Bennett Schimek’s collegiate coach believes the Vancouver Canucks’ brass is going to be pleased with the versatility of the new addition to the organization.
Schimek, 22, signed a one-year deal with Vancouver’s AHL Abbotsford Canuck affiliate for 2026-27 earlier this week after completing his senior season in the NCAA with the Arizona State University Sun Devils. The 6-foot, 187-pound right-shot winger is joining Abbotsford for the remainder of the current campaign on a professional tryout as well.
Abbotsford (22-31-3-3) has 13 regular season games to go, beginning with a Saturday visit to Rogers Forum from the Henderson Silver Knights.
Schimek was No. 13 in scoring in the NCAA this season at last count, thanks to his 43 points, including 13 goals, for ASU, who finished up 14-21-1. ASU head coach Greg Powers was quick to say Thursday that Schimek could play something other than an offensive role at the next level if required, pegging him as a “Swiss Army knife in every sense of the phrase.”
“He has the IQ and the playmaking ability and the skill to play with elite players and complement them,” Powers said. “But he also has the grit and the wherewithal to play at the bottom of the lineup and be a checker and be responsible. In his two years with us, he was always one of my top penalty kill guys. And this year he was on our top power play and thrived on it.”
Schimek was also ASU’s captain year and Powers says that “his character is off the charts.”
Bennett Schimek was No. 13 in scoring in the NCAA this season at last count, thanks to his 43 points, including 13 goals, for ASU, who finished up 14-21-1.
“He’s just such an honest player and kid,” he added.
Powers took “a lot of calls,” from NHL teams on Schimek.
“It’s hard to score 40-plus points in college hockey right now,” Powers explained.
Schimek is from Mendota Heights, Minn., and played two years at Providence College before transferring to ASU for his final seasons of eligibility. Prior to that, he played in the USHL with the Omaha Lancers and Sioux City Musketeers. He’s been passed over in the NHL Draft. He was ranked No. 121 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting for the 2021 draft.
The knock on Schimek seems to be his skating, and Powers maintains that “it may not be esthetically pleasing to some people but he does not lose races.”
“He gets there and then some,” Powers said. “He has the ability to create separation. He knows how to use his body to do it and his feet are good enough to do it. Once you start to really dissect his ability to separate and move, you get over what it (his skating) looks like really quick.”
@SteveEwen