Thursday, Oct. 27, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they had acquired Jack Studnicka from the Boston Bruins for Michael DiPietro and the rights to Jonathan Myrenberg. This was the first trade between these two teams since Jan. 17, 2004, when the Canucks traded Jiri Slegr to the Bruins for future considerations. Here is a look at the player involved in the trade.
Jack Studnicka Scouting Report
The Canucks needed to improve their center depth, and that’s exactly what they did when acquiring Studnicka. A former second-round pick in 2017, the 6-foot-2, 23-year-old has played in 38 NHL games scoring once and adding six assists. He also holds a career faceoff win percentage of 47.7 percent in the NHL, has recorded 15 blocked shots and has thrown 26 hits. In theory, he is a prototypical fourth-liner who can play the penalty kill and play a physical game if needed.
Where Studnicka has shined is the American Hockey League (AHL). With the Providence Bruins, he has 34 goals and 62 assists in 117 regular-season games. During his rookie season back in 2019-20, he was named to the AHL All-Star Game and included on the AHL All-Rookie Team after he posted 23 goals and 49 points in 60 games. Last season with Providence, he posted 10 goals and 35 points in 41 games and looks ready to make the jump to the NHL full-time.
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The scouting report for Studnicka is similar to most fringe players in the NHL. He works hard, and is ok defensively but needs to improve his skating. With injuries pilling up in for Vancouver’s forward group, he should get a chance to make his Canucks debut sooner rather than later.
According to Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin, Studnicka has been a player he has been keeping tabs on since his draft season. As for his contract situation, he is signed for this year and next but does need to clear waivers in order to be sent back to the AHL. The hope is a change of scenery, and more opportunities will help the former Bruin get back on track with his development. If he becomes an everyday NHLer who can play 10-12 minutes a night in the team’s bottom six, this trade could be considered a win in a few seasons barring unforeseen breakouts from either DiPietro or Mayrenberg.
Who the Canucks Sent to Boston
Out of the two players Vancouver sent to the Bruins, the bigger name is DiPietro. The Canucks drafted the goaltender 64th overall in 2017 after he helped guide the Windsor Spitfire of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to a Memorial Cup Championship. After showing promise early on in his professional career in the AHL, his development stalled thanks to COVID-19. During the 2020-21 season, he only played four AHL games, as he spent most of the year in the press box as the Canucks’ third-string goaltender.
Related: 3 Trade Destinations for Canucks DiPietro
The relationship became so fractured between the two that the Canucks reportedly gave his agent permission to talk with other teams about a potential trade. The hope is a change of scenery can help the former OHL Goaltender of the Year regain his form and restart his career. DiPietro finishes his Canucks career with a 0-2-0 record, along with a 5.26 goals-against average and a .771% save percentage in four games.
The other prospect going to Boston is Myrenberg. He is a 19-year-old, right-shot defenceman currently playing over in Sweden with Mora IK, who play in the HockeyAllsvenskan. A 2021 fifth-round pick, his inclusion in the trade turned some heads, especially considering the organization’s lack of right-shot defencemen in their prospect system. Despite being one of if not the top prospect at his position in the organization, he is a project piece that most likely is 5-7 years away from even having a shot at an NHL roster.
Canucks Hoping Studnicka Turns Into a Stud
The best way to describe this trade is each team taking on a reclamation project, with the Canucks viewing Studnicka’s ceiling as higher than DiPietro’s and Myrenberg. The hope is that he finds his game and turns into a steal, just like Vancouver found with Nils Åman. While the chance he becomes more than a bottom-six player for the Canucks is slim, he has the potential to become an important third- or fourth-line player for the remainder of the season.
