Canucks have two prospects in The Athletic’s Top 50 rankings
By Alex Hoegler
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler released his list of the top 50 drafted NHL prospects, and two from the Vancouver Canucks made the list.
General manager Jim Benning is one of the most polarizing figures in Vancouver Canucks history.
On one hand, many fans praise Benning for drafting young stars in Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes. On the other side of the coin, folks will point out some of his failed trades and many questionable free agent signings (Loui Eriksson).
No matter how you feel about Benning, there’s little denying that he’s made up for his mistakes with a few simple draft choices. Pettersson is the new face of the franchise. Boeser can be a consistent 30-goal scorer if he stays healthy. Hughes already looks like he’ll go down as the best defenceman in Canucks history.
And if that’s not enough to excite Canucks fans, look no further than the prospect pipeline.
On Monday, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) shared his list of the Top 50 drafted NHL prospects. Two Canucks prospects made the list: Nils Hoglander and Vasili Podkolzin at 24th and 25th, respectively.
Because Wheeler’s article is behind a paywall, I won’t quote nor summarize what he wrote about the two 2019 draft selections.
Vancouver drafted Podkolzin 10th overall last year. The 6-foot-1 winger played 30 games for SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL in 2019-20, scoring two goals and recording six assists. He also played 16 games for SKA-Neva St. Petersburg of the VHL, tallying three goals and five assists.
Podkolzin had two years left on his KHL deal when Benning drafted him, which may have affected his draft value. At any rate, if all goes accordingly, he’ll hopefully play his way into the NHL — and into Vancouver’s top-six — at some point in the 2021-22 season. It could be even longer, though.
The Canucks drafted Hoglander in the second round last year at No. 40 overall. His value has skyrocketed following a remarkable 2019-20 season; Hoglander had nine goals and seven assists for Rogle BK of the SHL. His talents were on display at the World Juniors, where Hoglander finished third in tournament scoring (11 points in seven games).
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Like Podkolzin, the hope is that Hoglander can grow into a reliable top-six forward for the Canucks. It’s too early to predict how things will play out, but the two standout wingers give Vancouver even more optimism in an already extremely bright future.