Canucks need prospect Aatu Räty to take a big step next season
Plenty of fans and media have offered up line projections for the Vancouver Canucks next season. Few, if any, have Aatu Räty on the opening-night roster.
That’s understandable, given the 20-year-old prospect didn’t pile up points after the Canucks acquired him as part of the Bo Horvat trade. And perhaps because of that, he’s flying under the radar.
But this is an extremely important year for the 6-foot-2 Finnish centre. Räty was a big part of the Horvat deal, and if he pans out, could be a centre in the Canucks’ top six one day.
The Canucks aren’t flush with good young players in their pipeline — they didn’t have a single one in the top 50 of The Athletic‘s latest ranking of drafted prospects. They did have three honourable mentions though, in recent first-round picks Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander, as well as Räty.
Räty scored 40 points in 41 games in Finland’s top pro league the year after the New York Islanders drafted him in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2021 draft. Given the hype that surrounded Räty as a 16-year-old, there was reason to believe he was much better than his draft position would suggest.
Canucks prospect expert Daniel Gee highlighted Räty’s strengths for Daily Hive back in February, notably his powerful shot and playmaking ability. He also noted Räty’s strong defensive habits and work on the forecheck.
One area of concern for Räty is his skating, which the prospect acknowledged shortly after joining the Abbotsford Canucks.
“I feel I know my strengths and my weaknesses,” said Räty. “I think I need to get better at skating and need to work on my all-around game. If you play in the NHL, you can’t have huge holes in your game.”
It’s still early in his pro career, but Räty hasn’t been able to replicate that success in North America yet, scoring 27 points (9-18-27) in 54 AHL games and just three points (2-1-3) in 15 NHL contests. Räty tallied just two goals and 10 assists in 25 games with Abbotsford after the trade.
“Mentally, it’s hard to get traded. It’s hard to play for a different organization in the beginning of the year, in a different organization towards the end of the year,” Canucks assistant director of player development Chris Higgins said recently. “I think [Räty] learned what we expect out of him, what he needs to work on over the summer.”
With the additions of Suter and Teddy Blueger this summer, the Canucks won’t be as desperate to rush Räty to the NHL to fill a need at centre.
The Canucks don’t need Räty to become an NHL regular next season, but they should expect progress, given he’s less than three months away from his 21st birthday. He’ll likely start the season in Abbotsford, and perhaps he can be one of their leading scorers with two-way ability. Maybe he’ll earn another NHL call-up next season based on merit rather than curiosity or desperation.
“I think Aatu’s a competitor, and we’re going to have to lean into that pesky Finn mentality that seems apparent in a lot of the players that come out of that country. They’re scrappy; they’re hard to play against,” Higgins added.
“That’s what we’re trying to get Aatu to be.”
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