Big expectations For young ‘warrior’ Gadjovich
Gadjovich’s size and strength are what Canucks need
In a few weeks, Jonah Gadjovich is expected to be healthy for the first time in a long time.
Injuries derailed a start to his season which was hot fire. He peaked when he made Team Canada’s World Junior team and in that tournament did everything anyone could have hoped. He was an imposing physical presence who killed penalties, piled up chances and was the player of the game in a round robin tilt against Slovakia.
And, oh yeah, he did it all playing through a back injury that would force him to miss weeks of his season post-tournament.
In fact, he would miss regular season and playoff games because of injuries. Late in the year, even when he was playing he probably shouldn’t have been.
“He had played a lot of hockey going from the World Junior camps in the summer to our training camps and then the WJC tournament. It just caught up with him,” said Ryan Johnson, the Canucks’ director of player development.
“In the World Junior tournament he was playing through some back issues, and it took some time to correct that when he could (after the tournament).
“He’s a warrior of a kid. He had a wrist injury too that he was playing through in the playoffs and I know it was hurting him quite a bit. We need him to get to 100 per cent in the next two to three weeks because this is such a vital off-season for him.”
Gadjovich is such a vital part of the Canucks’ rebuild.
He won’t get the headlines and attention others on this list will generate in the next few months, but outside of Jake Virtanen Vancouver doesn’t have anyone like him in the organization.
He has the type of size and strength that makes him a throwback player and it’s precisely why the Canucks drafted him in the first place in the second round in 2017.
You have to believe Canucks’ head coach Travis Green is among those with fingers crossed hoping Gadjovich can reach his potential.
The Canucks need someone like him, and that’s why they targeted him in the second round after selecting a player with more offensive upside in Kole Lind.
“It takes some luck for the player you’re targeting to still be there when you’re picking,” said Judd Bracket, the Canucks’ director of amateur scouting.
“But 100 per cent he represents something that was missing from our prospect pool. He’s hard to play against and he can make space for others.
“His game is very well defined in that role and he plays it to a T. He really seems to enjoy it. I don’t find the heaviness with which he plays with is manufactured. It’s internally him. It’s the way he plays.”
Obviously, that’s limited with injuries. He played nine playoff games for Owen Sound and had four points.
Some were making the case he was outplayed by Brett McKenzie, another Canucks’ draft pick but one Vancouver chose not to sign.
But no one should be negatively judging Gadjovich based on his playoff performance.
“That he was playing speaks to his character and how much he wants to be a hockey player,” Johnson said. “He will do anything to do it.
“It meant so much to him to try to get Owen Sound to the next level that he was probably playing when he shouldn’t have been.”
The Canucks brought him to Vancouver when the Owen Sound season was finished to “turn over every stone” and ensure there was nothing structurally wrong with the wrist.
“It was just that he needed rest and after that we can launch him into an off-season program that will get him ready for his first year as a professional,” Johnson said.
Gadjovich is expected to start with the Utica Comets, but he could get a chance with the Canucks sooner than later. He’s physically already built for the NHL. He’s not fast, but he is a good skater and does surprise opponents sometimes.
But most importantly, the Canucks have a coach who isn’t thrilled with how soft his team played last season. Green is always talking about creating a team that’s harder to play against.
Gadjovich can help that side of the game more than any other player on this top 10 list.