Vancouver Canucks 2025 sixth-round draft pick, Gabriel Chiarot made the most of his first development camp this summer. The Brampton Steelheads forward took another step in his growth by soaking up lessons from Canucks legends, testing himself against his peers, and sharpening details of his game.
It was his first time on the West Coast, and while he’d heard the rumours about the rain, he lucked out with the postcard-perfect weather. He felt the development camp was hard, but fun, and joked that you feel good about the Grouse Grind once you finish it, but not a moment sooner.
Being on the ice with the Canucks development staff was memorable.
“The Sedins and [Mikael] Samuelsson were demonstrating drills, and they've still got it – like they're so good. Players of that caliber, with everything they've accomplished, it was pretty cool,” he said.
He especially enjoyed the battle drills and puck protection concepts inside the dots. Chiarot spent valuable time on the ice after formal drills wrapped up, working with the staff on mechanics and shooting efficiency.
“After practice stuff, we were working on shots – pulling it in, and pushing it back out, and pushing it under the guy’s stick and then shooting it. So many little things that you can take and work on when you go back to your home team,” Chiarot said.
A big takeaway from development camp was that he added new resources to his development network. He has been skating alongside his cousin, and veteran NHL defenceman Ben Chiarot, over the past couple of offseasons, and Gabe has learned a lot from it.
“Their pace is a lot faster than all the junior guys, so it kind of prepared me well,” Chiarot said. “I get to talk to my cousin all the time, which is kind of nice, because he's been through it, and he's had a long career in the NHL to this point. It's cool getting to know their path and what they've had to work on, and stuff like that.”
Forging new relationships with the Canucks’ development staff after camp and being able to call on Mike Komisarek and Samulesson is something that gives him added confidence heading into next season.
“It'll be nice getting to talk to someone that’s watching you, focusing on you, and just wants you to get better. It's always good to talk to someone like that, especially someone who’s a high-caliber player,” Chiarot said.
Although it was his first development camp, there were familiar faces and new ones that helped him settle in. He’s played against Anthony Romani and Riley Patterson in the OHL, and played alongside Vilmer Alriksson, who showed him around. He also credited Aiden Celebrini with his leadership and for making everyone feel welcome.
Chiarot has been putting in a lot of strength and conditioning work this summer. He prides himself on being a physical presence on the ice and is in the gym five days a week to continue building his strength.
“Overall, trying to get better; getting bigger, stronger, faster. Just working on lower and upper body strength, while also trying to maintain the agility part of it – all the box jumps and plyometrics I do with my trainer in Oakville,” he shared.
Training with two different trainers in the Toronto area has kept him close to his Steelheads billet family during the weekdays. This past season was his billet family’s first time in the billet program, but Chiarot has been blown away by their hospitality and giving him the support to stay closer to his trainers in the offseason.
“They're the best,” Chiarot said. “They're like, ‘Come over anytime,’ so I do.”
Chiarot finished last OHL season with 35 points (21-14-35), more than tripling his production from the season prior. He achieved a level of consistency he was proud of last season and was proud of his overall game – finishing his checks every night, his effort on forechecks and backchecks, and being a reliable teammate.
He’s worked hard to improve year-over-year, consistently finishing his checks and getting to the net, but he says being more comfortable also makes a difference.
“I think confidence is a big thing. My first year, I was in and out of the lineup, so it's kind of like you don't want to make any mistakes to put yourself out of the lineup. So you're kind of playing it safe a lot of the time. That changed this year when I was in the lineup every game, and then that leads to more confidence. Then I'm making that extra move or holding on to the puck just a tad longer, and making more plays,” he said.
To build on last year’s performance, he’s working on fine tuning the details of his game while staying consistent with the good habits he’s developed. He has goals that he wants to achieve consistency in offensively that will help lead to more scoring chances for himself and his teammates.
“In the offensive zone below the hash marks, just making sure I find open areas and even net battles, getting open and not letting the guys tie me up, and finding areas where I can get the puck and get a good scoring opportunity,” he said.
Chiarot has been stacking the building blocks into a foundation for the next stage of his career.
He added Canucks development camp and new resources to his toolbelt this summer and he’s going to keep pushing his game forward.
