Canucks Are Getting A Bona-Fide Competitor In First-Round Pick Adam Novotný

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to see shades of Mason McTavish in new Vancouver Canucks prospect Adam Novotný’s game. After all, that’s the player the 24th-overall pick in this year’s draft says he models his game after.

“Rob Wilson, our coach [with the Peterborough Petes], he told me that I’m so similar to him, and then I started to watch him a little bit more when I was here,” Novotný told the media during Vancouver’s development camp. “He’s a great player, competitive, versatile, can play a lot of roles, and it’s just fun to watch him.”

The fact that Novotný fell to 24th was a surprise for many, including Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson. The forward was projected to go anywhere from 13th-overall to 26th, with the majority of scouts and media projecting him to be picked in the late-teens. Novotný didn’t have any particular inkling as to where he’d go until the Canucks’ pick appeared on the horizon.

“Honestly, I didn’t have any expectations from the draft, but as it was getting closer to the 24th pick and I knew the Canucks were there, so I had like a little bit of an inside feeling, and I’m happy it worked out this way, because it’s such a great organization and I’m so happy to be here.”

Evidently, Novotný is happy that things worked out with him landing in Vancouver. The Canucks couldn’t agree more.

“He was a guy that we targeted. The way he plays, again, his character, his interview was very well-received,” Johnson had said after drafting the forward last week. “He exudes winner, compete, along with obviously a skill set, the amount of goals he scored, his size, he’s already very physically mature, the way he skates — again, it was a player that we felt that at 24 we were extremely lucky to get, and again he’s got pro habits at a young age.”

Part of the comparison to McTavish comes from the fact that, like the now-St. Louis Blues forward, Novotný has also played for Peterborough in the OHL. The new Canucks forward also holds the potential of becoming a lethal goal-scorer while maintaining an eye for other sides of the game. This skill of his was apparent throughout camp, but most-notably so during the prospects’ scrimmage on the final day.

Two goals and a slick assist during the scrimmages were only the cherry on top of what was overall an impressive skate for the young winger.

“First of all, his awareness and his skating ability looks really strong with a good posture,” Canucks development coach Mikael Samuelsson said of Novotný after the camp’s scrimmage. “He’s skating around there with a smile on, and you can’t forget about that. Some guys get tight, but he seems to enjoy it, he seems to love what he does and that’s a good start.”

As a whole, however, the development camp experience is something Novotný didn’t plan on overlooking. With great resources in former NHL veterans like Samuelsson, Mike Komisarek, and Alex Edler, as well as Olympic medallist and PWHLer Jenn Gardiner, Novotný headed into camp just hoping to soak everything in.

“Just gives me so much experience, meeting new guys and great coaching staff here, and the organization is just really good,” he’d said during camp. “We have a great program here, and I’m enjoying every moment, because not every guy can experience this, and I’m so excited to be here, and it’s just so much fun.”

Photo Credit: Kaja Antic-THN

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