Lorenzo Canonica: A Star in the Making
Lorenzo Canonica, the consensus top Swiss player eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft at the moment, was selected 20th overall by the Shawinigan Cataractes in the CHL Import Draft just about a month ago on June 30th, and he ended up committing to the team for the 2020–21 season just a few weeks ago.
“After talking with my family and my agent, I am convinced that my development must continue in Canada. I changed my mind, because at the start, I was aiming for a return with Lugano. The Cataractes sold me their program well.” ~ Lorenzo Canonica
“He has an extraordinary attitude. Lorenzo has already played three games in the National League A (NLA), he had the chance to assert himself. The coronavirus foiled its plans at the end of the campaign, except that it persevered in the gymnasium. He has grown physically. It will get even better at home.” ~ Agent Sandro Bertaggia
“Lorenzo was very high on our list before the draft. By talking to him, he quickly understood that our development program was well built and that Shawinigan was a hockey city.” ~ Shawinigan Cataractes GM Martin Mondou
Quotes via web24.news
Canonica put up impressive numbers with HC Lugano’s U20 team this past season as he ended up just finishing over a point-per-game with 43 points (21G, 22A) in 42 games, leading his team in points and tied for first in goals as well, but Canonica was also able to get some pro experience this year as he did play a few games with the men’s team before the pandemic hit for the first time in his young career thus far, and seeing as the men’s team wasn’t that great this season, that kind of helped open up a door for him on the roster for a few games.
Had Canonica stayed in Switzerland, there’s no doubt he would’ve been competing for a spot in training camp and probably could’ve ended up playing pro hockey throughout his draft year with the skill he has for his age already, but there’s many reasons why I believe Shawinigan will be a much better fit for him in terms of his development.
For one, even if he did make the men’s team next year, it’s very likely that Canonica probably would end up being buried on the roster and wouldn’t have as much of an opportunity to play, and he just wouldn’t get too much ice time in general seeing as the veterans take up most of these roster spots instantly. Seeing as the hockey ops over in Shawinigan already understands what type of player they’re adding to their roster next season and because they are so excited to bring in a caliber of a player like him, there’s no doubt he’ll be put in a position to succeed in their top-six next season alongside players like Mavrik Bourque, Xavier Bourgault, Vasily Ponomarev, and etc.
Speaking of Ponomarev, the situation he was in compared to Canonica was actually pretty similar as Ponomarev also went through the CHL Import Draft process and ended up getting picked by Shawinigan obviously, which worked out really well on both sides now, but before Ponomarev came over he was playing over in Russia’s junior league in the MHL, another U20 league like Canonica was in his D-1 season, but with all the talent Ponomarev had individually and around him, that allowed him to transition smoothly over to the QMJHL in his draft year and actually put up the great numbers he did offensively.
Maybe even a European duo of Ponomarev and Canonica could even end up forming, who knows, but it’s certainly possible now.
With all the talent Shawinigan has already, it will be a great young support system for him and it will also be very beneficial for his development as he’ll have the opportunity to round out his game in his time in the QMJHL. There really aren’t any major holes in Canonica’s game which will allow him to transition over to the QMJHL smoothly as well, but there are some holes in his transitional game that will be able to be fixed with the many skilled playmaking forwards and transitional players that Shawinigan has, especially someone like Mavrik Bourque for example.
The problem was with some of his linemates at both the international and club level back in Switzerland was that the skill level wasn’t really there compared to someone of his caliber, so often times when he would make passes to his teammates just outside of the offensive blue line, his teammates would end up dumping the puck in rather than attempting to carry it into the zone, so most of the time he would have to end up chasing the puck on the forecheck and try to create a retrieval out of that in order to regain possession for his team, which does get tiring after a while seeing as most of the time a forecheck ends up with a backcheck, unless it’s a pretty bad breakout attempt or a bad pass disrupts that and allows the puck to stay in the zone.
Now that he’ll have really skilled players alongside him on his line in Shawinigan, that’ll be crucial for his development as he’ll have players who will be able to receive his passes in transition cleanly and cleanly enter the zone, but he’ll also get a better opportunity to work through the offensive zone upon entry and not end up forechecking most of the time, so there’s definitely reason to believe why his transitional game will see some improvement possibly even really early in the season, and that’s something that will continue for him throughout the season if it does happen early on.
Not only that, sometimes in transition I don’t think he was really controlling the play as much as he does offensively or even defensively with how effective he is in his own zone as well, and I believe now this’ll be a major boost to his confidence in his own game with the skill he’ll be playing with.
The opportunity certainly presents itself already, but it’s not just that as the quality of competition will be much different and higher for him compared to what it was back in the Swiss junior league, so there’s another benefit as well. It will take some getting used to early on like it does for most other forwards who go through the CHL Import Draft process, but it’s a new challenge for him and something that he probably embraces already.
Sure, Canonica might have some struggles adjusting early on in the season, which is natural since he’ll be trying to find his role on Shawinigan, have that confidence in his own game, and just adjust to the smaller ice and the league in general, that part will just be normal, but I believe that Canonica might adjust quicker than some players as he overall is used to playing in tight quarters all over the ice even with the larger ice surface he played on back in Europe.
It may seem obvious that someone with his skillset might attempt to use as much ice as possible, especially with that larger ice surface in Europe, but with Canonica he naturally has this ability where he doesn’t get caught puck watching all that often, and instead he’ll actually try and go try to pry the puck free out of the dirty areas, but since he also pays attention to little details all over the ice really well as he is always supporting his teammates everywhere on the ice and his defensemen in his own end as a center, so I think with him already having experience playing in those tight spaces all over the ice it leads me to believe that he’ll end up having a much smoother transition over to North America’s style of play and the smaller ice surface as well.
Scouting Report
A smart all-around offensive talent, Canonica is a very multidimensional forward who can play multiple positions (C and LW specifically), understands the game really well at both positions, and naturally plays his position extremely well. Canonica is a very swift skater who becomes very evasive with the puck at top speed since he is able to separate himself from opponents instantly with his speed. It doesn’t take much for him to get to top speed either as he gains speed really well either with his edgework or in a straight-line, so he is able to gain speed in multiple ways which gives him a bigger advantage compared to other players. Also, given the fact that he also has quick feet and can quickly get his feet moving in just a few steps, that also really helps him as well.
Canonica’s skating is something that he uses to his advantage in many different ways, both with and without the puck. I mentioned already how his edgework allows him to gain speed as he can do it while turning and in a straight-line, but his footwork is really key to how he positions himself on the ice, controls the puck easier, and it allows him to stay strong and balanced on his feet as well.
As a goal-scorer, Canonica uses his footwork and mobility in general really well to adjust his body positioning while in scoring position in order to create passing lanes more efficiently for his teammates, but he also has the ability to finish in many different ways since he has the puck skills to maneuver through tight spaces and create scoring chances for himself. Canonica owns a very dynamic release which can surprise goaltenders since he doesn’t need much time to get the puck off his stick, but he is able to get so much power out of his shots from many different angles which is what makes him so dangerous and so dynamic as a goal-scoring forward.
Canonica is also very dangerous as a playmaker since he sees the ice really well and has the ability to draw opposing players to him and get them out of position, and that’s key since it opens up more opportunities on the weak side for his teammates and creates both passing and shooting lanes in scoring position for his teammates, so just by doing that it creates multiple options at once for his team. Since Canonica also handles the puck extremely well and handles the puck with a lot of poise under traffic, he has the ability to get passes off through narrow lanes and can deliver them with accuracy and the right amount of weight as well.
Canonica is also a reliable two-way forward who has the ability to play in all situations for his team, and even though he doesn’t get too much time on the penalty kill both at the international and club level sometimes, that doesn’t mean that he is bad defensively either, but he uses his stick really well to shut down passing lanes and shooting lanes as he’ll position his stick across his body to prevent shots from going through his legs and to deflect pucks away from the net as well. Canonica has a really good work ethic and compete level that gains the respect of his teammates easily, and he is a real hard worker in the corners and other dirty areas when trying to get the puck loose and get the puck out of the zone.
Like I mentioned previously, there is still some work needed in his transitional game, not a ton which is good obviously, but I think once he rounds out that part of his game he certainly has potential to be a late-first or an early-second round pick in next year’s draft.
Style Comparison: Kevin Fiala (Minnesota Wild)
NHL Potential: Top-six forward who can play in all situations for his team both offensively and defensively
