The Vancouver Canucks had a clear mandate at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft: two-way forwards — preferably centres — with a high motor and strong work ethic.
Apart from goaltender Alexei Medvedev, that description fits each of the Canucks' draft picks, as they didn't take a single defenceman and only drafted one winger, who otherwise fits the bill.
That's the case for the Canucks' final pick of the draft, Matthew Lansing, who had a rollercoaster year offensively, but was always consistent in his effort and defensive details.
Lansing started his draft year with a strong performance at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup for Team USA, sharing the tournament lead with 4 goals in 5 games, including a fantastic solo effort against Sweden.
WHAT A PHENOMENAL INDIVIDUAL EFFORT FROM MATTHEW LANSING. 🇺🇸
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 10, 2024
The United States has life thanks to this absolutely filthy goal. 🤢🤮#HlinkaGretzkyCup pic.twitter.com/Og0MeCxMaS
"I was intrigued by Lansing, who I thought was USA’s most dangerous forward," said The Daily Faceoff's Steven Ellis from the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. "He’s fast, smart, and his two-goal performance in the bronze medal game kept the Americans in it. He’s not the strongest player, but he plays with enough pace to be effective."
Lansing pre and post-trade in the USHL
After putting himself on the map at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Lansing completely disappeared in the USHL to start the season. He managed just 8 goals and 17 points in 40 games for the Waterloo Black Hawks, a far cry from the likes of fellow 2025 draftees Ryker Lee and Aidan Park, who scored 30+ goals and 60+ points in the USHL this past season.
That said, Lansing played a bottom-six role — frequently on the fourth line — on a deep Black Hawks team. Scouting reports from his games with Waterloo frequently point out that his wingers often let Lansing down offensively, either failing to finish his passes or failing to put themselves in areas to receive those passes in the first place.
But a late-season trade to the Fargo Force gave Lansing another opportunity to produce offence, and he responded with 10 points in 14 games.
"He played an additional four minutes per game in a top-line role [after the trade]," pointed out Elite Prospects in their profile on Lansing. "The result was an uptick in production, overall performance, and our optimism about his future."
Then, at the World Under-18 Championship with Team USA, that offence disappeared again, as Lansing had zero points in seven games. But again, that largely came down to role, as Lansing was on the fourth line with Team USA and played minimal minutes, typically around 11-12 minutes per game.
"Lansing proved he can handle a variety of roles"
That raises the question of exactly who Lansing is as a prospect. Is he a goal-scoring power forward? A tenacious energy-line forechecker? A two-way, checking-line centre?
The truth may just be that he is all of those things, depending on what the team needs. At the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, Lansing was a sparkplug top-six centre. With the Black Hawks, he was a checking-line bottom-six forward. With the Force, he was a top-line playmaking centre. At the World Under-18s, he was a gritty forechecker.
With that in mind, it's easy to understand what the Canucks like about Lansing: he can do a little bit of everything.
"Lansing proved he can handle a variety of roles — from top-line scoring to depth-line matchups," reads his prospect profile from Neutral Zone. "He’s the type of player you win with — maybe not flashy, but honest, coachable, and consistent. A strong candidate for a fourth line role at the pro level with long-term upside as a responsible third-line center."
The baseline ability for Lansing is his two-way game, as he works hard and smart on defence to create turnovers and push the puck up ice. In transition, his skating is a plus, creating space for himself with his agility and intelligence, though he lacks some of the top-end speed of others in this draft class.
"What separates Lansing from the average USHLer in this profile is the flashes of transition skill," said Elite Prospects. "Attacking at angles, changing pace, and taking the middle early, he has the routes and ideas to create space in a more dynamic environment. Some crafty edge work and handling skill make him deceptive and hard to pin down in tight, too."
Offensively, there's some pop to his shot, especially off the rush, and he has the ability to pass the puck while fending off pressure from defenders, which will serve him well as he moves to higher levels of hockey.
Speaking of, Lansing has committed to playing for Quinnipiac University in the NCAA in the 2025-26 season.
The Canucks have picked players out of the USHL with similar profiles before: forwards whose ice time and opportunity was limited, leading to their skill being underrated. The most notable example is Adam Gaudette, who had 30 points in 50 USHL games while playing a third-line role on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, similar to Lansing's 27 points in 54 games split between the Black Hawks and Force.
Gaudette went on to excel at Northeastern University, providing immediate optimism for his NHL future. The Canucks will hope for a similar progression from Lansing as he heads to Quinnipiac.
