My plan to roll out the profiles of the Canucks draft class is proceeding more slowly than I originally intended, because there's already a fair amount of free-agency news coming out.
I'll address that first, then take a closer look at Vancouver's third-round pick, goaltender Michael DiPietro.
Have learned the #Canucks have called the agent for D Karl Alzner and F Jordan Weal. Both local products.
Jim Benning said last week that the Canucks would be looking for a UFA defenseman to fill the roster spot that has opened up with the departure of Luca Sbisa to Las Vegas.
Click here to check out CapFriendly's list of defensemen that are set to become UFAs. I sorted them with the youngest players first, as I would expect the Canucks will be looking for someone under 30 if possible.
Alzner's 28, and had a cap hit of $2.8 million last season. The Burnaby native has been a mainstay on the Washington blue line for the last seven years—and hasn't missed a single regular-season game in that time. He suffered a broken hand during last year's playoffs which caused him to miss six games, but returned for the last five games of Washington's second-round series against Pittsburgh.
Offense is not really Alzner's thing. He has 19 goals in 591 NHL games, but one of his three goals last season came at Rogers Arena against the Canucks. I remember hearing his local followers cheering for him in the stands when he scored. He's a big boy at 6'3" and well over 200 pounds but he doesn't play an especially physical game. He has never had more than 30 penalty minutes in a season and ranked sixth on the Capitals with an average of 1.3 hits per game.
Alzner's one of the higher-end players available in free agency this year—I'm not counting Kevin Shattenkirk because it's pretty much a sure thing that he's on his way to the Rangers. Expect Alzner to play a strong hand, getting big money and a good-sized term wherever he signs. After the Caps dished out $46 million to T.J. Oshie last week, it doesn't look like Alzner will be returning to Washington.
If the Canucks go after Alzner, they'll have to pay.
Dhaliwal also throws out a couple of other names. He says the Canucks may be interested in Dmitri Kulikov, who spent last season in Buffalo but, prior to that, played with Erik Gudbranson in Florida. Another B.C. boy who also played with the Sabres, Cody Franson, apparently has not yet had any contact with the Canucks.
As for centre Jordan Weal...
Over a dozen calls on 25 yr old Jordan Weal. He's on tour this week and is expected to visit the Canucks. North Van kid. Could be a good fit
He gets a vote of confidence from his former Manchester Monarchs teammate, Paul Bissonnette:
MVP in playoffs the year we won the Calder Cup (Not A Big Deal). Weal needs a chance. Got 1 towards the end of the year in PHI and did well. https://t.co/3WbwVeeWVr
I remember his strong performance in that 2015 Calder Cup Final, because it came against the Utica Comets. I bet Travis Green remembers it too!
Weal's not a big guy at 5'10" and 179 pounds but these days, who cares?
As Bissonnette mentions, Weal played 23 games with the Flyers last year, where he collected eight goals and 12 points and was a plus-five. Philadelphia liked him, but the team is also chockablock with prospects.
Dreger mentions that the Flyers might be interested in bringing him back, but if Weal thinks that could land him back in the minors again, he might be more interested in a team like Vancouver, where he'd have a better chance at earning an NHL job.
I'd be very interested in seeing him added—and I don't think he'd cost too much, either.
Now, let's take a look at third-round draft pick Michael DiPietro:
Pick 64 - Michael DiPietro - G - 6'0" 202 pounds - Born June 9, 1999, Amherstburg, ON
Michael DiPietro came onto my radar during the 2017 Memorial Cup, when his outstanding performance helped the host Windsor Spitfires upset the favoured Erie Otters to win the championship.
Junior hockey tends to be the Wild West and there were some blowouts in this year's tournament. The biggest was Erie's 12-5 win over Saint John, but the SeaDogs also shut out Seattle by a score of 7-0 and Windsor beat Seattle 7-1.
Through it all, DiPietro was a rock for the Spitfires. He have up five goals in three games during the round robin, then held the fort as Windsor beat Erie 4-3 in the title game.
DiPietro rose from a mid-term rank of seven up to fourth among North American goalies on NHL Central Scouting's final draft ranking list. I thought there was a chance that he could get picked in the first round, so I was thrilled that the Canucks got him at 64.
Corey Pronman of ESPN calls himself a DiPietro "superfan."
Van selects Mike DiPietro, my #2 ranked goalie prospect, and arguably could have been 1. Dynamic goalie, rare time I agree w goalie pick.
I love that kind of fire—and I also like the fact that, as a kid who just turned 18 in June, he could still grow.
"I model my game after Jonathan Quick and use my flexibility and my compete level to make saves even when I really shouldn’t," DiPietro told Ben Kuzma of The Province. “But I need to get better in all areas, particularly my patience. I lunge at pucks and have to be in better spots for the second save rather than being in desperation mode."
DiPietro is one of four goalies invited to Team Canada's world junior summer development camp. Canucks second-rounder Jonah Gadjovich is also in the mix at forward, so that'll be fun to watch!
Speaking of watching...
Newest #Canucks prospect Michael DiPietro's sprawling save in the Memorial Cup!
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