Names to watch as Vancouver Canucks announce roster for 2023 Young Stars Classic

Late Tuesday morning, the Vancouver Canucks have announced their roster for the 2023 Young Stars Classic.

The tournament is set to take place in Penticton, BC, at the South Okanagan Events Centre from September 15-18, and will feature prospects from the Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets.

The roster the Canucks have announced features 27 players in total, including 15 forwards, nine defencemen, and three goaltenders. Seven players will be returning for the Canucks from last year’s tournament (Arshdeep Bains, Marc Gatcomb, Danila Klimovich, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Chad Nychuk, Quinn Schmiemann, and Ty Young), while the remaining 20 players will all be attending for the first time.

Here is the Canucks’ full roster:

Forwards

Vilmer Alriksson
Arshdeep Bains
Josh Bloom
Braeden Bowman (Invite)
Marc Gatcomb
Danila Klimovich
Jacob Maillet (Invite)
Aidan McDonough
Karel Plasek
Aatu Räty
Colby Saganiuk (Invite)
Max Sasson
Dalyn Wakely (Invite)
Cooper Walker
Dmitry Zlodeyev

Danila Klimovich stood out at last year’s Young Stars Classic, and that was apparently just a sign of what was to come for the big Belarussian winger, as he enjoyed a successful sophomore AHL campaign shortly after. With two AHL seasons under his belt and more confidence all around, look for Klim to stand out at this year’s tournament.

We’re very intrigued to see Josh Bloom as well, as he was acquired mid-season in the deal that sent Riley Stillman to the Buffalo Sabres. Bloom projects as a solid NHL bottom-six winger, but has shown some offensive upside as well. He should be able to stand out at this tournament in whatever situation the coaching staff decides to put him in.

Defencemen

Hunter Brzustewicz
Derek Daschke
Akito Hirose
Filip Johansson
Kirill Kudryavtsev
Cole McWard
Sawyer Mynio
Chad Nychuk
Quinn Schmiemann

Despite getting some NHL games after signing as NCAA free agents late last season, Akito Hirose and Cole McWard will be suiting up and should be expected to stand out at this year’s tournament to some extent.

Filip Johansson was playing in Sweden last year so this will be his first Young Stars Classic after arriving in Abbotsford during the baby Nucks’ playoff run. He will certainly be an intriguing player to watch as he looked a bit uncomfortable with systems and positioning in the brief time he suited up for Abbotsford last season.

Hunter Brzustewicz will be a name we’re looking to stand out, as the offensive defenceman was thought by many to have fallen to the Canucks in the third round. He easily could have been a second round pick after putting up six goals and 51 assists through 68 OHL games in his draft year.

Goaltenders

Jonathan Lemiuex
Nikita Tolopilo
Ty Young

Arturs Silovs has aged out and has his sights more on the Canucks’ NHL backup job than he does impressing at Young Stars, like he did last year. Now it’s Ty Young and recently signed prospect Nikita Tolopilo’s chance to go out and make a name for themselves in front of Canucks fans and brass in attendance at the tournament later this week.

Here is the Canucks’ schedule:

– GAME 1: Sep. 15 vs Calgary Flames (7:30 p.m.)
– GAME 2: Sep. 17 vs Winnipeg Jets (2:00 p.m.)
– GAME 3: Sep. 18 vs Edmonton Oilers (1:30 p.m.)

All games will be streamed online from canucks.com.