The Canucks released their roster for the 2017 Young Stars Classic in Penticton on Tuesday and it’s a promising group, despite the absence of Jonathan Dahlen due to mononucleosis. The Canucks need to ban off-season kissing.
Canucks fans will be eager to see Olli Juolevi, Brock Boeser, and Thatcher Demko, along with 2017 draft picks Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich, Michael DiPietro, and Matt Brassard. Even with fellow 2017 picks Elias Pettersson, Petrus Palmu, and Kristoffer Gunnarsson missing the showcase tournament due to their seasons starting in Europe, this is still an exciting group of young prospects.
The prospects already drafted and/or signed by the Canucks will be joined by several undrafted, unsigned players. These invitees may not come with much hype, but they can still be valuable additions to the prospect pool. Evan McEneny was once an invitee at Canucks camp and he looks to be on the verge of making the NHL at 23, while Michael Carcone was signed last year after a strong camp performance and put together a solid rookie season in the AHL.
There are six invitees heading to Penticton to play for the Canucks, along with Alexis D’Aoust and Michael Garteig, who are technically invitees, but are not included below as they are signed to the Utica Comets and are mostly known quantities to Canucks fans.
Let’s start with the two invitees who attended the Canucks’ prospect development camp early this summer, both coincidentally named Aaron.
Aaron Irving – Defence
6’1″ – 197 lbs – Mar 3, 1996 (21)
Edmonton, AB
Edmonton Oil Kings/Everett Silvertips (71-18-40-58)
You can check out Irving’s profile from development camp, but I also had the chance to speak with him after the Canucks' Summer Showcase game, where he had a strong performance.
Irving was drafted by the Nashville Predators, but went unsigned. This camp may be his last chance to earn a professional contract, with university and CIS hockey as a backup plan. “I’m playing for my hockey life right now,” he said.
Aaron Luchuk – Centre
5’10″ – 180 lbs – Apr 5, 1997 (20)
Kingston, ON
Windsor Spitfires (68-28-32-60)
Luchuk helped drive the Windsor Spitfires offence this past season, putting up a lot of goals and primary assists, including the Memorial Cup winning goal. You can check out his profile from development camp.
While Luchuk is a strong skater and is noticeably skilled, he still lacks size. He’ll head back to the Spitfires for his over-age season, where he’ll hope to return the Spitfires to the Memorial Cup tournament and earn a professional contract.
Aaron Berisha - Right Wing
5’10″ – 183 lbs – Mar 5, 1995 (22)
Toronto, ON
St. Mary’s University (13-4-6-10)
The Canucks have a tendency to invite at least one player from the Canadian college ranks to camp. They’re generally considered extreme long shots to earn a contract: you generally don’t end up in the CIS if you have the talent and inclination to play professional hockey.
Berisha might be an exception, however. He actually did have a professional contract last season, signing with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL after a strong over-age season with the London Knights in the OHL. But after getting sent down to the ECHL and playing 8 games for the Missouri Mavericks, Berisha reconsidered his career path and turned to St. Mary’s University to get an education.
"It wasn't working out in Bridgeport but that's pro hockey,” he said this past summer. “I went down to the East Coast and that's where I decided school was a better option. The pro option is always going to be there for me so I just have to make sure I make the best of school, work hard and stay with it."
It appears that Berisha may still hold out hope of playing professional hockey, as he accepted the Canucks’ invite to Penticton. Perhaps the fire was rekindled after he represented Team Canada at the Maccabi Games in Israel. Berisha has Jewish heritage and got the chance to play alongside his brother, Beni, at the 2017 Maccabi Games, winning gold.
Berisha’s final season in the OHL in 2014-15 was impressive: he scored 45 goals and had 72 points in 66 games. While he did benefit from playing behind the line of Mitch Marner, Christian Dvorak, and Matthew Tkachuk, and with top prospect Max Jones, he was still second on the team in goals and fourth in points. It’s enough to make you wonder how he didn’t get an NHL offer.
#TBT to when @Aberisha8 scored 4 goals in Kitchener!
— London Knights (@GoLondonKnights) June 8, 2017
Berry needs your help! See below for the deets.
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One issue is that Berisha is on the smaller side and, while he can find the open ice and has a great shot, he’s not noted for his speed. Combine that with the talent he played with in London and you can see why NHL teams might have been hesitant. Still, he’s pegged as a tenacious player with a strong two-way game, so that might be enough for the Canucks to take a look at him for the Utica Comets.
Berisha has played with two Canucks defence prospects: Jordan Subban with the Belleville Bulls and Olli Juolevi with the Knights. One might wonder if they put in a good word for Berisha with Canucks management.
Fun fact: Berisha was a body double for the movie Goon: Last of the Enforcers.
Johnny Corneil - Centre
5’11” - 190 lbs - Aug 16, 1997 (20)
Lindsay, ON
Niagara IceDogs (67-31-31-62)
Corneil is one of the most intriguing invitees at camp after leading the Niagara IceDogs in goals and points last season. His 31 goals tied him for 23rd in the OHL and he was tied for 38th in points. He did most of his scoring at 5-on-5, where he had 25 goals, tied for 10th in the OHL.
That all sounds promising, but there’s one issue: his shooting percentage last season was 20.53%, which is insanely high. He was 6th in the OHL in shooting percentage, but his shot rate was 92nd among OHL forwards. That’s generally a sign of a player who had things go right for him that weren’t actually in his control.
It helped that he was frequently converting on feeds from Rangers defenceman prospect Ryan Mantha, including some absurd assists that required a simple tap-in from Corneil.
Still, Corneil undoubtedly has skill — his coach described him as a goalscorer and a “poor man’s Bryan Little” — and he combines that with strong skating and a battle level that belies his smaller stature. One scouting report from a couple years back describes him as “relentless in the corner.”
You can see his hands on display for this overtime gamewinner, toe-dragging the puck around a defender’s pokecheck before snapping it past the goaltender.
Corneil has been named the IceDogs’ captain for the 2017-18 season, where he’ll return for his over-age year. With Mantha turning pro, Corneil will bear the offensive load. If he can handle it and shows further progression from his breakout 19-year-old season, he could be in line for an NHL contract.
Matt Barberis - Defence
5’10” - 185 lbs - Jan 19, 1998 (19)
Surrey, BC
Vancouver Giants (48-10-15-25)
You can generally expect at least one member of the Vancouver Giants at Canucks camp. While the Canucks have been criticized in the past for not looking in their own backyard, they certainly take a look at local talent in their prospect camps. This time around, 19-year-old Matt Barberis gets a chance to put on a Canucks jersey at the Young Stars tournament.
Barberis is on the small side, but he’s a mobile skater and has offensive upside. Despite missing games due to injury, Barberis still led all Giants defencemen in scoring with 10 goals and 25 points in 48 games. That was good enough for 10th among WHL defencemen in goals per game and 15th among under-19 defencemen in points per game.
The issue is that it wasn’t a progression for Barberis, who had 26 points in 49 games in his draft year. To be fair, the Giants were not particularly good last season, so Barberis didn’t exactly have a lot of talented forwards to feed the puck to for assists.
With Barberis’s upside as a power play quarterback with good vision, playmaking and an accurate shot, it would be understandable for the Canucks to be interested. Benning has made his desire for a power play defenceman clear, even if Barberis is far from a blue-chip prospect.
Barberis has had shoulder injuries the past couple years which, combined with his size, might give you pause. His decision making on defence has also been questioned.
Danny Moynihan - Centre/Left Wing
6’1” - 185 lbs - Dec 8, 1995 (21)
Boston, MA
Alaska Aces (71-22-30-52)
I like to assume that Danny Moynihan is a long-distance relative of long-time Saturday Night Live cast member Bobby Moynihan, famed for Drunk Uncle and Ass Dan. He left SNL and is now starring in a new comedy whose trailers are neither funny nor informative. I honestly have no idea what the show is about.
Danny Moynihan was an invitee at last year’s camp and eventually earned a contract with the Utica Comets. Unfortunately, he got cut from the team and spent the season in the ECHL with the Alaska Aces, where he had a solid rookie season.
With 22 goals and 52 points in 71 games, Moynihan was fourth on the Aces in scoring and 10th in the ECHL in rookie scoring. You can see his hands and finishing ability on this pretty solo effort.
Moynihan has decent size and speed, has a solid two-way game, and can finish; he seems like a good bet to get another chance with Utica.
