As training camp continues, so do the camp cuts. As always, PITB is here to explain each and every cut in excruciating detail. In this case, there’s not much to unpack. Jakob Stukel, Anton Cederholm, Mackenze Stewart, and Danny Moynihan are a long way from ever coming near the Canucks’ lineup.
The timing is interesting, however. Jakob Stukel is the last CHL-eligible player to get cut, apart from Olli Juolevi, who is more likely to be heading to Finland instead of going back to the OHL. The rest of the Canucks’ CHL-eligible prospects were cut earlier this week, so they could get back to their respective teams in time for a practice or two before the start of the regular season.
Stukel, on the other hand, was kept around for an extra couple days. At one point it looked like he might play in his first preseason game on Wednesday, but he wasn’t in the lineup for the Canucks’ 5-3 win over the Flames. One thought as to why he might have been kept at camp is that he is eligible to play in the AHL and the organization might have been considering a contract for him to play in Utica, but that’s just speculation at this point.
From what fans saw of Stukel at Young Stars, it’s clear that he has NHL speed. The issue is that his brain and his stick can’t keep up with his skates. He created numerous chances with his speed, but just couldn’t corral the puck in order to finish the play. At other times he skated hard but without any clear intention or plan.
It’s tempting when you see a player who clearly has one NHL-caliber asset, whether it speed, a wrist shot, or size, to give him every chance to develop the skills around that asset so he can be a legitimate NHL player. For Stukel, this over-age season in the WHL is vitally important for him to prove that he can add those other pieces to his game and earn a contract with the Canucks.
The other three cuts are all being sent to the Utica Comets, but it seems unlikely that they will stay there.
Last season, the Canucks loaned Anton Cederholm to Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League as there wasn’t room on the Comets roster for him. He didn’t stick in the SHL and was then loaned to AIK in the Allsvenskan, the second-tier Swedish league. The 22-year-old stay-at-home defenceman hasn’t given any indication that he has an NHL future and it doesn’t look like there will be much room on the Utica blue-line.
The Canucks will surely send down Jordan Subban, Jalen Chatfield, Andrey Pedan, Guillaume Brisebois, Ashton Sautner, AHL-veteran Jaime Sifers, and two of Alex Biega, Philip Holm, and Evan McEneny. That’s 8 defencemen already: where does Cederholm fit?
The same goes for Mackenze Stewart, who spent all of last season in the ECHL. It seems likely that he’ll do the same in the coming season. The Canucks’ attempt to turn him into a forward seems to be a thing of the past and there are simply too many other defencemen who need playing time in Utica.
For Cederholm and Stewart, it's best to remember better times. Like when Cederholm destroyed a medicine ball and we all thought he was the big, tough, physical, take-no-prisoners defenceman that would make the Canucks' blue line something to be feared. Or when we first heard Stewart's inspiring story of being born deaf and not taking up hockey until he was 12.
Finally, there’s Danny Moynihan, a former Canucks camp invitee who earned a contract with the Comets last season before spending the entire year in the ECHL. He had a very good rookie season with the Alaska Aces, however, tallying 22 goals and 52 points in 71 games, putting him in the top-10 in rookie scoring.
There’s a chance that he could stick with the Comets this season, though it may partly depend on who the Canucks decide to send down and whether anyone gets claimed on waivers.
At this point, however, Moynihan would have to pull an Alex Burrows to get to the NHL. For right now, he’ll focus on making the AHL, though getting cut with two players like Cederholm and Stewart who are unlikely to stick in the AHL can’t be doing wonders for his confidence.
