Four Canucks defencemen left competing for 2-3 roster spots
Four unheralded Vancouver Canucks defencemen are fighting for 2-3 spots in the opening-night lineup.
After the last round of cuts, the Canucks are left with nine defencemen. Five players — Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Carson Soucy, Ian Cole, and Tyler Myers — are locks to make the opening night roster. The other four — Cole McWard, Christian Wolanin, Guillaume Brisebois, and Noah Juulsen — are still fighting for a spot.
The Canucks will have the choice of either carrying seven or eight defencemen to start this season. That number is likely to depend on the health of winger Ilya Mikheyev, who will miss the final two preseason contests but could recover in time for opening night on October 11.
The Canucks currently have 14 forwards on the roster, including Mikheyev. If he starts the season on injury reserve, the Canucks can carry up to eight defencemen and two goalies. If Mikheyev is ready to go for opening night, something that seems increasingly improbable with every subsequent piece of bad news, then the Canucks will most likely carry seven defencemen.
This leaves management with some difficult decisions to make. As we get closer to deadline day, let’s take a look at how each player has performed thus far, from most likely to least likely to make the Canucks opening-night roster.
Cole McWard
McWard has been one of the biggest risers of this year’s preseason. He’s gone from being viewed as a decent prospect to someone who has a solid chance of starting the season alongside Hughes.
Signed out of Ohio State last spring, McWard appeared in five games with the Canucks. He scored one goal during that audition.
Considering the Canucks’ desperate need for right-handed defencemen that can play NHL minutes, it seems likely that McWard will start the season with the big club. It’s a massive opportunity for the 22-year-old who is getting to play alongside one of the NHL’s best young players.
The only reason why the club might elect to cut McWard is the fact that he’s waiver-exempt. However, it’s unlikely that any of the names on this list get claimed at this time of year, meaning that might not factor into the decision as much.
Christian Wolanin
Wolanin impressed everyone last season, winning the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s most outstanding defenceman despite playing just 49 games with the Abbotsford Canucks.
Through this year’s preseason, Wolanin has been a steady option for the Canucks. He’s shown off his ability to find forwards and transition the attack smoothly up ice.
Wolanin has been getting some recent work with the second power-play unit. While that’s likely to change when the Canucks have everyone healthy, he is a good puck-mover who can fill in during those situations.
PP1 is Hughes, Hronek, Boeser, Miller and Kuzmenko.
PP2 is Beauvillier, Studnicka, Garland, Suter and Wolanin. #Canucks @Sportsnet650
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) October 3, 2023
While still unlikely, Wolanin would be the riskiest player to cut, as there is a possibility that another team would make a waiver claim.
Guillaume Brisebois
Brisebois is a player who has been in the organization for a few years but has struggled to advance past the AHL level. He was signed to a two-year contract in March of this year, showing that the Canucks clearly have an interest in giving him development opportunities.
Brisebois is not someone with stats that jump out at you, as he has never recorded more than 18 points in an AHL season. However, his steady play and tendency to avoid mistakes is something that is very valuable at the NHL level.
Noah Juulsen
At the start of the preseason, Juulsen was seen as one of the most likely players from this group to make the opening-night roster. He was given a great opportunity to earn the right to play alongside Hughes, yet he lost that position to McWard as time went on.
Juulsen had tough showings in both of the preseason games he suited up for. The Canucks lost those games by a combined score of 13-1, and Juulsen was on the ice for four goals against.
He had some especially embarrassing plays, such as this one against Flames’ forward Jonathan Huberdeau.
Huberdeau REALLY didn't have to do that to Noah Juulsen, did he?
(yes, he did)#Canucks pic.twitter.com/vICktlhuDn
— Cody Severtson (@CodySevertson) September 25, 2023
Juulsen cleared waivers last spring and would almost certainly do so with ease once again. If he does start the season in Abbotsford, he’ll be relied upon as one of the team’s top defencemen.