2024 NHL Draft Profile: Why the Dallas Stars must draft Marek Vanacker

Another blue-chip left winger falls into Dallas' lap.

If you’re not a draft nerd, well, you should be. When it comes to prospects, some make the cut but many don’t. Regardless, every journey, whether it’s Julius Honka or Logan Stankoven, can help make you a more informed hockey watcher.

Monday we looked at Teddy Stiga: a somewhat undersized but strong playmaking forward cut from the same cloth as players like Stankoven, Wyatt Johnston, and Mavrik Bourque. Today we’re looking at a much more mercurial forward, but who is every bit as talented.

The Bio

• Date of Birth: Apr. 5, 2006

• Age: 18

• Height: 6’0

• Weight: 183lbs

• Position: LW

• Shoots: Left

• Team: Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)

What the pros are saying

Below I’ve highlighted a few choice quotes from the most familiar, and most respected public outlets.

From EPRinkside (ranking him at #33):

• Vanacker anticipates changes of possession and gaps in coverage and times his drive into these pockets to get scoring chances. He steals the puck on the backcheck and on the forecheck and instantly turns these plays into odd-man attacks. And he can traverse a neutral zone quickly with powerful forward strides or deceptive, east-west crossovers, and pick the corners of the net off the rush.

From Scott Wheeler (ranking him at #31):

• Vanacker showed real confidence on the attack this season with the puck in his hands, building on his strong foundation of tools and habits to really develop his game offensively. There's a lot to like. He's got size, he's a really strong skater, he'll take pucks to the net, he protects and shields the puck well, he knows where to be and go on the ice, he's got a solid two-way game and he works to get the most out of his above-average skill.

From Corey Pronman (ranking him at #65):

• He's a strong skating winger with very good hands. He can beat defenders often off the rush and creates a lot of controlled entries. Vanacker isn't going to run players over, but he's a decent-sized forward who works hard, wins a lot of 50/50 pucks and gets to the net to create offense. He makes plays but I wouldn't call him a top-tier playmaker or a true offensive threat.

From an unnamed NHL scout in Pronman’s recent draft feature about the most underrated prospects:

• Marek Vanacker. He has good speed. He plays with a lot of energy. He can score, he can PK. There’s a lot of utility in his game.

Unimaginative, misleading comparables

• Blake Coleman

• Anders Lee

• Jordan Eberle

• Warren Foegele

• Luke Evangelista

• Brandon Saad

The numbers

Vanacker profiles like a high-octane shooter that gets to high danger areas, assists by virtue of quality positioning, and who you can always expect to see involved in an offensive play; hell to the tune of better than 96 percent of his peers. Throw in a dash of playmaking, and a hint of well-roundedness, and all-in-all, the ingredients are there for an impact middle six forward.

Not sure what this chart means and need a quick and dirty explainer? I’ve got you covered! Click here to learn more from a man who knows less.

The tape

Personal observations

Vanacker is a unique player in all the right ways. For a player expected to go late in the first round, his talents are quite obvious. His speed isn’t elite, but he has fluid loose puck speed, and even (to my eyes at least) something of a separation gear. Meanwhile, his hands appear quite deadly, and while he’s clearly not the playmaker that Stiga is, he has solid vision for a player that seems to generate a lot of chances on his own. Like Stiga, I don’t have anything critical to say about him. For Dallas fans, perhaps the best corollary that comes to mind is a fixed Matej Blumel (or maybe a faster Mason Marchment? Honestly just ignore my comparisons).

How he improves Dallas

Like with Stiga, we talked about Dallas’ future at left wing. It’s grim. There’s nothing behind Jason Robertson long term, which means eventually the Stars need to start filling the cupboards back.

Vanacker is perfect for going down that path because he possesses top six skills while also having a relatively high floor. Although he’s not big, he’s not small either, which will be seen by the Stars as a potential positive. Again, I don’t care for the entire discussion about size because like anything else, it has to be leveraged positively for it to be meaningful. Sam Bennett’s not big, but he might be the most physically imposing player in hockey right now. But I understand the optics. And Vanacker is a skilled forward with pro-size, which will certainly add to the attraction if he’s still available at 29.

Because he profiles like a multi-layered winger, I like what he has potential to add. What if Johnston and Robertson is the duo of the future? In that world, I want Vanacker next to Hintz — someone who can finish plays the way Robertson has done previously, but also someone who can keep up with Hintz’ pace.

Granted, this is all best-case scenario. But that’s the entire point, isn’t it? You don’t draft players for who they’re not. You draft them for who you hope they can be. But more importantly — you draft them because you’ve put in the work, the research, and thus have identified the probability of a prospect being able to manifest that best-case scenario.

Vanacker has all the tools to become that best-case scenario.