The Canucks have taken some encouraging swings in the middle and later rounds of recent drafts, and that matters more than people sometimes admit.
You can build a rebuild around premium picks, sure. That’s the obvious part.
But the teams that really move fast are the ones that find value after the obvious names are off the board. That’s where a club can turn a good draft into a great one.
Vancouver looks like it has a decent foundation already. Caleb Malhotra should be a foundational piece for the rebuild, and at least one of Adam Novotny, Brooks Rogowski, and Niklas Aaram-Olsen ought to become an impact player. Add in Braeden Cootes, Zeev Buium, and Tom Willander, and the early returns are promising.
Still, the extra gear comes from finding a player outside the first two rounds who becomes more than just a depth piece. The Canadiens got that kind of boost from fifth-round pick Jakub Dobes when he stepped in as their number-one goaltender last season. Vancouver’s own 2010-11 team had its own late-round backbone with third-round pick Alex Edler and fifth-round pick Kevin Bieksa holding down the blue line.
So who among the Canucks’ recent mid-to-late-round picks has the best chance to become that kind of difference-maker?
Kirill Kudryavtsev is a strong place to start. The Canucks grabbed him in the seventh round in 2022, and he’s already built up a following among scouts.
He’s a poised, intelligent defenceman, and with Zeev Buium and Elias Pettersson established in the NHL, he sits as Vancouver’s top prospect on the left side. That may say as much about the organization’s defensive depth as it does about Kudryavtsev, but he has still looked comfortable in his limited NHL work.
He was also the only Canucks defenceman last season to finish with a positive goal differential at 5-on-5, going plus-2 in three games.
Dmitry Ivchenko is the goaltending bet. Taken in the third round this year, he has the frame NHL teams want at 6’3”, and the rest of his profile fits together nicely too: refined technique and a disciplined mental game.
He looks like the kind of Ian Clark selection that makes sense right away. It’ll take time, but if everything clicks, he has the ingredients to become a number-one goaltender in the NHL.
Lucian Bernat, the Canucks’ sixth-round pick this year, is the sort of upside swing that can really pay off. At 6’4”, with an explosive stride and a strong shot, he brings power-forward traits.
Even if his ceiling ends up being a bottom-six grinder who pressures defenders on the forecheck and chips in some goals, that would still be a useful late-round win. The more interesting version is a complementary forward who can do the dirty work, play with pace, and support more skilled linemates on a top-six line.
Anthony Romani also has real intrigue. Vancouver took him in the sixth round in 2024 after a 58-goal, 111-point season, and the only reason he was still there was that he was in his second year of eligibility.
As a July birthday, he still had plenty of runway. Injuries slowed him after the draft, but he bounced back with 12 goals and 24 points in 16 playoff games.
Then came a freshman season at Michigan State University that only strengthened the case, as he posted 14 goals and 28 points in 37 games while rounding out his all-around game. In two years, he could very well be the Canucks’ second-line right wing.
Riley Patterson is another name to watch. Vancouver drafted him in the fourth round in 2024, and he answered with a huge final year in the OHL.
He led the Niagara IceDogs in scoring by a wide margin, finishing with 40 goals and 84 points in 60 games despite limited offensive support. He also showed he can adapt, shifting from wing to centre and becoming a faceoff weapon by winning 61.6% of his draws in the playoffs.
The NHL centre route looks unlikely because of the competition ahead of him, but the tools are there for him to become a top-six winger.
And then there’s the wildcard category: somebody else entirely. That’s the tricky part of this exercise.
If you could truly predict the surprise hit, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. Maybe Gabriel Chiarot or Wilson Bjorck pops at forward.
Maybe defenceman Samuel Eriksson finds another level offensively. Or maybe the real late-round difference-maker won’t even come from this draft cycle, but from the 2027 or 2028 classes.
In Other News...
Canucks Face A Tough Crease Decision With Tolopilo This Camp
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What makes the situation tricky is that this is not just about one goaltenders development, but how the club wants to shape its rebuild and its depth chart at a position where patience usually runs thin. Tolopilos future with the team will be tied to how he looks in training camp and the preseason, and Vancouver has to decide whether keeping him in the mix makes sense or whether another path better fits the long view. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Could Add Camp Pressure Where Young Hopefuls Feel It Most
The Canucks have at least one more lever to pull as training camp approaches, and it is a familiar one: bringing in players on professional tryout deals to make the room a little tighter. Vancouver has used PTOs before, and the appeal this time is easy to see, with camp spots up for grabs and a need to keep pressure on young hopefuls while also looking for some extra depth on defense.
Even if the club decides not to hand out any more contracts to its remaining unrestricted free agents, there is still a sense that a PTO or two could make sense. Veterans such as Adam Boqvist, Ben Hutton, Jacob Moverare, Patrik Laine and Pavol Regenda have been floated as possible fits, but nothing has been signed yet, leaving the Canucks with a few different paths as they sort through the bottom of the roster. [Read more 🡒]