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Anthony Romani, Michigan State University (Syndication: Lansing State Journal)

Canucks Should Sign Anthony Romani This Season

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Lukas Bernasiewicz | Last updated Feb 4, 2026 9:35 AM ET

It’s no secret that this has been a tough season for the Vancouver Canucks. They currently stand as the worst team in the NHL with the best odds at earning the first-overall pick in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft. But several of their drafted prospects have been playing very well in their respective leagues and are making the future in Vancouver look very bright. One of those players is 2024 sixth-round pick Anthony Romani, who has been great this season for the Michigan State Spartans and should be signed by the Canucks once his season ends.

Romani’s Growth

After going undrafted in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Romani stunned the junior hockey world in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and scored 58 goals and 111 points with the North Bay Battalion. His performance that season got him much attention from NHL teams, and he was eventually drafted by the Canucks. An intriguing player with a very high ceiling has been added to the Canucks’ prospect pool.

Romani returned to the OHL and experienced some injury struggles in 2024-25, which was also marked by a trade to Barrie. Through all of that, he was still able to record 30 points in 29 games with the Colts and 24 points in 16 playoff games. He also committed to Michigan State University, which is where he has thrived this season.

He has been given the chance to play with players like Philadelphia Flyers prospect Porter Martone and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Cayden Lindstrom, and has thrived with his new teammates, as he just scored a hat trick last Friday. So far this season, Romani has totalled 12 goals, 10 assists and 22 points with the Spartans and has become a key member of their roster. Romani has used his skills to his advantage; certain attributes like his shot, speed, and stick handling have been on full display in his freshman season and look like they could translate well to the NHL level.

Signing Him to an ELC

Signing Romani after his season concludes will be great for the Canucks, as it will begin their new wave of young prospects coming to their team. The organization has a good crop of young players within their prospect pool, and bringing Romani into the fold after this season will do wonders for the organization. After just one season in the NCAA, he has shown tremendous growth and has been succeeding while playing against hockey players who are close to his age and even older. He has shown that he can produce points and create offence against players who are above him in age, which he will see at the NHL level.

From the Canucks perspective, there are no negatives to signing Romani when his season ends in late March or early April because Vancouver doesn’t have much to play for. As the last-place team, your one job is to sell the youth in your system and hope for the future. Romani will bring both. He will be able to get NHL experience and get to play with some of the Canucks top players, like Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson, right before the end of the season.

By keeping Romani in the NCAA, it is most likely that he won’t grow more than he already has this season. In fact, he may develop bad habits like some junior players do, where they dominate in lower leagues and then get to the NHL and realize too late that they can’t skill their way through the league. He can also be sent to Abbotsford at any time while on an entry-level contract.

Romani is a great young player that the Canucks should be very excited to welcome into their organization at the end of this season. With his great play at Michigan State, Vancouver should want to bring him into the fold and get him into some games before their season finishes. Then next season, he can play in Vancouver or Abbotsford and continue to grow his game at the professional level.