The Vancouver Canucks have one of the worst prospect pools in the NHL, so it isn't surprising that they've looked to make that pool a little bit deeper by dipping into undrafted free agents.
The latest free agent signing is right-shot defenceman Cole McWard, a 21-year-old from Ohio State University. He has been signed to a two-year, entry-level contract, so if he reports to Vancouver, he will have just one year remaining on his contract before becoming a restricted free agent.
"Cole has produced well offensively in each of his two seasons at Ohio State and excelled in a leadership role during his final USHL season with Tri-City," said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin in a press release. "We look forward to having him work with Adam Foote, Sergei Gonchar, and the rest of our development staff to round out his game as he transitions to the professional level."
The 6'1" McWard was the captain of the Tri-City Storm in his final year in the USHL before playing for Ohio State. He had 16 points in 36 games in his freshman year with the Buckeyes, then 21 points in 39 games in his sophomore season, finishing second among Buckeyes defencemen behind Boston Bruins second-round pick Mason Lohrei.
McWard has a strong point shot and distributes the puck well on the power play, though he's not likely to be a power play defenceman at the NHL level.
McWard captured scouts' attention with a strong NCAA tournament, including a two-goal performance against Harvard.
For a team that is in need of right-handed defencemen in their system, McWard is a decent bet.
