Canucks top prospect Tom Willander shines in first NCAA game

When Tom Willander committed to Boston University at the start of 2023, it was a clear statement that the soon-to-be Vancouver Canucks first-round pick wanted to take a different route than most Swedish hockey prospects. 

Diving into the NCAA development program on one of the best teams in the association while honing his game on the small ice surface seemed like an ideal scenario for the right-shot defender’s development. College hockey has been a springboard for players for decades. 

After missing Boston University’s first game of the season — a penalty for an Allsvenskan professional game he competed in 2021-22, Willander was finally able to suit up against the University of New Hampshire tonight — the start of his NCAA journey. 

He did so with a bang. 

Making a good first impression

On the Swede’s first shift of the game, just as a power play expired, Willander delivered, recording a primary assist off the left point. 

The sequence was fairly nuanced. 

As the puck flew up the near boards, the 18-year-old took the puck retrieval in one motion, pivoted, and sent a bullet to Tampa Bay prospect Jack Harvey, waiting on the other point.

Quickly moving into the middle of the ice, Willander took the pass back, shuffled into an open shooting lane, opened his hips up in the process to push laterally, and whipped the puck on net, tipped by Montreal Canadiens prospect Luke Tuch. 

Tom Willander records a primary assist on his first shift of the game. After a spin pass on the point, Willander works laterally and feathers a puck on net. Looks like Tuch got the tip. pic.twitter.com/B2Ebq55RPA

— Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) October 14, 2023

 

While typically you don’t want defenders to move from the middle of the ice towards the boards, this sequence was a fairly precise showcase of the skill blending and sense that the Canucks banked on with their 11th-overall pick. 

Canucks prospects connect

Willander only kept the ball rolling in the first period. After fellow Canucks prospect and 2023 NHL draft pick Aiden Celebrini found himself free and clear to start an odd-man rush, Willander read the opportunity, trailed the play, and hammered Celebrini’s pass off the right-hand circle, scoring his first NCAA goal.  

Besides two defenders leading the rush, Willander himself set his hands proactively and placed the one-time shot perfectly top blocker. New-age two-way defenders must join the rush to produce offence in the NHL. It’s a way to create odd-man transitional attacks at a higher frequency, especially if forwards are trapped in battles like the sequence above. 

Willander’s transitional game was fairly muted, but he had an interesting breakout to presumptive 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini. He first pre-scanned where the younger Celebrini brother was tagging up on the blue line as he recovered the neutral zone puck and snapped a hard two-line pass, sending him in with speed. Macklin made a deft cross off a delay move, almost resulting in a goal. 

Willander struggled to produce more offence for the rest of the game, only having a couple of sustained offensive zone sequences in the back half of the contest. Boston University employs Canadiens’ prospect Lane Hutson, one of the most dynamic offensive threats in the NCAA, so power play time is at a premium for the Canucks prospect.

Defending with Aiden Celebrini

Both Canucks prospects, Willander and Celebrini, skated on the third pairing in this game. They complement each other quite well, with the Vancouver-born Celebrini playing a support role. 

Celebrini recorded two points in the game himself, but his ability to clog shooting lanes, particularly in the slot, paid dividends for Boston University. 

Some PK work by A. Celebrini (22) and Tom Willander (5).

Celebrini is able to clog the slot-shooting lane and get the clear. #Canucks https://t.co/lDjWyhSOek pic.twitter.com/u67cgTbeao

— Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) October 14, 2023

Boston University lost to New Hampshire, allowing six goals against in what was a fairly chaotic and unstructured game. Remarkably, Willander was not on the ice for any of the UNH’s conversions. 

There wasn’t a whole lot to write home about defensively, however. Willander wasn’t as disruptive and didn’t kill plays at the frequency seen in Sweden last season. Nevertheless, the physicality, competitiveness at the net front, and the inside-to-outside pressure were all present. The 6-foot-1 defender may have saved a goal in the third, just pressuring enough to tip a puck high as he rolled out of a box-out. 

European prospects go through a level of adjustment when they make the hop over the pond. The size of the rink, the speed at which players close on the forecheck, the difference in systems, the list can go on forever. 

It is just one game 

At the end of the day, this is just one game in a long season — sample sizes are important. There will be ups and downs. 

Time will tell if Willander’s decision to take his talents to the NCAA will bare real dividends in terms of his long-term projectability, but at least for the first game of the season, Willander showed well in every aspect, which is good news for everyone, the Canucks organization and its fans. 

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