From the “Daily Faceoff” the Canucks prospect system went from 28th ranked in 2025 to 10th ranked after the 2026 draft, amazing how one solid draft can potentially change the fortunes of a franchise. As of right now the Canucks have two 2nd round picks in the 2027 draft and one 1st, getting another 1st round pick would go a long ways to having another solid draft and continuing to climb any prospect rankings. Which is what they should be, and seemingly are, concentrating on.
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“Daily Faceoff’s prospect guru Steven Ellis dropped his top-32 NHL prospect pool rankings, and based on his rankings, he likes what the Vancouver Canucks did at the 2026 NHL Draft.
Moving up 18 spots from the 28th ranking in Ellis’ 2025 edition, the Canucks find themselves ranked 10th. The three notable prospects Ellis lists are Caleb Malhotra, Braeden Cootes, and Adam Novotný – the latest three Canucks first-round selections.
Here is what Ellis had to say about his Canucks ranking:
“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.”
The 2026 NHL Draft saw the Canucks add nine new prospects to their pool, including four within the top 41. All four of those selections were made on forwards, with the Canucks selecting Caleb Malhotra – son of now head coach Manny Malhotra – at third overall, Adam Novotný at 24th overall – the pick acquired in the Quinn Hughes trade from the Minnesota Wild – Brooks Rogowski at 33rd overall, and Niklas Aaram-Olsen at 41st – the pick acquired in the Kiefer Sherwood trade from the San Jose Sharks. Vancouver rounded out their draft with goaltender Dmitri Ivchenko in round three, overagers Yaroslav Bryzgalov and Connor Davis in rounds four and five, and a pair of Europeans in round six with Lucian Bernat and Samuel Eriksson.
The nine prospect pools Ellis had above the Canucks were: the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, Utah Mammoth, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, and St. Louis Blues.”