Canucks development camp kicked off late last week with team-building exercises and continues this week with fitness testing, on-ice sessions, and a showcase “game” at Rogers Arena on Thursday.
Among the 36 players at camp are 15 invitees that are not signed or drafted by the Canucks. These 15 players represent chances at finding a diamond in the rough, a potential prospect that might have been missed. These invitees can turn into legitimate NHL players: Antoine Roussel was once a Canucks invitee, for example, as was New Jersey Devils backup goaltender Keith Kinkaid.
I took a look at three of these invitees earlier this morning. Here are three more invitee forwards, including the youngest and the oldest players at camp.
Nick Isaacson – Left Wing
6’2″ – 180 lbs – Aug 11, 1999 (17)
Toronto, ON
Peterborough Petes (66-5-10-15)
The 17-year-old Isaacson is the youngest player at development camp by two months, as he won’t turn 18 until August. That means he was a first-time eligible player for the 2017 draft, but for what should be obvious reasons — just 15 points in 66 games — he wasn’t drafted.
The Canucks saw enough to invite him to camp, however. The Petes had a lot of depth at forward this past season and Isaacson might have simply not had the opportunity to prove himself. Despite his lack of points, he still made Central Scouting’s final rankings, landing at 148th among North American skaters.
Heading into the OHL draft in 2015, McKeen’s called him a “tall and rangy winger with tantalizing long-term potential,” who “flashes creative puck touches, a strong powerful stride and the hunger to score.” They praised his “smart instincts and elements of creativeness” to go with his “raw physical tools.”
Another report from McKeen’s notes his well-rounded game, calling him a “big, two-way, industrial winger” but notes that he “lacks finesse in his puck skills.”
A more recent prospect report praises his hockey sense and his top speed, but notes “he lacks fluidity to his stride along with an explosiveness in his first step.” But his quick hands and puck protection make him dangerous when he drives the net.
The question for Isaacson is if he can turn his physical tools into production when given more opportunity in the coming season and whether the promise of those tools is worth a contract spot for the Canucks.
Justin Parizek – Left Wing
6’1″ – 198 lbs – May 6, 1992 (25)
Lakeville, MN
University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (33-12-8-20)
From the youngest player at camp to the oldest: Justin Parizek is a returning invitee from last year’s camp. Already one of the oldest players at camp last year, he’ll stand out even more at this year’s camp, with some players a full 7 years younger than he. He’ll be like Will Ferrell in Old School. He’s the only person at camp born prior to the release of Nirvana’s Incesticide. He’s expected to spend most of camp complaining about kids these days and they’re hippity-hoppity music, and Facechats, and Snaptimes.
Parizek stepped up as the captain of the Mavericks this season, but stepped back in his offensive production, going from 28 points in 35 games to 20 points in 33 games, though he did score more goals. It’s worth noting as well that he increased his shot-rate, averaging more than 3 shots per game.
Parizek is a two-way winger, who doesn’t project as an offensive contributor at the next level, but with his size and skating ability may have a professional future in a bottom-six role. He hasn’t always been a role player, however, as this end-to-end goal as a teenager attests:
Parizek was named the NCHC Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year thanks to carrying a 3.79 GPA in his academic career while playing for the Mavericks.
Aaron Luchuk – Centre
5’10″ – 180 lbs – Apr 5, 1997 (20)
Kingston, ON
Windsor Spitfires (68-28-32-60)
The Canucks would have seen plenty of the ghost pirate Luchuk while scouting his teammates — Jalen Chatfield last season and Michael DiPietro and Gabriel Vilardi this season. Luchuk was the second line centre on the Spitfires behind top prospect Vilardi and had the most productive season of his OHL career.
In his Draft+2 season, Luchuk put up 28 goals and 60 points in 68 games. The majority of those were primary points — goals and first assists — and he was 35th in the OHL with 49 primary points. His 40 points at 5-on-5 were good for 39th in the OHL, with just 12 points coming at 5-on-4, so his production wasn’t dependent on the powerplay.
Luchuk made an impact in the Memorial Cup this year, putting up 4 points in 4 games, including the Cup winner.
You can see some of Luchuk’s skill on this fantastic individual effort starting at 2:06 in the below video. He goes forward off the faceoff in the neutral zone, challenges his defender one-on-one before beating him along the boards, then comes out front for a great scoring chance before collecting the loose puck and deking around the goaltender for the overtime winner.
Luchuk is a plus skater with great hockey sense, who protects the puck well and has good hands in tight. The big issue is that he lacks size and doesn’t quite have the offensive production to balance out that concern.
