The Vancouver Canucks have signed undrafted free agent defenseman Mitch Eliot to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will kick in for this season given Eliot is already 20 years old, and expire after the 2020-21 season. He will also take up one of Vancouver’s 50 contract slots.
It didn’t take long for Eliot to show that he had more to give a hockey club than he was being allowed to at Michigan State University. Eliot, unable to show off his offensive abilities last season in college, left in February to join the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. After a late season run with the Sting, he returned this year as one of the team’s leaders on the back end and has recorded 28 points in 32 games—his career high at Michigan State was five.
Despite being relatively undersized for a defenseman, Eliot does not shy away from the physical side of the game and can battle hard in the corners and in front of the net. His offensive upside is likely what has earned him a contract at this point, but that hard-nosed effort level will be what he needs to continue in order to succeed at the next level. If he can’t keep up that competitiveness, he could very well get pushed around by much bigger foes.