Vancouver Canucks Dominate the Newly Released Under-23 Rankings With Surprising Names
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire - Imagn Images.
The Vancouver Canucks are well represented in a recently unveiled ranking by Corey Pronman of The Athletic that looks at the best Under-23 NHL players & prospects.
By now, you're probably well aware that the Vancouver Canucks have a pretty decent prospect pool, thanks to the draft decision and trades made by Patrik Allvin in the last few years and while it might not be the deepest in the NHL, there are a handful of players in the system that could make a sizable impact with the big club in the years to come.
While some have already gotten a taste of the NHL already, including Jonathan Lekkerimaki & Aaty Raty, Tom Willander is one prospect we should see donning a Canucks uniform at some point later this season and right behind him is Braeden Cootes, who very well could be in the AHL next year because of a change in the CBA.
Ahead of the 2025-26 season, several media outlets have shared their own prospect rankings including Daily Faceoff and on Tuesday, it was The Athletic's turn, who released their rankings for not only prospects, but players under the age of 23.
Vancouver Canucks prospects well represented in recently unveiled rankings from The Athletic
In total, Corey Pronman of The Athletic ranked 173 players and prospects 23-years-old age and under, among them being four members of the Vancouver Canucks organization.
The highest ranked Vancouver Canuck by The Athletic on Tuesday was Braeden Cootes, the team's first round pick back in June, who comes in at 59th.
"Cootes hasn't scored at high levels, but he's played on a thin Seattle team and was an important player often for Canada's U18 team. He's a likable all-around forward. He's a good, if not very good, skater who plays with a lot of pace. He has strong offensive skills, playmaking and finishing abilities. He creates offense at fast tempos and in a direct manner." Pronman said.
He added, "He's not that big, but he plays big, showing a high compete level and not backing down from physical play. There will be some minor debates on how much offense Cootes will have in the NHL, but early indicators are that it could be just good enough to be a top-two-line center who provides two-way value."
He added, "He's not that big, but he plays big, showing a high compete level and not backing down from physical play. There will be some minor debates on how much offense Cootes will have in the NHL, but early indicators are that it could be just good enough to be a top-two-line center who provides two-way value."
After Braeden Cootes is the team's top defensive prospect Tom Willander, who is ranked 83rd by Corey Pronman, followed by Swedish forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki at 95th and Finnish forward Aatu Raty at 140th.
One prospect that has surprisingly been left off of Pronman's list is Russian goaltender Alexei Medvedev, who Vancouver used their 2025 second round pick on and is coming off an solid draft year where he sported a 22-8-2 record, 2.79 goals against average, .912 save percentage and three shutouts for the OHL's London Knights.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 2 | 1437 ANSWERS Vancouver Canucks Dominate the Newly Released Under-23 Rankings With Surprising Names Of the following four players, who do you think will end up having the best career (individual points, awards, etc.) in the NHL? | ||
| Aatu Raty | 248 | 17.3 % |
| Braeden Cootes | 462 | 32.2 % |
| Jonathan Lekkerimaki | 346 | 24.1 % |
| Tom Willander | 381 | 26.5 % |
| List of polls | ||