Top 20: Vancouver Canucks Prospects (Part 2 of 4)

In a Vancouver Province article dated April 23, 2008, written shortly after Mike Gillis held his first press conference as GM of the Vancouver Canucks, this is how Gillis expressed his mindset towards the staff and players within the organization: “It’s a clean slate. I have no predisposed ideas. I’m going to evaluate everybody moving forward. Clearly there are areas of concern and I’m hoping I can bring a clear perspective to those areas.”

When asked what specific areas he would focus on, Gillis replied: “Scouting, player selection, and player development.”

Three years and three months later, the jury’s still out on the impact Gillis’ changes in scouting, player selection and player development have made. But make no mistake, there have been changes.

It started with a full evaluation of the scouting staff and its systems of evaluation. Like Alain Vigneault and his coaching staff, Ron Delorme and his scouting staff were given the chance to prove themselves to Gillis. And, for the most part, Gillis has given Delorme more resources to work with.

The Canucks now have the NHL’s largest amateur scouting staff, a team that includes Ron Delorme, Thomas Gradin, Harold Snepsts, Sergei Chibisov, Frank Kollar, Tim Lenardon, Darryl Young, Eric Crawford, Lucien DeBlois and Lars Lindgren.

In addition to this scouting staff, Dave Gagner was hired in the key role of implementing Gillis’ game plan towards player development. As of yet, no one Gillis has drafted has found a regular spot in the Canucks’ lineup.

But the other key area Gillis has invested in has been scouting and signing undrafted free agents. There are, after all, a lot of late bloomers out there, with Chris Tanev, Eddie Lack, Darren Archibald and Aaron Volpatti being a few of the more prominent prospects Gillis has plucked out of obscurity.

In Part 2 of the Top 20: Canucks Prospects, we rank from 15 down to 11…

15. Adam Polasek

Position: Defense
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 190
Age: 20 (Born July 12, 1991)
Place of Birth: Ostrava, Czech Republic
Acquired: 2010 NHL Entry Draft (fifth round, 145th overall)

2010-2011 Stats: 61-7-32-39 (QMJHL: P.E.I. Rocket)

There’s a little Yann Sauvé in Adam Polasek, and after signing a three-year entry level deal on April 6, Polasek should be joining Sauvé this year with the Chicago Wolves. Both rearguards have good size, a mean streak and heavy shots from the point.

Polasek came to North America two years ago, and in his rookie season with P.E.I., he scored 13 goals and 40 points in only 66 games and was named to the 2009-2010 QMJHL All-Rookie Team. He followed that up with another solid year as he played in all situations with the Rocket. Time will tell how quickly Polasek adjusts to AHL hockey, but he certainly has a full arsenal of skills: he skates well, hits hard, has a hard and accurate slap shot and makes good reads.

According to Canucks’ Player Development guru Dave Gagner, ”He has all the ingredients we like to see in a defenseman. In terms of his ability to read the play, he has the hockey sense to find the lanes and move the puck well. He’s really strong, deceptively so in terms of his skating. He has the ability to pull away from people on the forecheck. His size really helps him fend off guys. Especially at the junior level, he was pretty mean along the wall. He’s another guy we’re pretty excited about as we’ve got a lot of good size at this camp, which was something we wanted to address.”

14. Peter Andersson

Position: Defense
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 195
Age: 20 (Born April 13, 1991)
Place of Birth: Kvidinge, Sweden
Acquired: 2009 NHL Entry Draft (fifth round, 143th overall)

2010-2011 Stats: 27-0-0-0 (SEL: Frolunda)

Ever since his draft, the comparisons to Alex Edler have been inevitable. A mid-round pick that everyone hopes is another in a long line of great finds from Swedish scouts Thomas Gradin and Lars Lindgren, Andersson is a big, mobile, two-way defenseman who could be dynamite. With great hockey sense, Andersson plays a simple game, but also possesses the speed to join the rush, the stick-handling to play with skill and a cannon of a slap shot.

Along with Adam Polasek, Andersson is expected to transfer from the Swedish Elite League, where’s he’s played two half-seasons, to the Canucks’ new AHL affiliate in Chicago. Along with the re-signed Nolan Baumgartner, Andersson and Polasek should be joined on the Wolves’ defense by Yann Sauvé, Kevin Connauton, Travis Ramsay and, occasionally, Chris Tanev if he’s not playing enough in Vancouver or hits a bump in his meteoric development.

13. David Honzik

Position: Goalie
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 209
Age: 17 (Born August 9, 1993)
Place of Birth: Tabor, Czech Republic
Acquired: 2011 NHL Entry Draft (third round, 71st overall)

2010-2011 Stats: 36-17-12-1 / 3.54 GAA / .884 SV% (QMJHL: Victoriaville Tigres)

Despite Honzik’s atrocious regular season numbers, the 17-year-old had a rough start in Victoriaville, but he had just moved from a Czech midget league. By all accounts, once he settled into his new environment and adjusted to the level of competition, he was Pekka Rinne-like.

In the playoffs, he led the Tigres to an opening-round upset over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan before bowing out in the second round against the eventual Memorial Cup-champion Saint John Sea Dogs. In nine games, Honzik faced an average of 40 shots and posted a .919 save percentage.

A big keeper who covers a lot of the net and plays an acrobatic butterfly style, many people think Honzik is just scratching the surface of his potential and could blossom into a Grade-A prospect. In other words, keep an eye on Honzik’s numbers this year in Victoriaville. He could also be the starting goalie for the Czechs at the 2012 World Juniors.

12. Yann Sauvé

Position: Defense
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 220
Age: 21 (Born February 18, 1990)
Place of Birth: Montreal, Quebec
Acquired: 2009 NHL Entry Draft (second round, 41st overall)

2010-2011 Stats: 39-3-11-14 (AHL: Manitoba Moose)

Like Cody Hodgson, Yann Sauvé is proving to be something of an enigma. Drafted in the same year, Hodgson and Sauvé both have tremendous tools to work with. But, whereas Hodgson’s lack of speed and injuries have slowed him down, it’s Sauvé’s ability to read the play and make wise decisions with the puck that have some people wondering whether he will ever maximize his potential.

Of course, last year was Sauvé’s first professional year, and it was marred by a preseason concussion that limited him to only 39 AHL games and five NHL games. Having been supplanted by Tanev on the depth chart, Sauvé will likely be the first d-man to get the call next year should Vancouver run into their perennial rash of injuries on the back end.

Despite the limited games, Sauvé still manged 14 points, so the offensive game some people thought dead is still there. Whether he ends up as a depth guy at the NHL level who can bang and crash, or as a top-four defenseman who kills penalties and uses his booming shot on the power play, remains to be seen.

11. Joe Cannata

Position: Goalie
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 200
Age: 21 (Born January 2, 1990)
Place of Birth: Wakefield, Massachusetts
Acquired: 2009 NHL Entry Draft (sixth round, 173rd overall)

2010-2011 Stats: 39-25-10-0 / 2.48 GAA / .911 SV% (ECAC: Merrimack College)

Joe Cannata had about as good a season as a goalie can have in college hockey. In his junior year, he helped Merrimack turn itself from an also-ran to an NCAA powerhouse. With a reputation for playing with loads of confidence and remaining calm under pressure, Cannata led Merrimack to their first ever Hockey East Final, where they lost to Boston College. Merrimack also played its first NCAA tournament game in 23 years and went into the 16-team national tournament ranked seventh in the country.

On a personal level, Cannata was also nominated for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award, which is awarded to the best player in college hockey. Although Cannata lost out to Miami’s Andy Miele, Cannata enjoyed a season full of personal awards, but he will be heading into his senior season hoping to push his team even further in the NCAA tournament, since they were bounced in the first round by Notre Dame—who advanced all the way to The Frozen Four.