SportsHockeyCanucks

Will Vancouver Canucks top prospect Willander make the opening-night lineup?

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Sep 12 2025, 2:11 pm
Will Vancouver Canucks top prospect Willander make the opening-night lineup?
@Canucks/X

Tom Willander is arguably the most hyped prospect in the Vancouver Canucks organization.

Even though he’s yet to play a pro game, the 20-year-old has a good chance of starting the season in the NHL. After Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers on the right side, there’s a spot on the depth chart available for Willander.

It may have taken longer than expected for the 11th overall draft pick in 2023 to sign with the Canucks, but he did eventually ink his entry-level deal in May.

Now, he’s in Vancouver, and the Stockholm, Sweden, native is already showcasing his NHL-ready speed before training camp has even begun.

There’s no doubt that he has the wheels to play, but is Willander actually ready to be a full-time NHLer?

What Willander’s comparables can teach us

Part of the hype about Willander stems from the fact that TSN’s director of scouting, Craig Button, compared the defenceman to Charlie McAvoy.

There are similarities. Both are mid-first-round picks who played two seasons at Boston University, putting up similar stats in the process. Willander had six goals and 49 points in 77 games during his two years at Boston University, while McAvoy posted eight goals and 51 points in 75 career games.

McAvoy, though, has thrived as a number-one NHL defenceman. He arguably represents the ceiling for Willander.

Brock Faber of the Minnesota Wild could represent another best-case scenario for Willander. The 23-year-old spent three years in the NCAA before making the NHL full-time in 2023-24.

Much like Willander, Faber has elite speed, which propelled him to a season where he posted eight goals and 47 points in 82 games. He finished second in Calder Trophy voting that year, behind only Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard.

Although the thought of Willander turning into McAvoy or Faber is tantalizing, the more realistic outlook is that the 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenceman turns into a player who excels defensively but produces less offensively.

There are a couple of other comparables that suggest what’s more realistic for Willander.

Michael Matheson was a first-round pick of the Florida Panthers back in 2012. While he’s flourished in a top-pairing defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens, that wasn’t the case earlier in his career.

Matheson spent three years playing college hockey and another full season in the AHL after that, before finally making the NHL full-time at 22 years old. He’s settled in as a quick, defensively responsible top-four option who can be counted on for about 30 points per season.

Jonas Brodin also compares favourably to Willander. Drafted 10th overall in 2011, Brodin made the NHL as a 19-year-old and immediately averaged over 23 minutes per game. He’s never been a prolific offensive producer, but Brodin has excelled as one of the best defensive blueliners in the NHL over the past decade.

Willander won’t have to play as much as Brodin did as a rookie due to the Canucks’ depth on defence, but can he provide a similar impact?

Both Brodin and Willander had the benefit of playing in the World Hockey Championships before playing NHL games, with Willander cracking Sweden’s National Team earlier this year.

He mentioned that playing against NHLers in that tournament helped his development.

“Those were the guys making [my first hockey] memories,” Willander said on the Canucks Insider Podcast. “It feels surreal playing with them. There’s also the ‘awe’ of seeing how skilled they are. Playing on their level was a lot of fun.”

Whether he makes the NHL full-time or not, the Canucks rookie seems to have the right mentality about making the team this fall.

“I believe in always trying to change for the better,” he said. “I’m a very driven person. If you work harder than other people, you will do better and achieve better results.”

ADVERTISEMENT