NHL draft prospects the Canucks can use
QMJHL PROSPECTS: Saint John teammates ranked high for NHL draft and Vancouver is keeping an eye open
With the Canucks in dire need of a dynamic, offensive-minded defenceman to add to their top-prospects pipeline, scouting the Saint John Sea Dogs was a one-stop shopping experience this past season.
On display with the youthful Sea Dogs were Thomas Chabot and Jakub Zboril and the Canucks were on hand regularly to see the two draft-eligible D-men with similar but distinct attributes.
We think either one would be worthy of trading up to get — they’re expected to go somewhere in the 14-18 range — from the Canucks’ first-round spot at No. 23.
That would require swapping picks — the Bruins, for example, have the 14th pick — but what asset would it take to get that done?
Further complicating matters, the Canucks at the moment don’t have second- or third-round picks.
Both prospects are enticing packages, but we like Chabot’s slightly larger frame — 6-foot-2, 185 pounds — and excellent skating and passing as the deal breaker. Chabot and Zboril quarterbacked the Sea Dogs’ 1A and 1B power-play units, but Zboril has a bigger shot and plays a more physical, nasty game.
Chabot had 12 goals and 29 assists in 66 games for the Sea Dogs, while Zboril produced 13-20-33 in 44 games in his first season in North America.
Canucks scouts have seen a lot of both players this season and they don’t have to go far to get more detailed info. The Saint John GM, Darrell Young, was a Canucks amateur scout for six seasons until he joined the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League club a year ago.
“The Canucks have inside information,” says Young, laughing. “They know everything they need to know about the players on our team.”
Young is high on both of his young blue-liners, but sees Chabot as having the bigger top end.
“Chabot has a higher ceiling in that he could be a No. 2-3 guy in the NHL, whereas Sboril could be a 3-4 and be a solid 15-year (NHL) player,” says Young.
The Hockey News has Chabot — a native of Ste-Marie-de-Beauce, Que., — ranked at No. 23, where the Canucks will select, and Zboril — of Brno in the Czech Republic — going one pick earlier.
But based on most other projections, Chabot and Zboril are more likely to be selected earlier — somewhere in the middle of the first round.
Chabot, who shines as a powerplay puck mover, knows that NHL teams like to see edge in a player and it’s something he wants to add to his tool kit.
“I’m working to get more physical in games, finish my check, be more mean in front of the net,” Chabot tells The Province.
“I know I need to get better in my own zone and it’s something I work on. I think I’m getting better there every year.”
Young says Chabot rose to the occasion in the middle of the year when Zboril missed two months with an MCL sprain, taking on more minutes without a hitch.
“During that time we gave Chabot more of an opportunity and we saw his game step up to the point where he was one of the best players at the (CHL Top Prospects) game in January,” says Young.
The Canucks are clearly interested in Chabot. But so are a lot of other teams. Chabot met with 26 NHL clubs at the NHL Scouting Combine in early June in Buffalo. One was the Canucks, who mostly asked him about his off-ice activities and training habits.
Clearly, they already know what kind of a hockey player he is.
Chabot also met with Canucks amateur scouts Lucien Deblois and Chris McDonald in late May, where the line of questioning was similar.
“It was more about getting to know me off the ice, because they looked at me a lot this year,” he says. “They just wanted to know what type of guy I am.”
Evidently it’s more than just a passing interest.