Canucks Prospects Update: OHL & WHL

All eyes are on Team Canada as they prepare for the World Juniors.
The Canucks have Michael DiPietro at Canada's evaluation camp with hopes of landing the starting job for the host nation. Jett Woo was unable to earn an invite to the camp, but has been on fire over the last six weeks. While defensive prospect Matt Brassard continues to play well in the OHL.

This week we'll take a look at the three Canucks prospects in the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League.

Jett Woo

24 GP - 5G - 18A - 23 PT
The Canucks 2018 2nd round pick has been on a torrid pace since the end of October and appears to not be stopping any time soon.
Named the WHL Player of the Week for last week, Woo posted one goal and six assist over three games between December 3rd-9th. This is all part of his current eight game point streak that has seen him pot three goals and contribute 10 assists.
Woo is now sitting 15th in WHL scoring among defenceman and 10th in power play assists with 10.
Although he didn't earn an invite to Team Canada's evaluation camp, he will benefit from his teammate Josh Brook attending. Woo and Brook are usually split apart at 5-on-5 play to bring balance to their top four with them regularly playing together on the power-play. With Brook trying to earn his way onto the Team Canada roster, the backend is being led by the Canucks prospect.
This should afford him with quite a bit of opportunity in all situations. Obviously, he would prefer to be in Victoria battling for a spot to represent Canada but in the short term, it is a great chance for Woo to work towards forcing himself onto Canada's roster for the 2020 iteration of the team.
Obviously, Woo will not continue the torrid point pace for the duration of the season, but it's encouraging to see his offensive side of the game rounding out. Combine that with His defensive zone play and physicality, and there is a lot to like about where Woo is right now in his development path.

Michael DiPietro

The Canucks goaltending prospect has made his way to Victoria to participate in the evaluation camp for Team Canada.
It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks for the 2017 3rd round pick with being invited to the aforementioned camp, being moved to the Ottawa 67's in the OHL, appearing in one game for them, and then making his way across the country to prove that he deserves the net for Canada.
In that one game for the 67's, DiPietro made 24 saves on 25 shots and looked his acrobatic and confident self.
Last night, DiPietro suited up for Canada in an exhibition game against the Canadian University All Stars. He played the first half of the game for Team Canada, stopping 18 of 19 shots.
Team Canada will play two more games against the U-Sports All-Star team this week before welcoming Switzerland (December 19) and Slovakia (December 21) to Victoria for pre-tournament exhibition games. Their final tune-up exhibition contest will come on December 23rd with them taking the ferry over to Vancouver to take on Finland at Rogers Arena.

Matt Brassard

26GP - 6G - 12A - 18PT
The 2017 7th round selection continues to play well for the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League.
Continuing his role as a top four right side defender for the Generals, Brassard's offensive production has been a bit sporadic this season, but his overall contribution to the team has increased. Being leaned on for all situations, Brassard uses his hockey IQ and puck moving abilities to limit chances against and move the puck in the right direction.
One statistical aspect that stands out about his game is his ability to generate shots. In 26 games this season, Brassard has only one game where he failed to register a shot on goal. His 89 shots on goal has him ranked 7th among OHL defenceman in total shots on goal despite appearing in the fewest number of games among the top 10.
He is first among Generals defenceman in that category with the second place defender, Giovani Vallati, sitting well below at 37 shots-on-goal.
Get pucks to the net and good things will happen seems to be the mentality of the Canucks prospect as he lets it fly regularly.
Like Woo and the Moose Jaw Warriors, the Generals will feel the impact of the World Juniors with quite a few of their top players gone. It should allow Brassard to continue to be a leader on the backend and see if he can extend his current three game point streak a little further.