The Vancouver Canucks released their full roster for the 2018 Young Stars tournament in Penticton on Monday:
Today, I'll look at the Canucks prospects who are making their first appearances at the tournament. Wednesday, I'll cover the returnees, then I'll go through the players who are filling out the roster on Thursday.
NEW PROSPECTS THIS YEAR:
• Jonathan Dahlen - Acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the 2017 trade-deadline swap for Alex Burrows, Dahlen was supposed to make his Young Stars debut last season, but had to pass due to a bout of mono. After recovering, he went back to Sweden where he posted 44 points in 44 games and was named the most valuable player in Allsvenskan as his team, Timra, won the league championship and was promoted to the top-level Swedish Hockey League.
Dahlen finished out his season with the Utica Comets, where he posted two points in two regular-season games and one point in four playoff games.
• Adam Gaudette - Finally free from the NCAA restrictions that prevented him from appearing in past Young Stars tournaments, the Canucks' fifth-round pick from 2015 is ready to make his Penticton debut. After winning the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey last season and leading the entire NCAA with 30 goals and 60 points, Gaudette was solid in his five-game audition with the Canucks to close out last year.
Gaudette turns 22 on October 3 and is waiver exempt. With the Canucks' offseason free-agent depth signings, he may be destined to start the year in Utica but says he feels like he can make a crack at sticking around out of training camp.
• Lukas Jasek - Drafted in the sixth round, 174th overall, in 2015, Lukas Jasek is looking like he could pan out as another sleeper pick. A trade to Bili Tygri Liberec in the Czech League last season seemed to serve him well. The high-intensity winger recorded 18 points in 48 games of regular league play as well as seven points in the Champions Hockey League. At the end of his European season, he signed a tryout contract with Utica, where he finished out the regular season with seven points in six games. That earned him an entry-level deal with the Canucks, where he'll try to keep his positive momentum flowing.
Jasek's birthday is today—August 28. He just turned 21.
• Petrus Palmu - Already a bit of a fan favourite, the Finnish fire hydrant who was drafted 181st in 2017 will be reunited with his OHL teammate and roommate Jonah Gajovich in Penticton this year. Just 5'6" and 172 pounds, the stocky Palmu had an outstanding season in Finland with Turku last year, leading all rookies with 17 goals and 36 points in 59 games in the European men's league and winning rookie of the year honours.
The Canucks signed Palmu to his entry-level contract in late May. He was a standout at the team's Summer Showcase scrimmage at Rogers Arena in early July.
Palmu turned 21 in mid-July. He's expected to start the season in Utica.
• Elias Pettersson - The golden child has arrived! Pettersson has worn Canucks colours just once in his career so far, when he scored two highlight-reel goals at the Canucks' 2017 Summer Showcase. He'll kick off what's expected to be an impressive North American career in Penticton after a record-setting MVP season in the Swedish Hockey League, a silver medal at World Juniors and a gold at World Championships.
Pettersson suffered a broken thumb at Worlds in May, which caused a bit of a setback in his offseason training. The first order of business when he arrives in Penticton will be to get a read on whether he has been able to fill out his lean frame. He has good height at 6'2" but could use some more meat on his bones if he hopes to be an impact player in the NHL in his rookie season.
Drafted fifth overall in 2015, Pettersson turns 20 in November. He had 56 points in 44 games with the champion Vaxjo Lakers of the SHL last season.
• Jett Woo - Drafted 37th overall in 2018, Woo comes into Young Stars after a solid performance at Team Canada's World Junior Showcase in Kamloops last month. Known for the physical dimension in his game, Woo missed some time with injury during his second full season with the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2017-18, where he finished out the year with 25 points and a plus-29 in 44 regular-season games.
Woo turned 18 in July, so he'll be headed back to Moose Jaw this fall. There's plenty of competition for spots on Team Canada's blue line for World Juniors, but his aggressive style might help him squeeze onto the roster.
NOT IN ATTENDANCE:
With the highly anticipated arrivals of Pettersson, Dahlen and Gaudette, it's not such a big deal that Woo will be the only one of the Canucks' 2018 draft picks in Penticton this year. Quinn Hughes, Tyler Madden and Matthew Thiessen are all forbidden from participating due to NCAA rules, while Toni Utunen and Artem Manyukan won't be making the trip over from Europe.
From the 2017 draft class, Jack Rathbone is also ineligible as an NCAA player, while Kristoffer Gunnarsson is in Sweden with Frolunda.
Not sure why we're missing 2017 seventh-rounder Matt Brassard. He's an OHL player with the Oshawa Generals, and attended last year. He's also not listed
here, on Oshawa's 2018-19 preseason roster page. Injury?
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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