Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Vancouver Canucks

For the last 17 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 18th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

* * Pick up the 15th annual DobberHockey Fantasy Guide here – always updated * * 

Gone – Oscar Fantenberg, Josh Leivo, Tyler Toffoli, Louis Domingue, Troy Stecher, Chris Tanev, Jacob Markstrom, Nikolay Goldobin

Incoming – Jayce Hawryluk, Nate Schmidt, Braden Holtby

Impact of changes – I'm not as worried about the loss of Toffoli as many Canucks' fans are. They didn't have Toffoli around for a long time to begin with, and the young forwards on the roster and in the system are only getting better. But the loss of Markstrom is going to hurt. Holtby is coming off three consecutive poor seasons (one of which was masked by the fact that he won a Stanley Cup) and expecting greatness from him will probably result in disappointment.

As we saw from Thatcher Demko in the postseason, he's a pretty good goaltender. But he thrives with a lot of consecutive starts, and at least for next season, he's not going to get that. He's going to split the workload with Holtby, which will weaken his fantasy production, and by the time Coach Travis Green realizes that Demko is the superior guy who needs to play often, the abbreviated season will be mostly over.

Ready for full-time – Brogan Rafferty is earmarked for a roster spot. Most pro scouts feel that he is ready and could quickly move up the dept chart. The right-shot defenseman is 25 and he was signed as a free agent out of college back in 2019. His first pro season was huge, seeing him post 45 points in just 57 games with Utica (and a plus-17 rating). He is unfortunately behind Quinn Hughes, Nate Schmidt and Alex Edler in terms of PP time, and Tyler Myers is ahead of him for ES ice time. So it will be tough slogging early on to gain a foothold.

Zack MacEwan and Jayce Hawryluk will be battling for the same roster spot. MacEwan is an abrasive player who loves to use his body. He's not really one to put up points, but he's a great fit for the bottom six and usually plays over his head. Hawryluk is another prospect I like, but for some reason his teams don't share this sentiment. Florida waived him and Ottawa didn't qualify him. This is a former 100-point, 100-PIM player in junior hockey, and a former point-per-game player at the AHL level. And as a 32^nd overall draft pick (in 2014), you would think he would get a much longer leash as higher picks seem to get. He had seven points in 11 games with the Senators and his qualifying offer needed to be $917K. Too rich for their blood? It doesn't make sense, there is something more there that we're not privy to. If it was strictly talent versus talent then Hawryluk wins in a walk.

Vancouver Canucks prospect depth chart and fantasy upsides can be found here

Fantasy Outlook – The young, up-and-coming Canucks went from 25^th in league scoring to eighth in league scoring. And even after losing Toffoli, their production should still improve. Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes haven't even scratched the surface of their talent, and J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser will just keep on keepin' on. There is a very good second line too, led by Tanner Pearson and Bo Horvat, and I'm confident that Jake Virtanen will take another step forward and become a 45-point player (or the 56-game equivalent in the low 30s).

The defense is very mobile, with plenty of puck movers led by Hughes and supplemented by Schmidt, Edler, Myers and likely Rafferty. There are several good prospects in the system, but after Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Hoglander, the ones with fantasy value are defensemen (Rafferty, Olli Juolevi and Jett Woo). The wins may not come this year, but they’re definitely coming. Overall, I would love to own several Canucks in my dynasty league, and be thrilled if any of my current players were traded there.

Fantasy Grade: B+ (last year was B-)

Pick up the 15th annual DobberHockey Fantasy Hockey Guide

OR

Get the Fantasy Guide and the Prospects Report as part of a package and save$8.00 – here!

2020 Offseason Fantasy Hockey Grades

Winnipeg

Washington

Vegas