2023 first-rounder Tom Willander lands high up on recent prospect rankings

PUBLICATION

Cooper Godin
July 31, 2024 (7:35 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

2023 first-rounder Tom Willander has landed high up on a recent prospect rankings.

The 2024-25 season is going to be a big one development-wise for Vancouver Canucks prospect Tom Willander, who the team selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Coming off his freshman year with Boston University in the NCAA, Willander has a lot to look forward to next season which will include an increased role with both his college club and for Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, which is set to be held in Ottawa, Ontario starting on December 26th.

Over the last couple of weeks, Dave Hall at Canucks Army has been sharing his top-20 prospects list for Vancouver and on Wednesday, it was Tom Willander's turn to be featured and he put the Swedish defenceman at number 2.

"Welcome back to CanucksArmy's top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings. Today, we delve into our second-highest-ranked prospect and the team's highest-pedigreed drafted defenceman since Quinn Hughes." Hall said.

Willander had a strong year for Boston University in 2023-24 and expect him to take another step forward next season. In 38 games, Willander had 25 points (four goals, 21 assists), 12 penalty minutes and was a plus-28. He went on to add three points in seven games at the 2024 World Juniors with Sweden, taking home the silver medal.

With Tom Willander coming in at second on Dave Hall's list, by process of elimination, 2022 first-round pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki is set to be his top ranked Vancouver Canucks prospect. Let's take a look at the top-ten prospects ranked by Dave Hall.

Prospect (ranking) - Primary 2023-24 club
Jonathan Lekkerimaki (Presumably #1) - Orebro HK (SHL).
Tom Willander (2) - Boston University (NCAA).
Arturs Silovs (3) - Abbotsford Canucks (AHL).
Elias Pettersson (4) - Vasteras IK (HockeyAllsvenskan).
Aatu Raty (5) - Abbotsford Canucks (AHL).
Arshdeep Bains (6) - Abbotsford Canucks (AHL).
Kirill Kudryavtsev (7) - Soo Greyhounds (OHL).
Sawyer Mynio (8) - Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL).
Melvin Fernstrom (9) - Orebro HK Jr. (SWE-Jr.).
Anthony Romani (10) - North Bay Battalion (OHL).

Do you think Tom Willander will sign his entry-level contract with the Canucks at the end of the 2024-25 season? Let us know what you think in the poll below.