It’s been great to be a Vancouver Canucks fan early on this season. The parent club is hovering around the top of the NHL at a surprising 13-5-1, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Abbotsford Canucks are 10-4-1, and a number of prospects are having breakout seasons in their respective leagues. More specifically, their 2023 Draft class has been turning a lot of heads, so I thought it was a good time to take a look at each of their seasons so far.
Tom Willander, Right Defence, Boston University (NCAA) – 11th Overall
Tom Willander‘s debut in the NCAA was delayed by one game, but it didn’t take long for him to show everyone why he was so highly regarded as a first-round pick in the 2023 Draft. His first game on Oct. 13 saw him record two points – including his first goal in college hockey. Since then, he has put up another five points in 11 games and has seen time on the top pairing alongside Montreal Canadiens’ uber prospect Lane Hutson.
The things that stood out during his draft year in Sweden have also presented themselves in the NCAA. His mobility and passing are clearly strengths that will serve him well once he makes it to the NHL. However, there are some weaknesses that will have to be addressed before then, like his puck handling and defensive game. While he’s good at defending the rush, there are some concerns about his overall defensive IQ.
Nevertheless, this leads to a critical discussion centred around Willander’s defensive IQ. While this was very much the case in his draft season, it’s important to note that while the Canucks prospect has many positive, drilled-down habits and possesses the tools to disrupt play at a high level, he is not necessarily an extraordinary defensive mind. His most extensive breakdowns are usually due to reactiveness, puck-watching, and missed reads. He’s more toolsy than cerebral.
Daniel Gee, Daily Hive
That said, he doesn’t believe that will hold him back from becoming an effective NHLer. “Regardless, the defensive projection to the NHL level is still clear as day — just expect more stops because of his physical tools rather than straight-up outthinking opponents.”
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Overall, Willander’s first foray into the NCAA has been relatively successful, which is great for the future of the Canucks’ blue line. We will see how the rest of his season unfolds and look forward to his starring role on Team Sweden for the 2024 World Juniors in December. TSN head scout Craig Button compared him to Charlie McAvoy in a recent interview and thinks he will be one of the top defenders for Team Sweden this year.
“My comparable for him is Charlie McAvoy, his development at BU has been significant and strong. I don’t see 4 better defensemen in Sweden for the world juniors than Tom.”
Hunter Brzustewicz, Right Defence, Kitchener Rangers (OHL) – 75th Overall
To say that Hunter Brzustewicz has had a good season so far would be the understatement of the year. Currently leading the entire Ontario Hockey League in assists with 33 and second only to teammate Carson Rehkopf in points with 39, he’s been on an absolute heater since putting up his first four points on Sept. 30 against the Flint Firebirds. From that date on he had a 14-game point streak, which was snapped on Nov. 5 against the London Knights, before going on another six-game point streak. That streak remains active as of his three assists on Nov. 21 against the Erie Otters.
Overall, Brzustewicz has only been held off the scoreboard in two games this season and has 10 multipoint games under his belt. He’s basically dominated the OHL and is the early frontrunner for a number of awards, including the Red Tilson Trophy (Most Outstanding Player), Max Kaminsky Trophy (Defenceman of the Year), and maybe even the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy (Top Scorer); that is if Rehkopf doesn’t steal it from him. As each game goes by, it’s looking more and more like the Canucks got an absolute steal in the third round. While it’s very early, he could be the answer to the second pairing or even a replacement for Filip Hronek down the road since his style is very similar to Quinn Hughes’ current partner in crime.
With his insane point totals, we will probably see Brzustewicz join Team USA’s roster at the World Juniors, which means there will be two Canucks prospects from this draft class to watch in December.
Sawyer Mynio, Left Defence, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) – 89th Overall
Sawyer Mynio isn’t usually known for his offence, but he’s looked pretty good so far this season in that department. He has two goals and nine points in 14 games for the Seattle Thunderbirds, including five points in his last six games. He suffered an injury in the first game of the season on Sept. 29, but since returning on Oct. 22 against the Edmonton Oil Kings, he has points in all but seven games. He has three multipoint efforts and is on pace to best his career-high of 31 points that he posted last season.
I compared Mynio to an under-the-radar defensive defenceman like Chris Tanev in his draft profile, but he could have more offensive potential than I gave him credit for. His skating, mobility and willingness to jump into the play might help him become more of a two-way defenceman instead. Regardless, early on, he’s looked very solid in his third season in the Western Hockey League.
Ty Mueller, Center, University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA) – 105th Overall
Back to the NCAA, we have Ty Mueller, who is playing for the University of Nebraska-Omaha. While not as prolific all season as Brzustewicz, he is on a mini-point streak of his own with seven points in his last five games. He has also scored a goal in five straight games and is now a point-per-game player with 10 points in 10 games. With it, he became the sixth player in program history to do so. The junior forward scored his fifth of the season on Nov. 19 against the University of Denver and has put together a nice highlight package as of late, including this pretty tally on Nov. 17 where he undressed the Pioneers defenceman and popped it upstairs on Freddie Halyk.
Touted as a “jack-of-all-trades-type of player” by Elite Prospects in their 2023 Draft Guide, Mueller could become a serviceable bottom-six forward for the Canucks in the future. More than likely, he will be heading to the American Hockey League (AHL) next season unless he decides to finish his senior year. We’ll see if he can stretch his streak to six games when his team faces off against Augustana later tonight (Nov. 24).
Vilmer Alriksson, Left Wing, Guelph Storm (OHL) – 107th Overall
Another guy who is looking like a steal early on is big Swedish winger Vilmer Alriksson. Standing at 6-foot-6, 214 pounds, he has proven to be a difficult player to defend in the OHL so far this season – especially on the power play. While you would think all five of his power play goals came from deflections, you would be wrong. Yes, he’s been a handful in front of the net providing an imposing wall for opposing goaltenders, but he’s also been used at the right faceoff dot where he can unleash his surprisingly effective wrist shot/one-timer.
As Dave Hall of Canucks Army points out, Alriksson’s five-on-five game could still use some finetuning as all but one of his goals have been scored on the power play. He’s not that effective at generating offence when his team does not have the extra skater, and that could be a problem as he attempts to make it to the next level. That said, his skill set of size, net-front presence, shot, and mobility should project well to the NHL as a bottom-six shift disturber and potential power play specialist – similar to another Swedish late-round pick, Patric Hornqvist.
Matthew Perkins, Center, University of Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA) – 119th Overall
The NCAA and OHL are definitely common themes of this draft class as every prospect is playing in one of those leagues. Matthew Perkins is another player who chose the college route after time in both the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and the United States Hockey League (USHL). He played for the Humboldt Broncos in 2021-22 where he scored 23 goals and 59 points in 57 games and then the Youngstown Phantoms in 2022-23 where he put up another 15 goals and 44 points in 60 games. He joined the University of Minnesota-Duluth this season as a freshman and has a respectable two goals and five points in 13 games.
Aiden Celebrini, Right Defence, Boston University (NCAA) – 171st Overall
Finally, we get to the final pick of the 2023 Draft for the Canucks, Aiden Celebrini, the older brother of projected 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini. At the time of his selection, that was really all that was known about the 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-shot defenceman. Unless you were a passionate prospects fan, he was a relative unknown. That is until he started playing his freshman season at Boston University alongside his brother and fellow Canucks prospect Willander.
Celebrini has been a pleasant surprise this season, notching four points in nine games and providing solid defence on the bottom pairing. He has been paired with Willander a few times and has had a solid start to his college career. While there’s a long road ahead to the professional leagues, he is quickly turning into a prospect to watch, and not just because he’s the brother of Macklin Celebrini.
Early Optimism For 2023 Draft Class
There is definitely early excitement for the 2023 Draft class based on their performances so far this season. The Canucks still don’t have an elite prospect pool, but the development from both this draft and the 2022 Draft is providing some optimism for the future. While it’s way too early to call it one of the best of all time, even if only Willander, Brzustewicz, and Alriksson turn out to be NHLers, the 2023 Draft will be considered a massive success, especially considering they didn’t have a second-round pick. All in all, it’s been fun to watch these prospects early on in 2023-24.
