Two players from last year’s group of invitees are now in the Canucks system. Michael Carcone earned a contract out of training camp, while Alexis D’Aoust recently signed with the Utica Comets.
Those were the two most promising of last year’s invitees, so it was gratifying seeing them succeed and get a chance at growing within the Canucks system.
We’re going to take a look at all 15 invitees to the 2017 Canucks development camp, starting with three forwards, including the aforementioned Alexis D’Aoust and two centres out of the NCAA.
Jackson Cressey – Centre
6’0″ – 180 lbs – Jan 22, 1996 (21)
West Vancouver, BC
Princeton Tigers (34-7-26-33)
The former Coquitlam Express captain is coming off a superb freshman season at Princeton, where he led the Tigers in assists and finished third in points. He was 9th among NCAA freshmen in points-per-game and third in assists.
Cressey was twice named ECAC Rookie of the Month and was a finalist for the ECAC Rookie of the Year Award, but lost out to 40-point defenceman Adam Fox, a Flames prospect and member of the US World Junior team. He was still named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team, however.
The 21-year-old centre finished the season with just 55 shots in 34 games; that combined with his assist totals lets you know that he’s more of a passer than a shooter, though he sees himself as a two-way centre who can play a responsible defensive game. He was strong in the faceoff circle last season, winning 54.5% of his draws.
Cressey had a four-point game against RPI in December, tallying a goal and three assists in a come-from-behind win.
What’s most noteworthy to me is how often Cressey finds his way to the front of the net. That’s nice to see from someone who isn’t the biggest player, though he’s not quite what you would call undersized.
Steven Iacobellis - Centre
5’9″ – 170 lbs – Aug 20, 1993 (23)
Port Coquitlam, BC
University of Massachusetts Minutemen (36-8-13-21)
Now here’s a guy who’s undersized. Iacobellis isn’t quite the smallest player at camp — the 5’6” Petrus Palmu holds that crown — but he’s the shortest invitee at 5’9”. The former member of three different BCHL teams just finished his Senior year at UMass, where he put up 20+ points in all four years with the Minutemen.
That is solid, if unspectacular, production in the NCAA, but players of Iacobellis’s stature generally have a much harder row to hoe in order to make it in professional hockey. More substantial offensive production would have helped his cause. That said, his 21 points led the Minutemen last season and he might have the potential to be an energy-line type of guy.
Iacobellis is a speedy forward who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, going in hard on the forecheck and getting to the front of the net, but he also has a bit of skill, handling the puck with confidence. He’s a leader, known for his work ethic and he was the captain of the Minutemen in his senior year.
His former coach with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks lauded his leadership: “Steven is one of those players that has the ability to make the people around him better, and that's what we saw from him on a night-to-night basis this season. Not only did he lead the majority of our offense late in the season, but he took over as a leader in our dressing room and we know that his work ethic certainly rubbed off on his teammates.”
Iacobellis has at least one Canucks connection. He was a teammate with Troy Stecher on the 2010-11 Penticton Vees, but was traded away before the Vees went on their legendary run in 2011-12, with a record-setting 42-game win streak and 54-win season.
Alexis D’Aoust - Right Wing
6’0″ – 201 lbs – Apr 3, 1996 (21)
Trois-Rivières, QC
Shawinigan Cataractes (50-29-31-60)
While D’Aoust is sort of in the Canucks system, as he recently signed an AHL deal with the Utica Comets, he’s not actually signed with the Canucks, which makes him an invitee.
At last year’s development camp, D’Aoust was one of the most intriguing invitees, coming off a 98-point season in the QMJHL. He was a standout at the Young Stars Tournament and got invited to the main Canucks camp, but ultimately left without a contract.
D’Aoust’s over-age season wasn’t quite as impressive as his 98-point campaign: he managed just 29 goals and 60 points in 50 games. Part of that was due to teammates Anthony Beauvillier and Dmytro Timashov turning pro, but when you look at his season as a whole, he was weirdly inconsistent.
In November last season, he put up 10 points in 11 games. But 5 of those points came from just one game, and they were all goals.
In January, he had a 4-game pointless streak. He busted out of the slump with another 5-point game. He was held off the scoresheet in 6 out of 9 games in March, but the other three were all multi-point games and he finished a point-per-game for the month. All season long, he had these bursts — 4-point and 5-point games — surrounded by low-scoring streaks. He was consistent in the playoffs at least, scoring 5 goals and 7 points in a 6-game first round loss to Val-D’Or.
D’Aoust is a strong, fast skater, has decent size, good vision, soft hands, great finish: it’s all there. The biggest issue is whether he has a strong enough two-way game to make it in the NHL; he has a tendency to look lost without the puck. If he can’t figure out the defensive side of the game, he’s a longshot for the NHL, as his offensive upside isn’t quite enough to make up for it. That makes him a great candidate to develop in the AHL.
