Vancouver Canucks Prospect Tate Olson Ready for WHL Success
For Vancouver Canucks prospect Tate Olson, the 2016-17 season is all about earning an NHL contract, and he is in an excellent position to achieve just that.
When the Vancouver Canucks announced their first round of training camp cuts on Monday, prospect defenseman Tate Olson probably wasn’t too happy. Nobody expected him to crack the roster, but being cut in the first round, even before the preseason start, always hurts. But, Olson can be excited for what is to come.
Olson, the second-last pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, is returning to the Western Hockey League Prince George Cougars. Unless you are a long-time WHL fan, you might not think of success when you hear someone talk about the Cougars — but times have changed.
Led by a new ownership group around ex-Canuck Dan Hamhuis, the Cougars started an uphill ride, and they have no intentions of slowing down. With new head coach Richard Matvichuk and eight NHL draft picks and training camp invitees on the roster, the Cougars might have assembled the strongest team in club history, and Olson will be a big part of it.
With two years of Vancouver Canucks prospect camps, Young Stars Classics and main camps under his belt, Olson will be looking to take on a leadership role with the club.
In the 2015-16 season, Olson went from unknown seventh-round draft pick to one of Vancouver’s blue-line hopefuls. TSN’s Craig Button viewed Olson as the Canucks’ fourth-best prospect back in February — ahead of players like Nikita Tryamkin, Jordan Subban and Guillaume Brisebois.
As the Cougars recorded their highest point total since 2001-02, Olson tied for second on the team in assists (38) and finished first in D-man scoring with 47 points.
In addition to Olson, the Cougars’ defense includes Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Sam Ruopp and the Colorado Avalanche’s 2016 draft pick Josh Anderson. The group is completed by veterans like Shane Collins and youngsters like Max Martin, and backed up by a strong goaltending duo in Ty Edmonds and Nick McBride.
On offense, the Cougars lineup includes Winnipeg Jets prospect Jansen Harkins, Boston Bruin Jesse Gabrielle and New York Rangers pick Brad Morrison, as well as training camp invitees Brogan O’Brien (Avalanche) and Kody McDonald (Montreal Canadiens). Veterans like Jared Bethune, Aaron Boyd and Colby McAuley, import players Yan Khomenko and Bartek Bison, and young guns like Justin Almeida and Jackson Leppard will provide secondary scoring.
The Cougars are led by a boatload of 19-year-olds, but have also assembled a deep pool of young impact players and prospects. Even with the NHL prospects attending training camps, Prince George was able to snag back-to-back wins against the reigning WHL regular-season champions from Victoria.
We don’t want to raise the expectations too high, but this team has championship potential. At the very least, the Cougars should be able to advance past the first playoff round for the first time since 2007.
So, being cut from the Vancouver Canucks sure wasn’t fun. But Tate Olson has a lot to look forward to.
And when he returns next year, he will be better than ever.
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