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Woo, McWard, Johansson: Which Canucks RHD prospect plays the most NHL games next season?

Originally posted on Canucksarmy | By David Quadrelli | Last updated 7/14/23

It’s the middle of July, which means we’re writing about prospects here at CanucksArmy. It also means that Chris Faber and I are regularly talking about prospects on our podcast, Canucks Conversation.

And on Thursday’s episode, we asked our listeners to join in on the conversation via our Atlas Goods poll question. Last week, we posed the question and had a spirited debate about whether Jonathan Lekkerimäki or Danila Klimovich would have the better NHL career, and this week, we asked our listeners and debated something about the Canucks’ prospect defencemen.

Out of Jett Woo, Cole McWard, and Filip Johansson, who plays the most NHL games next season?

Here are the results of our poll question. The results were close, but the majority of fans voted for Cole McWard.

Our poll question, brought to you by @AtlasgdsInc:

Which right-shot defence prospect will play in more NHL games next season?

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— Canucks Conversation Podcast (@CanucksConvo) July 12, 2023

The poll question was very close, and it feels like there’s not really a wrong answer at this point in time. McWard might be the best bet, but fans shouldn’t sleep on Jett Woo, who took major strides last season and is going to be looking to do that again this upcoming season. Woo also got a vote of confidence from Ryan Johnson during the Abbotsford GM’s end-of-season media availability. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Woo get a shot at some point next season.

Yesterday, we broke down expectations and goals for every right-handed defenceman on the Canucks’ depth chart, and you can read that by clicking here.

As written in that article, Johansson is a player we expect will need a season to familiarize himself with the North American game, and doesn’t seem like somebody in the running to play many NHL games next season. As for McWard, he and Woo both will get plenty of opportunity to be “the guys” down in Abbotsford, and could both be among the first to receive a call-up if an injury arises on the Vancouver blue line.

Here’s our conversation about the topic: