The Canucks took a dynamic offensive defenceman with their first pick of the draft, selecting Quinn Hughes at seventh overall. With their second pick, they grabbed a more physical defender that might be a good fit on his pairing someday: Jett Woo.
Where Hughes is a speedy, finesse player, Woo is a hard-nosed and hard-hitting. Hughes is a natural left side defenceman with a left-hand shot, while Woo is a right-hand shot. Hughes is a rover, jumping up the ice at every opportunity, while Woo is more defensively responsible.
“Defensively, Jett is one of the best in the league,” says his scouting report from Hockey Prospect. “He is always in the right spot to make the play. Going back to retrieve the puck his head is always up and on a swivel. Jett seldom loses a puck battle.”
While not overly tall at 6’0”, he’s solid, weighing in at over 200 lbs, and he uses all of it to crush opponents. He doesn’t take himself out of position to throw hits, however, but embraces every opportunity to make contact as it comes. Importantly, despite his reputation for physical play, he avoids penalties.
That’s because Woo is almost always on the right side of the puck. He rarely needs to take a hooking or holding penalty, because he doesn’t get caught out of position. Scouts praise his defensive reads.
Beyond his defensive abilities, Woo is a fantastic skater who might have more offensive upside than his 9 goals and 25 points in 44 games might suggest. Woo didn’t get a lot of offensive opportunities on a deep Moose Jaw Warriors team, so might thrive with more opportunity in the future. He’s also on the younger side of the draft, as he doesn’t turn 18 until late July.
Woo is notably the second-highest-drafted player of Chinese descent in NHL history. While his on-ice play is well worth the pick, it's hard to ignore the off-ice marketing opportunities that he presents in a city like Vancouver.
One issue with Woo, and a big reason why he was available in the second round, is that he battled injuries this past season, including a shoulder injury. That has some people concerned that his body might not be able to handle his hard-hitting style as his career progresses.
The Canucks don’t seem to be concerned and added another high-end defenceman to their prospect pool.
Most importantly, Jett Woo has an incredible name. He came in at number two in my ranking of the best names in the draft, behind only Nando Eggenberger. There is no shame in losing that battle.
For a fanbase that already shouts “Woo!” after a goal, how can they go wrong with Jett Woo?
