August 15th is an essential day on the calendar every year as some college prospects around the National Hockey League lose their exclusive signing rights and become unrestricted free agents.
These players are eligible to become unrestricted free agents if they're exiting their final year of college and are not signed by the National Hockey League franchise that drafted them.
For the Vancouver Canucks, they're set to lose a pair of prospects on Thursday - Matthew Thiessen, a goaltender who was with the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Jack Malone, who they selected in the sixth round back in 2019.
Jack Malone's fate with the Vancouver Canucks organization was already sealed back in April as he agreed to terms on a two-year AHL contract with the Utica Comets. Last season, Malone played for Boston College, where he had 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists), 12 penalty minutes and was a plus-seven.
As for Thiessen, he had a record of 3-11-2 with a 3.14 goals against average (GAA) and a .904 save percentage in 18 games with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. It's unclear what Thiessen's plans are for the 2024-25 season. Still, with the departure of Zach Sawchenko from the Canucks organization, many were wondering if he could be brought in to play in the American Hockey League with Abbotsford.
Source: Pro Hockey Rumors
List Of Draft Rights Expiring August 15
POLL | ||
Are you disappointed that the Canucks didn't sign Jack Malone and Matthew Thiessen? | ||
Yes | 16 | 10.3 % |
No | 139 | 89.7 % |
List of polls |