Deja Woo for Canucks prospect
WHL blueliner answers second straight Team Canada snub with offensive outburst
It’s the latest edition of the weekly tracker, where we tally up the efforts of the Vancouver Canucks’ highest-profile prospects:
JETT WOO
We’ve seen this movie before.
Like last year, Woo was left off of Team Canada’s world junior roster. Like last year, the Canucks’ 2018 second-rounder isn’t taking the bad news sitting down.
Woo stood out this past week for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. In Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings, the right-side defenceman fired seven shots on net and was a presence patrolling the blue line.
The next night, Woo really turned on the jets. With the score tied 2-2 in overtime against the same Oil Kings, Woo took off with the puck from behind his own net and went coast-to-coast, beating the opposing goalie with a backhander to win the game and send a message in the process.
He was named the game’s third star on a night when the 19-year-old looked like he had something to prove.
Earlier in the week, Woo spoke with TSN 1040’s Rick Dhaliwal, admitting he was disappointed and a little surprised to be left off the world junior squad.
But he also recognizes the depth at defence this country possesses.
Some hockey minds see it as a surprise. Others, like TSN analyst Craig Button, see it differently, telling Don Taylor and Dhaliwal on 1040 radio that Woo just wasn’t good enough.
“Jett Woo is not an omission, he didn’t even come close to earning a spot on this team,” Button said, rather provocatively.
“Fan bases can be as upset as they want, I don’t think (Team Canada head coach) Dale Hunter is worried about that.”
Deserved or not — and there are a couple of names on the WJC short-list that Woo does compare to — other quality D-men were left off the camp invite list as well. San Jose Sharks 2018 first-rounder Ryan Merkley didn’t make it, and he’s coached by Hunter in the OHL with the London Knights.
Suffice to say, these Hunters can be prone to friendly-fire, as Woo can attest to last season when then-coach Tim Hunter (no relation) gave him the Judas kiss.
But here’s the rub: It appeared to take the world junior snub for Woo to round his game into form. Much of the motivation for his breakout 12-goal, 54-assist campaign came from his desire to prove his detractors wrong.
This year, coming off minor knee surgery and skating with a new club, Woo’s been steady but not spectacular.
Until he went for a skate on Saturday night.
Woo has four goals and 11 assists in 27 games this season. He’s also a plus-nine overall.
OLLI JUOLEVI
Back from hip soreness — and back to putting up points.
Juolevi made his return to the AHL’s Utica Comets on Friday, and while he went minustwo in his debut — a 5-4 shootout loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers — the fifth overall pick in 2016 did notch a power-play assist on a onetimer by Jonah Gadjovich.
The next night, in a 3-2 shootout loss in Providence, Juolevi looked great, blocking a number of shots, picking up two assists, and skating as well as he did before the hip ailment.
He’s reading the play well, as he showed on Reid Boucher’s tying goal late in the third, where the Finnish defenceman fired a point shot on net, pinched into the zone to keep the puck alive, and poked it to Boucher in the slot for a goal.
Juolevi was named the game’s second star after compiling four shots on net.
With 21 points in 34 games with the Comets over the last two seasons, the 21-year-old can handle himself offensively. It’s his defensive game that still needs work; he’s a combined minus-19 over that same span.
An extended run of healthy play would go a long way for Juolevi, who’s playing in all sorts of situations, including the penalty kill. He has eight assists and a minus-seven rating in 16 games this season.
The Comets sit fifth in the North Division with a 13-81-2 record.
NIKITA TRYAMKIN
The big man had a big week.
Tryamkin had an assist in each of Avtomobilist’s three games, some better than others.
His best effort helped tie Saturday’s KHL contest against Dinamo Riga in the closing moments of the third period. On the play, Tryamkin batted down a clearing attempt to feed the puck to a forward, who scored from in front of the net. Avtomobilist won 5-4 in a shootout.
A couple of nights earlier, Tryamkin, drafted in the third round in 2014, had another strong game, again assisting on a late game-tying goal while recording two shots on net and two hits in 22:12 of ice time.
The 26-year-old also earned an assist in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win over Torpedo.
With a goal, seven assists, a plus-six rating and boatloads of ice time this season, the 6-foot-8 Russian defenceman is positioning himself nicely should he want to springboard himself back into the Canucks’ fold next season.
Where he would slot in is anyone’s guess.
JACK RATHBONE
Harvard has hit the skids despite Rathbone’s continued solid play.
Rathbone, a fourth-round pick in 2017, wasn’t particularly good in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at Boston University, though neither were his teammates. The left-shooting defenceman went a minustwo with three shots on net.
But Rathbone picked it up in Friday’s tough 3-1 loss at No. 2 Cornell, earning a pretty power-play assist.
On the play, Rathbone faked a shot, then used his smooth skating to get around a couple of penalty killers before dishing the puck across to Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Abruzzese for a one-timer.
In Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss against Colgate, the 20-year-old sophomore was back at it, setting up a teammate from the top of the slot with a crafty pass to the short side of the net for a tap-in goal.
Harvard has lost four straight, but Rathbone continues his point-a-game pace, tallying three goals and seven assists in 10 games. He’s also a plus-two overall.
NILS HOGLANDER
Hoglander earned a slick assist in his one game this past week in Swedish Hockey League action.
In Thursday’s 4-2 win for Rogle over Brynas, the winger helped open the scoring with a fake-shot pass that froze two defenders, setting up an open teammate in front of the net.
In other news, Hoglander was selected to play for Team Sweden at the world juniors. Most likely he’ll be on the top line, where the 18-year-old’s flashy skill set will be on full display.
The 2019 second-round pick has six goals, three assists and a minus-three rating in 19 games this season.
TYLER MADDEN
What’s a guy gotta do to get a goal?
Madden, a 2018 thirdrounder, fired nine shots on net in No. 8 Northeastern’s only game this past week, a 6-3 loss to Boston University. He had no points and went minus-one.
But there’s a bright side, as Madden was also named Hockey East Player of the Month. The 20-year-old sophomore had 17 points and scored his first NCAA hat trick in an exceptional November.
Madden’s teammate, fellow Canucks prospect Aidan McDonough, scored the fifth power-play goal of his freshman campaign.
McDonough, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound winger drafted in the seventh-round in 2019, has five goals and six assists in 14 games this season.
Madden is tied for third in the NCAA in goals with 12, one behind the co-leaders.
His 22 points have him tied for fifth in the nation, while his 76 shots are three less than the output of Montreal Canadiens 2019 first-rounder Cole Caufield.