{"id":880558,"date":"2026-09-05T05:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T05:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/880558\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T05:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T05:28:11","slug":"2026-27-prove-it-players-pacific-division-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/880558\/","title":{"rendered":"2026-27 Prove-It Players: Pacific Division \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time to wrap up our analysis of young players who have the most to prove their teams in the season ahead. We\u2019ve looked at each of the Atlantic<\/a>, Central<\/a>, and Metropolitan<\/a> divisions, and that leaves the Pacific.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no shortage of notable names who face pressure in the Pacific to show something in 2026-27. However, this series focuses specifically on under-25 players returning to their same teams as last season, unlike a candidate such as Edmonton\u2019s Devon Levi<\/a>, who finally got a fresh start with a shot at offering sorely needed relief in net for the Oilers. To make the list they also must have yet to fully cement themselves, as opposed to a player like Quinton Byfield<\/a>, who already has three straight 79+ game campaigns under his belt despite the much-anticipated offensive explosion in Los Angeles having alluded him so far.<\/p>\n

Not every team in the division has a perfect match for that criteria, so three particular names are highlighted below.<\/p>\n

Yaroslav Askarov \u2013 San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n

Having turned 24 during the off-season, Yaroslav Askarov<\/a> finally got his long-awaited stay in the NHL this past season, playing in 47 games which was a slight advantage over his teammate Alex Nedeljkovic<\/a>\u2019s 40. Showing brilliance at times in his usual flashy style, there were also expected growing pains. The Russian dealt with injuries in the spring<\/a> and didn\u2019t have the best ending to the season upon his return, allowing 38 goals in his last 10 starts. San Jose has not been the kindest place for goaltenders over the past several years, but the club took a significant step forward with 39 wins, by no means a bottom feeder any longer.<\/p>\n

All of that being said, it would have been nice to see the talented netminder have a little more sustained success like his team did. Askarov\u2019s .884 save percentage and 3.63 goals-against-average were both below Nedeljkovic. His -18.9% goals saved above expected was third worst in the NHL, according to Moneypuck statistics<\/a>. The Sharks knew his elite potential wouldn\u2019t be unlocked immediately when they traded for<\/a> the former 11th overall selection of Nashville, and the expectation is that there will be a turning of the page in 2026-27. It\u2019s all business now, as general manager Mike Grier <\/a>overhauled the team\u2019s defense core, and suddenly the team is spending close to the cap with their sights on the playoffs. Askarov has one more year at his current $2MM value before becoming a restricted free agent, and it\u2019s time to prove himself. One can argue that he\u2019s the final piece to the rebuild, so if Askarov comes through this year and puts it all together the sky is the limit on the team for the next decade. Clearly that\u2019s a lot at stake for the 6\u20193\u2033 aggressive right-catcher.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Shane Wright \u2013 Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not too late for something to change in the coming weeks, but Shane Wright<\/a> is on track to return to the Kraken when it sure didn\u2019t seem possible two months ago<\/a>. No trade partner has been found yet, despite an apparent agreement that he\u2019d be moved \u201cthis summer\u201d. It\u2019s an unpleasant situation all around, but if the center is back for his fifth season in the organization, the best thing he can do for both sides is prove his talent, which prompted the league\u2019s newest team to draft him fourth overall in 2022 to become a cornerstone. Once regarded as a can\u2019t-miss #1 overall level prospect in the OHL, certain scouts weren\u2019t sold on his final junior season. Unfortunately he hasn\u2019t been able to prove them wrong yet, looking on the up two years ago with 44 points, but regressing this past campaign with just 27 points in 74 games.<\/p>\n

Even if the points have been hard to come by on a team which finished fifth worst last season in offense, what\u2019s most concerning is Wright\u2019s struggles in other areas. His face-off win percentage dipped to 39.7% this past year, not the best look for anybody banking on him to become a #1 center. It\u2019s not like he was stuck in bad situations either, starting an eye-popping 71.3% of his total shifts in the offensive zone. In his unconventional bottom-six role, Wright\u2019s 13:48 was 11th out of Kraken forwards, not encouraging especially on a team which was desperate for offense down the middle. That hasn\u2019t really changed after their summer moves either, so while a fresh start is surely in his best interest, Wright still has a wide open door to roll in training camp and earn a meaningful role in their lineup. At 22, in the last year of his entry-level contract, he can\u2019t be written off without a shot on a new team. Yet whatever sweater he is putting on by 2027, it\u2019s a crucial year for the Ontario native to find his stride and make a case to become a top-six center, a job title which is most sought after in today\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Aatu R\u00e4ty \u2013 Vancouver Canucks<\/p>\n

Another once hyped-up prospect who will turn 24 in November, Aatu R\u00e4ty<\/a> had plenty of growing pains across his first full time NHL season, but considering how things were for Vancouver as a whole, judge at your own discretion. Once a legit top 10 prospect for the 2021 draft, the Finn fell to 52nd after coming away with six points in 35 games against grown men in Liiga. A key piece going to the Canucks<\/a> in exchange for their captain Bo Horvat<\/a>, there were still concerns about his skating ability, but as a strong AHL producer he was an exciting addition.\u00a0Helping lead the Abbotsford Canucks to an AHL title two years ago with 40 points in 43 games, R\u00e4ty became a consistent presence for the big club last season, suiting up for 66 games and offering four goals and 14 points.<\/p>\n

The numbers weren\u2019t all pretty, at times not trusted under one-and-done former head coach Adam Foote<\/a>, but R\u00e4ty\u2019s game has reasons for optimism. Under Foote he was given a tough workload, starting just under 60% of his shifts in his own end. Even despite that, he came away with a 47.7% corsi-for at five-on-five which was below average, but it could have been worse given his deployment on the league\u2019s worst team. The biggest highlight was R\u00e4ty\u2019s 60.5% face-off win rate, seventh best in the entire league. On that metric alone, he absolutely has an NHL future, just needing to iron out other aspects. It\u2019s not like the potential is high-end as it was five years ago, but the 6\u20192\u2033 lefty has what it takes to become at least a strong 3C for the Canucks. He\u2019ll be reunited with Manny Malhotra<\/a>, now head coach after the two excelled in the AHL together. If there\u2019s any coach who can benefit such a player it\u2019s especially one who was an elite face-off specialist during his own NHL career. R\u00e4ty will have an opportunity to break out and cement himself as a mainstay in the Vancouver lineup.<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time to wrap up our analysis of young players who have the most to prove their teams…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":880559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[449912,64,63,575,11477,243103,85,68803],"class_list":["post-880558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-aatu-raty","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-pro-hockey-rumors-originals","tag-shane-wright","tag-sports","tag-yaroslav-askarov"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}