Finding comparable NHL players for Vancouver Canucks' top defence prospects

On Thursday, we looked at the Vancouver Canucks’ top-five U23 forward prospects and identified some NHL-level comparables — both high-end and low-end — for them. Now we’ll turn our attention to the blue line, a group that currently represents a far deeper pool of talent for Vancouver, both on the roster and in the organization.As a refresher, these are data-driven comparables based on the following criteria: Age-adjusted production — on a per-game basis — recorded in the exact same league at the same rough age; Height and weight, within a reasonable margin of error; Draft pedigree, wherever possible and within reason. The purpose of this exercise isn’t about predicting how these Canucks defence prospects will turn out at the NHL level, so much as it’s a snapshot designed to capture how Vancouver’s best young players are trending, and what a reasonable range of expectations is for them going forward.Advertisement