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This underrated Canucks prospect is tearing up the NCAA

Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner
|
Oct 26 2026, 10:18 pm
This underrated Canucks prospect is tearing up the NCAA
Lansing Sports Network/YouTube

Mired in a ten-game losing streak, the Vancouver Canucks aren’t providing many reasons for positivity right now.

At least, not in the NHL.

But Canucks prospects are making waves outside of the NHL, whether it’s Adam Novotný lighting up the OHL, Braeden Cootes making an impact for the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL, or Caleb Malhotra earning rave reviews despite some bad puck luck limiting his points in the NCAA.

One Canucks prospect that deserves more attention, however, is Anthony Romani.

The 21-year-old right winger is off to a hot start with Michigan State University, scoring at a goal-per-game pace with five goals and eight points in five games.

Romani’s team is packed with 16 other NHL-drafted prospects, including first-round picks for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Utah Mammoth, Seattle Kraken, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks, and two first-round picks for each of the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames.

The Canucks’ sixth-round pick from 2024 is outscoring them all.

“He has added the foot speed”

Romani is the definition of a late bloomer. In his draft year, he had 23 goals and 43 points — respectable totals, but not enough to stand out, especially for a player who lacked high-end skating, so he went undrafted.

Then he broke out in a massive way.

In his second year of eligibility, Romani racked up an OHL-leading 58 goals and 11 points in 66 games.

If that was the post-draft season of a late first-round pick, the team that drafted him would be over the moon with optimism, particularly since he was still just 18 years old thanks to his July birthday; instead, the Canucks were able to get him with the 162nd-overall pick.

While his following season was derailed by injuries, he showed he was still a strong prospect with an outstanding playoff performance, putting up 12 goals and 24 points in 16 games.

Romani could have made the jump to the AHL, but decided to go the college route, believing that what he needed most was more time in the gym to level up his strength and conditioning.

It was the right choice. Romani is an intelligent forward with a high-end hockey IQ and an excellent shot, but his ability to become an impact player in the NHL will be predicated on his ability to improve his explosiveness to create space and win puck battles.

He’s improved in exactly those areas.

“He has added the foot speed here,” said Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale. “You can play fast with your brain, but you have to also do it with your feet. He’s taken a huge step.

“If you look at where he’s come from when he got here a year ago to now or even that second half of his freshman year, he has worked on the ice to get better at it, and he has worked in the weight room. And he comes up with more pucks — he got a little more heavy on his stick and competitive.”

In his sophomore season at Michigan State, Romani is looking more like a top prospect than a sixth-round pick.

“Pretty deadly offensive instincts”

Romani had a solid freshman season with Michigan State University, tallying 14 goals and 28 points in 37 games. This season, it looks like he will greatly surpass those numbers.

“We always felt he would be a catalyst offensively — ability to make a play, ability to finish,” said Michigan State associate coach Jared DeMichiel to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. “He doesn’t need much; he’s got a heavy shot [and] sneaky-good release. He was a good two-way forward that had some pretty deadly offensive instincts.”

Romani is on a line with Anaheim Ducks second-round pick Eric Nilson and Mammoth 17th-overall pick Ethan Belchetz. Right now, Romani is the one driving the line.

Most importantly, Romani is scoring goals in multiple different ways, showing that he’s a multi-faceted offensive threat.

Romani’s first goal of the season was opportunistic, taking advantage of a puck bouncing in behind the defence before undressing the goaltender with a gorgeous deke to the forehand.

Later in that same game, Romani scored his first — and thus far only — power play goal of the season, hammering in a one-timer on a feed from Chase Reid.

Romani doesn’t just play on the power play; he’s also on the other side of special teams, and he showed his newfound explosiveness and speed on the penalty kill by burning past a defenceman for a shorthanded goal.

For his fourth goal, Romani illustrated some craftiness, faking a backhand pass on a 2-on-1 before roofing the puck short side when the goaltender cheated toward the passing option.

Finally, Romani showed off his ability to beat a goaltender from distance, getting the game-winning goal on a delayed penalty.

Perhaps everyone should have seen this coming from Romani. He also had two goals in Michigan State’s lone preseason game against the Boston College Eagles.

In that game, he went to the net to finish off a rebound, then sniped a low shot off the post and in off the rush. That’s seven goals in six games.

 

You can’t be a one-trick pony as an offensive threat if you want to score goals in the NHL; Romani has multiple tricks up his proverbial sleeve.

But it’s the improved speed and work rate off the puck that makes Romani an interesting prospect. Before, his limited speed suggested he might top out as a top-six forward in the AHL; if he’s added another gear to his skating, and he keeps scoring, the ceiling on his projection is going to get a lot higher.

That’s exactly what the Canucks need as they work on their rebuild: for a late-round pick or two to work out against all odds.

Romani might just be that late-round diamond in the rough.

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