Daily Faceoff’s latest prospect rankings gave the Vancouver Canucks a big jump, and Steven Ellis thinks the organization’s pipeline looks a lot healthier after the 2026 NHL Draft.
Ellis placed the Canucks 10th in his top-32 NHL prospect pool rankings, a major rise from 28th in his 2025 edition. The boost came with a clear message: Vancouver’s young talent base is trending up fast, and the latest draft class is a big reason why.
The three headliners in Ellis’ ranking are Caleb Malhotra, Braeden Cootes, and Adam Novotný, the most recent three Canucks first-round picks. In his writeup, Ellis pointed to the way Vancouver recovered after missing out on Gavin McKenna first overall, then turned in a draft that reshaped the outlook of the system.
“It was hard to not feel bad for them when the possibility of landing Gavin McKenna first overall was ripped away on a fateful night in May. But after one heck of a draft, the Canucks’ pipeline honestly looks impressive - and easily one of the most improved in the league.
Four players taken in the top two rounds this year appear on this list, and another three below have NHL experience already. The pipeline is starting to come together, and while there’s still a ton of work to make this team truly competitive again, they’re off to a good start.
The future, eventually, will be better, Canucks fans. But for now, all aboard the Landon DuPont train.”
Vancouver added nine new prospects to the pool at the 2026 NHL Draft, including four picks in the top 41. All four of those selections were forwards: Caleb Malhotra went third overall, Adam Novotný was taken 24th overall with the pick acquired in the Quinn Hughes trade from the Minnesota Wild, Brooks Rogowski came at 33rd overall, and Niklas Aaram-Olsen followed at 41st with the pick acquired in the Kiefer Sherwood trade from the San Jose Sharks.
The Canucks finished the draft by taking goaltender Dmitri Ivchenko in round three, overagers Yaroslav Bryzgalov and Connor Davis in rounds four and five, and two Europeans in round six, Lucian Bernat and Samuel Eriksson.
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