen would drop the affair 5-4 in overtime to the defending WHL League champion Prince Albert Raiders.

In the next match, Woo would score the game-tying goal in the second period, and the Hitmen would prevail with a 4-2 decision over the Regina Pats. The Friday night game saw Woo providing the primary assist on the third-period game-tying goal. A game in which the Hitmen would come out on top with a 4-3 overtime triumph versus the Brandon Wheat Kings, thanks to fellow Canucks prospect Carson Focht who provided the heroics.

The final contest of the week was a milestone game for Woo, the 200th game of his WHL career. It also marked the return to Moose Jaw, where he played 178 of those games. Woo began the night by adding the primary assist on the game’s first goal. He would end the night by getting behind the Warriors defence and potting his third goal of the season to make it a 4-1 game, and thus ensuring a Hitmen victory by that same score.

3. Jonah Gadjovich

Jonah Gadjovich, plagued by a multitude of injuries in his young career, returned to the Utica Comets lineup this past weekend. Gadjovich immediately let his presence be known, causing havoc for the Laval Rocket defenders.

His persistent forecheck, along with his play along the boards, was very evident. Gadjovich occupied himself at the edge of the crease whenever the situation presented itself. It was very encouraging to see him performing at that level after being out of the lineup for an extended period. The grit and determination that the feisty winger provides would be a welcome addition to the Canucks lineup in the future.

In the two games that Gadjovich played in since his return, he scored two goals and added an assist in helping the Comets to a weekend split versus Laval. Gadjovich had also scored a goal in the game in which he sustained the injury, thus giving him three consecutive games that he has found the back of the net.

Honourable Mentions

• Aidan McDonough had a goal and three assists in the two victories for Northeastern.
• Francis Perron had four points in three games for the Comets, while Guillaume Brisebois had three assists.
• Dmitri Zhukenov had four points in two games for Gornyak Uchaly in the Russian VHL.
• Nils Hoglander had goals in back-to-back games for Rogle in the SHL.
• Both Vasili Podkolzin and Carson Focht had overtime goals to lead their respective teams to victories.
• Michael DiPietro had a 41 save performance in the Comets 4-2 win versus Laval.

Be sure to come back next week to see which of their outstanding young players rise to the top.