2 Vancouver Canucks Prospects Who Could Get Called Up This Season

As the season gets underway, players will begin to suffer injuries as they sacrifice their bodies for the sake of their team, not to mention the ever-present concern of a positive Covid diagnosis. Eventually, there will be players who will need to miss games, and others will need to be called in to replace them in the lineup. Here are two such prospects who could see some playing time on the Vancouver Canucks this season.

Carson Focht

Here's a guy whose game has been quietly improving since he made his pro debut. A 5th-rounder in 2019 selected by the Canucks, Focht was averaging a point per game with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen when he was drafted to the NHL, and he kept that pace going in the following season. He made the transition to the AHL the year after, and while his scoring pace slowed a little with the Abbotsford Canucks (down to about .5 points per game) he showed that pro hockey was where he belongs. He is scoring at an identical pace this year, with 1 goal and 5 points in 10 games, but that one goal was a thing of beauty. He may not be putting up points like the other prospects we've featured in this series, but that's where the Vancouver Canucks are at right now. Their best prospects are all playing in the NHL, which means some other, less highly-touted players are going to need to step up in Abbotsford. Regardless, this goal is quite a shot by Focht. You know when you make the goalie shake his equipment off after you put the puck past him that you beat him pretty cleanly.

Carson Focht's first goal of the season was a thing of beauty 🎯#AbbotsfordCanucks pic.twitter.com/Qt0Cpithou

— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) October 20, 2021

Jett Woo

The Canucks are pretty high on this kid. Drafted in the 2nd round in 2018, Jett Woo also played his draft+1 year with the Calgary Hitmen, being named one of their Alternate Captains alongside Focht. 7 goals and 46 points in 64 games, to go along with 88(!) penalty minutes, and he was ready to make the move to pro hockey. Last season Woo had 3 goals and 5 points in 28 games in Abbotsford, this season he has a goal and 3 points in 11 games, all scored in the same game. The scoring pace has picked up, but what's more important is that Woo is not a liability in his own end. He's a defence-first blueliner who can occasionally put up points, but his trademarks are his strength in front of his own goal, his crisp outlet passes, and his solid positioning and fundamentals, and those are the factors that will get a defenceman called up to the NHL, not just point-scoring. It proves Woo can be a reliable defender, something the Canucks may need going forward this season. He's still waiting for his first look at the NHL ice, but if he keeps playing strong defence, it won't be long.

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports