It has been awhile since the Vancouver Canucks ranked in the top 10 in any NHL category other than draft picks.
So—very exciting to see the team ranked at No. 9 on
Corey Pronman's new ranking of every team's prospect pipeline over at ESPN Insider.
The article is behind a paywall, so I won't go into too much detail. It is worth examining how he explains his methodology:
Star power is what drives NHL teams, and thus, my farm system ranking reflects that. Elite prospects provide substantially more value than high-end prospects, who provide substantially more value than above-average prospects, and so on. I also discount top goalie prospects more than the industry.
Pronman has moved the Canucks up to nine from No. 13 last season. He acknowledges that in some peoples' eyes, they should be higher and acknowledges that Brock Boeser "looked outstanding" while he was with the Canucks at the end of last season. He also gives the team credit for adding Jonathan Dahlen to the prospect pool but is muted in his praise for Olli Juolevi and Elias Pettersson.
The rest of the list is intriguing. As he articulates, Pronman is willing to move teams up pretty dramatically when they add a prospect that he believes is top end and move 'em down when those prospects graduate to the NHL.
In a separate article, also behind the paywall,
Pronman has ranked the top 100 individual prospects.
Arizona's Clayton Keller is No. 1 overall. The Canucks have four names on this list:
18. Brock Boeser
42. Olli Juolevi
48. Elias Pettersson
83. Jonathan Dahlen
Pronman projects that Boeser will be on the Canucks next season, while he has Juolevi earmarked for another year in the OHL with London, Pettersson in Sweden with Vaxjo and Dahlen in Utica.
Pettersson is the only slam dunk there, I think. Boeser's waiver-exempt status could land him in Utica to start the season, especially if he doesn't have a great training camp. Juolevi has made it clear that he's aiming to make the Canucks—and if that doesn't happen, I think he'll go spend the year in Finland. Dahlen—I'd like to see him in Utica but depending on how his camp goes, I could also see him returning to Sweden if the Canucks think he needs more seasoning.
As I have mentioned previously, Brock Boeser has been skating with a group of NHLers in Minnesota in Da Beauty League this summer. With their "regular season" now concluded,
click here to check out individual player stats. Jake Guentzel leads the league with 19 points in six games, including 10 goals. Boeser is in the middle of the pack—respectable, for sure, with six goals and 11 points in six games.
The bad news is that Boeser's Team Walser are currently at the bottom of the league standings with a 1-6 records. The last games of the 'regular season' go tonight before the playoffs for the John Scott Cup next week.
Back to the prospects charts—Pronman has ranked goalies separately, and the Canucks have two in the top 10:
8. Michael DiPietro
9. Thatcher Demko
Pronman earmarks DiPietro to return to Windsor of the OHL next season, while Demko will log his second year in Utica. No surprises there.
It is a bit jarring to see DiPietro ranked higher than Demko, given that Demko is three years further along the learning curve. Pronman dings Demko for his bumpy start last season in Utica. Though he acknowledges that Demko's game got better as the year went on, Pronman believes Demko needs to keep improving—as he did during his three years at college.
I have been impressed with Demko's development at every level so far, and I think he has the size and the smarts to succeed in the NHL. One possible area of concern—the Comets have not yet announced a replacement for Rollie Melanson as their team's goaltending consultant for next season.
Here's how the team foresaw filling that role when Melanson left in early July:
Hopefully the new hire will be in place in time for YoungStars—which starts in just over three weeks!
The Canucks are making a move to add to their prospect pool today, as NCAA free agents are now eligible to talk to any team:
Nice to hear that the Canucks are the first meeting for local boy Kerfoot, though Dhaliwal adds that he is also meeting with other teams.
At this time, it does not appear that Vancouver is reaching out to the other high-profile NCAA free agent, defenseman Will Butcher.
To wrap up today, let's touch base with a couple of the Canucks' big-hearted fighters from days gone by.
First—a new song honours Gino Odjick—and swats at Mike Keenan and Mark Messier along the way:
And second—Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of the passing of Rick Rypien:
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