The Vancouver Canucks’ season may not have started the way they wanted, but a handful of prospects have been piling up production early and making noise in October.
At the top of that list is Adam Novotný, who turned in a huge month for the Peterborough Petes with 5 goals, 8 assists and 13 points in 11 games. The attention around him has been there since Vancouver drafted him 24th overall, and he keeps giving people more reasons to watch.
October featured a hat trick and a five-point night against the Barrie Colts on October 17th, and he’s now sitting 10th in OHL scoring with 21 points in 15 games. He’s also put 69 shots on goal while carrying a heavy load for a Petes team that sits in the middle of the OHL standings at 8-9.
Novotný has clearly become their biggest scoring threat, and the ice time should keep coming.
Anthony Romani has been just as dangerous, even if he entered the system with far less fanfare. The Canucks took him in the sixth round in 2024, but he’s making a strong case that he belongs on more radars now.
At Michigan State University, Romani put up 7 goals and 3 assists for 10 points in 6 games, leading the team in scoring and earning Big Ten Second Star of the Week honors. He had 28 points and 14 goals in 37 games last season, and he’s already on pace to top those numbers.
His second NCAA season has shown real growth, especially in his skating and shot. He has picked up a point in every game except a shutout loss against New Hampshire, and he already has two multi-goal games this season, matching last year’s total.
Brooks Rogowski has been doing his damage in a quieter way, but the results are hard to ignore. The 6-foot-7 center posted 1 goal and 8 assists for 9 points in 11 games, making him Vancouver’s second-highest-scoring prospect.
Rogowski isn’t the flashy type, but he plays a dependable two-way game and handles power-play and penalty-kill work for Oshawa. That fits the bottom-six NHL center profile the Canucks had in mind when they drafted him.
He leads the Generals with 12 assists and ranks second on the team with 14 points. The goal total may not jump off the page, but he has been getting more chances lately, and he also had an overtime winner against Peterborough that was called back.
Caleb Malhotra’s month started with some noise from outside, but he settled in and finished strong. He ended October with 2 goals, 3 assists and 5 points in 8 games after going three straight games without scoring, which sparked plenty of panic from people who seemed to forget this is his third league in three years.
Since that dry spell, he’s put together a three-game point streak. It began with two assists against UConn on October 24th and continued on Halloween, when he scored the overtime winner against the University of Maine.
On that play, Malhotra skated down the right wing, cut back around two defenders, and fired the puck into the top corner. He closed the month playing his best hockey yet, and that’s the version Vancouver will want to see more of in November.
Connor Davis rounded out the group with a solid start of his own. The overage fifth-round pick has 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points in 6 games, and while his game has been a little uneven, the speed and skill are showing through.
Davis is tied for fourth on his team in scoring. He had a goal and an assist against Bentley University on October 16, then went scoreless after that, though he did register four shots on goal against Michigan State on October 31 and had a few chances.
His speed remains his biggest weapon, and if the finishing starts to catch up, he should start producing more regularly in November.
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Canucks Rally Couldnt Hide A Defensive Problem Fans Know Too Well
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What stood out most, though, was how familiar the defensive issues looked once the game opened up. Vancouver spent too much time reacting instead of controlling the pace, and Anaheim kept finding cracks whenever the Canucks seemed close to settling in. The loss fit a pattern fans have seen before, and it came with another reminder that the margin for error on the back end is still awfully thin. [Read more 🡒]