Which Canucks prospects will make the NHL roster next?

October was a good month for Vancouver Canucks prospects over at Abbotsford, but some players stood out more than others. And, because the Canucks have a lot of expiring contracts to sort out over the next few months, a lot of these guys can find themselves getting an extended opportunity. With players like Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek also due for big raises, the low salaries of these prospects will also be of great help in the short-term.

We all know about the supremely talented Vasily Podkolzin, and it’s a shame he suffered a nasty concussion when he did. The 22-year-old was off to a flying start with the Abby Canucks, ripping off five goals in six games, with two assists to go with them. Podkolzin split his time between the NHL and AHL pretty evenly last year, but the Russian was far more productive in the AHL.

This season, Podkolzin was sent to the AHL right away, and it seems like that move has done wonders for his game and his confidence so far – injury notwithstanding. Although the former No. 10 overall pick has the highest ceiling amongst the Abby Canucks, we want him to focus on making a full recovery first. After that, a full season of building confidence and just generally playing well in the AHL will do wonders for his development.

With Podkolzin likely out of the NHL picture in the short-term, there is one guy in Abbotsford that team management feels will be in the conversation to get some games later on, but who?

Canucks sent Aman down, for now

After he played 68 games for the Canucks last season, it was a bit of a surprise to see Nils Aman get cut by Vancouver after training camp, but here we are. The 2022-23 season was Aman’s first in North America, and he wasn’t necessarily great but did manage to stick.

That wasn’t the case this year, and the 23-year-old is taking advantage of his time in the minors. In 17 games with Abbotsford last season, Aman scored four goals, five assists, and nine points, and this season he’s picked up where he left off with four goals, three assists, and seven points in only eight games.

Aman played a decent amount of penalty kill last year, but his faceoffs were definitely an area of improvement heading into 2023-24. The Swede won only 38.2 percent of his draws, which was one of the worst marks in the NHL. In addition, Aman only managed to take 50 shots in 68 games, which is simply not enough offensive involvement, even for a young player.

Aman’s NHL sample size definitely gives him an advantage over his peers, but it’s not like he was burning the league down either. He ended up in the AHL for a reason, and it’s likely to round out his game in a North American setting. He’s a candidate to replace an extra body – like Jack Studnicka – put probably won’t play a solid run of NHL games this season.

Raty still waiting to officially breakout with Canucks

Acquired in the Canucks’ Bo Horvat trade, Aatu Raty was all over the place last year in his first full season in North America. On opening night Raty was only 19 years old, and then he went to score his first NHL goal with the New York Islanders, play 27 games with the Bridgeport Islanders, play three games with the Canucks, and play 25 regular season games with Abbotsford before finishing his season with three AHL playoff games there.

That’s a lot of travel and a lot of inconsistency for a young player that needs it. The 6-foot-2 center is a transition ace that likes to get to the net, and sometimes those players take longer to develop. Raty has had an okay start to his first full season with Abbotsford, scoring a goal and three assists in eight games. It’s similar to the pace he produced at with them last year, and he’s still only 20.

A prospect of Raty’s caliber is capable of more, but it’s inconsistency that saw his draft stocks tumble all throughout the 2020-21 season. Although the young Fin already has the NHL pedigree, it’s likely going to take two seasons before he can reasonably establish himself as a regular in Vancouver. Like Bains and Podkolzin, the tools are all there, but the work and the mentality have to be too.

McWard is one injury away from Canucks roster

Cole McWard made his NHL debut with the Canucks last season in a five-game cameo after coming over from Ohio State, and he also scored his first NHL goal. The former collegiate rearguard was looking like a favorite to make the Canucks this year, but then they went with… Noah Juulsen?

Well, Juulsen made so many awful mistakes in his first few games that Vancouver went out and traded for an AHL defenseman – Mark Friedman – instead of calling up one they already had, and one that already played for them under Rick Tocchet. In a 3-0 April 10 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, McWard played a career-high 17:02, which happened to be almost a full minute more than Tyler Myers’ 16:11.

The 22-year-old will once again be jostling with Myers (and Juulsen) for an NHL opportunity, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time as the mistakes continue to stockpile. Myers did score a nice shorthanded goal against the New York Rangers the other night, but it’s unlikely that the goal gets him too far away from Tocchet’s doghouse.

As long as Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek continue to play well and no injuries go down, it’s unlikely the Canucks get desperate for reinforcements on the blueline. McWard looked sharp next to Hughes in training camp, and that’s something Vancouver should keep in their back pocket for the time being.

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As long as nothing happens to shake up the defense, it’ll be status for McWard and his Abbotsford peers. After a strong camp, though, it does feel like the Canucks owe the kid a fair shake at some point in the season, one way or another.