When general manager (GM) Patrik Allvin took on the job of fixing the Vancouver Canucks roster in Jan. 2022, he had a lot of work to do. Although he hasn’t fixed all of the organization’s problems after his first full season with the club, he has added young players to a club with a poor prospect pool and struggling blue line.
Former general manager Jim Benning leveraged the club’s future to improve the roster by trading away their 2020 and 2022 first-round draft picks. Instead, the team struggled and was a middle-of-the-pack club, missing the playoffs the past three seasons. However, Allvin has helped improve the aspects that Benning didn’t and has added to the prospect pool, which has been one of the league’s worst over the past few seasons.
Adding to Prospect Pool Through the Draft
Although Allvin traded away the 2023 first-round draft pick they received from the New York Islanders to the Detroit Red Wings in the Filip Hronek trade, the Canucks kept their own first-round picks in both drafts under the Swedish GM. As a result, he improved the team’s prospect pool by drafting Jonathan Lekkerimaki with the 15th overall pick in the 2022 Draft and Tom Willander with the 11th overall pick in the 2023 Draft.
Forward Prospects
Lekkerimaki had a disappointing regular season with Djurgardens IF, largely due to injuries. He posted three goals and nine points in 29 games but turned it on in the postseason. Through 15 games, he scored five goals and posted 15 points, helping his team to the final round. Lekkerimaki will have an opportunity to show his skillset in the Swedish Hockey League with Orebro next season, which will show the organization exactly what he can bring to the club in the future.
Along with Lekkerimaki, Allvin also traded for the Canucks’ second-best forward prospect Aatu Raty in the Bo Horvat trade with the Islanders. Raty has the potential to become a middle-six centre forward. The Finnish forward played 25 games with the Abbotsford Canucks in the American Hockey League (AHL), scoring two goals and posting 12 points. He has the vision, hands, passing and defensive ability to become a quality NHL player. However, his skating needs to improve to reach his potential as a middle-six centre. He’ll have an opportunity to improve his skating and other parts of his game in Abbotsford next season.
Defence Prospects
Meanwhile, the Canucks added Willander to fill an organizational need on the right side of the blue line. Although his four goals and 25 points in 39 games with Rogle BK J20 last season aren’t overly impressive, he is a smart defenceman with elite skating ability. Willander can become a solid top-four pairing defender in the future and potentially become a long-time partner for Quinn Hughes. He will play with Boston University at NCAA next season, which will help him in his development.
Related: Canucks Top-15 Prospects Heading Into the 2023-24 Season
While Willander is the top prospect for the Canucks, he isn’t the only defenceman Allvin has added to the pool. The Canucks drafted blueliner Elias Pettersson in the third round of the 2022 Draft with the 80th pick. One year later, the D-man has become a top three prospect for the organization. At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Pettersson plays a physical and defensive style of hockey while having some offensive upside. Allvin has added two Swedish defenders with top-four pairing potential.
Along with Willander and Pettersson, the organization has selected two other valuable defencemen in 2022 and 2023. The Canucks picked Kirill Kudraytsev in the seventh round of the 2022 Draft with the 208th overall pick. The left-shot defenceman scored eight goals and posted 50 points in 67 games during his second Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season with the Soo Greyhounds. Kudraystev is another defensive prospect who is a good passer and is an impressive skate.
Meanwhile, in the 2023 Draft, the Canucks drafted Hunter Brzustewicz with the 75th overall pick. The right-shot defenceman is another OHL product, and he scored six goals and posted 57 points in 68 games with the Kitchener Rangers last season. The organization adds another defenceman with strong skating and high hockey IQ. Additionally, his agility and defensive awareness are strengths. Allvin added multiple prospects in his first two drafts with the Canucks, who can make an impact on the organization in the future. He has identified the team’s main weakness, their blue line, and has done a good job prioritizing adding defenceman to their prospect pool.
Adding Young Players Through Trades and Signings
Allvin’s work of adding young players doesn’t end at the draft. The GM has traded and signed a few young players who could develop into NHL players.
Adding Young Forwards
He first signed Arshdeep Bains in March 2022. The Surrey, B.C. native joined his hometown team after becoming the first player of South Asian descent to lead the Western Hockey League in points. He scored 43 goals and posted 112 points in 68 games with the Red Deer Rebels.
In his first AHL season with Abbotsford, he scored 13 goals and posted 38 points in 66 games before scoring two goals and recording three points in six playoff games. After a slow start, Bains became a reliable penalty killer, which earned him more minutes and led to offensive success. One of the highlights of his rookie AHL season came in the playoffs when he scored two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill. Bains will likely start the 2023-24 season in the AHL and should get a few looks in the NHL throughout the season.
Allvin also signed Nils Aman, a former sixth-round draft for the Colorado Avalanche. At 22 years old, Aman played 68 games with the Canucks in the 2022-23 season, scoring four goals and posting 16 points. The 6-foot-2, 183-pound centre will have an opportunity to become the team’s third-line centre next season but needs to get stronger on the puck and win puck battles. Otherwise, he will likely start the 2023-24 season on the fourth line.
Related: Canucks Draft Misses Since 2015
Near the end of March, the Canucks signed Max Sasson to a two-year, entry-level deal. The 22-year-old finished his final NCAA season with Western Michigan University, scoring 15 goals and posting 42 points in 38 games. Similar to Aman, Sasson has the potential to become the team’s third-line centre in the future. However, he’ll likely spend next season in Abbotsford, where he played seven games last season, scoring one goal and posting two points.
Meanwhile, Allvin acquired prospect Josh Bloom from the Buffalo Sabres for defenceman Riley Stillman last season. In the OHL, the Saginaw Spirit traded their 20-year-old captain to the North Bay Battalion. The winger recorded 25 goals and 55 points in 49 games with the team in his final OHL season. The 2021 third-round pick plays a high-energy game as he is relentless on the penalty kill, forces bad passes, and shows skill in transition, which paired with his dangerous shot, could be a problem for the opposition. Bloom can turn out to be a bottom-six forward for the Canucks, while playing on the penalty kill and being a leader, as well.
Signing Young Defencemen
Akito Hirose joined the Canucks after his third and final season in the NCAA at Minnesota State University. He scored four goals and posted 27 points in 38 games, and played well during his seven games with the Canucks at the end of the 2022-23 season. He recorded three points in seven games in the NHL. As a result, the Canucks signed him to a two-year, $1.575 million deal. He will have an opportunity to crack the organization’s opening day roster at training camp after participating in their development camp.
Allvin continued to add to his blue line by signing 21-year-old Cole McWard in early April. McWard signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the organization after his final NCAA season with Ohio State University, where he scored nine goals and posted 21 points in 39 games. The right-shot defenceman played five games with the Canucks, scoring one goal. He has a good base to build his game off in the AHL next season, as he is a reliable defender with good size and skating ability and can handle the puck. McWard will likely take time to develop into an NHL player, but he could become a top-four blueliner.
Allvin Finding Ways to Add Youth
With Allvin leading the way, the Canucks are slowly improving the organization’s roster. The GM has started to draft prospects, improving the organization’s prospect pool while signing young players who could challenge for roster spots at some point in their careers. Players such as Lekkerimaki and Willander are obvious picks to become mainstays in the NHL, while players such as Bains and Aman could be surprise additions to the organization. The Canucks have found success with retooling on the fly in the past, and if Allvin’s moves pay off, the club might be on the same path.
