VANCOUVER – Six years after the 2014 NHL draft, the Vancouver Canucks have finally haunted Jayce Hawryluk. But six years later, the 24-year-old is still pursuing his career in the National Hockey League.
The Canucks, squeezed by the salary cap, signed Hawryluk and reigning 24-year-old center Adam Gaudette on Monday to negotiate contracts.
With a two-way free agent deal that grossed him $ 800,000 in the NHL and $ 200,000 in the minors, Hawryluk is listed as a non-squad player by CapFriendly.com’s capped accountants. If he were on the NHL list, the Canucks seat would drop to $ 248,000 after 24-year-old Gaudette accepted a one-year deal for $ 950,000.
The Canucks will need multiple salaries in this area to hit the $ 81.5 million ceiling when the next season kicks off. But to help the team financially, Hawryluk must be able to help out on the ice.
He’s only a bargain when he plays for the Canucks, and in four professional seasons since the Florida Panthers two-picked him into the second round in 2018, Roblin, Man. Has had the fighting depth of just 68 NHL games recorded.
The best stretch of eleven, however, came late last season after the Ottawa Senators claimed it for themselves on February 17 due to exemptions from Florida.
His two goals and seven points – and 33 hits – weren’t enough for the Senators to make Hawryluk a qualifying offer, but it was enough for the Canucks to see again the promise General Manager Jim Benning had previously seen in the former Brandon Wheat King the draft for 2018.
This was Benning’s first draft in charge of the Canucks, and after an impressive performance by Hawryluk on the combine before the draft, Vancouver rated him highly. But the Panthers picked him four spots ahead of the Canucks pick in the second round, and Benning picked goalkeeper Thatcher Demko.
Demko’s rise to the NHL starter has been remarkably steady and linear since then. Hawryluk’s path looked like the Sea-to-Sky Highway – all the curves and changes in altitude.
But what has benefited Demko should now help Hawryluk: a team that believes in him.
“They have shown interest in me since the beginning of my career and they have continued to show that,” Hawryluk told reporters on a video call. “That was a big point for me when I got there: They wanted me there and they saw that potential in me.
“It is a journey, and not every journey is a straight path. There are ups and downs and I’ve definitely had some ups and downs in my career. I can’t sit here and tell you I didn’t. I feel like I’m at a point in my life where my game is the best ever and it’s just getting better. “
With his modest success in Ottawa, where he played an average of 13 minutes a night, Hawryluk should have been upset by the end of the season. Instead, he felt terror. He was one of five Senators – and the first NHL player to speak publicly about it – to sign COVID-19 on a road trip to California just before the league closed on March 12.
A month later, Hawryluk, who was quarantined at his parents’ home in Roblin before returning to his own home in Brandon, discussed his condition with the Winnipeg Free Press.
He told later The athlete that he spoke about COVID as a warning to others.
“I wanted to show people that everyone is susceptible to this disease,” he said in July. “I’m a professional athlete, I train all the time, I play hockey all the time, I’m in top form and I still have it. I wanted to try to make it clear that this could happen to anyone. “
Hawryluk said Monday that he had fully recovered from the virus.
“Last year was definitely a crazy year,” he said.
Another unexpected turn on the road.
“I’ve always believed in myself,” said Hawryluk. “I think you have to believe in yourself to be successful in anything you do. I still hold that belief.
“I don’t think I’ve reached my potential. I still feel young and still have a lot inside me, and I want to show that. “
Before splitting 26 games between Ottawa and Florida last year, where he was often a healthy scratch, Hawryluk played 148 games with minors in the last three seasons. Two seasons after his draft year, the 5-foot-11 right-footer center scored 47 goals, 106 points and 101 penalty minutes in 58 games for Brandon in junior.
Canuck coach Travis Green trained against Hawryluk during the player’s rookie season in the Western League.
“They saw potential in me,” Hawryluk said of the Canucks. “You have a great coach. He plays the style of play that I bring with me. I just thought it would fit perfectly and I’m looking forward to playing somewhere. “
Gaudette, the former Hobey Baker Trophy winner, who scored 12 goals and 33 points in 59 games for the Canucks in his second NHL season, speaks to the media on Tuesday.
