Late round draft picks can be a tossup, but the Vancouver Canucks may have hit on their 2015 fifth round pick, forward Adam Gaudette.

Entering the draft that year, Gaudette was relatively unknown. He didn’t put up big numbers in the USHL, and as a Northeastern commit, Vancouver had to hold out hope that he would develop well enough in college to eventually contribute a little in the NHL. Nobody expected his development to come the far, though.

To the surprise of many, Gaudette has been consistently performing at a high level since he arrived at Northeastern. Gaudette currently leads the nation with 24 goals, rapidly approaching his total of 26 from the year prior. His 47 points overall this season ranks also places him at the top of the statistical leaderboard, where the closest player to him is his teammate Daryl Sikura with 41 points. His 16 multi-point games are also some of the tops in the NCAA this year, and he even became Northeastern’s all-time leader in power play goals with 31 across his years playing for the school. As an alternate captain for the Huskies, he also shows strong leadership skills.

With Northeastern competing in the annual Beanpot tournament, Gaudette finally got the recognition he deserves. The Beanpot is a tournament played in the NHL’s Boston Bruins’ arena in which the four major ice hockey schools in the Boston area compete. Beginning in the 1952-53 NCAA ice hockey season, the Beanpot has been a staple in Massachusetts, mostly dominated by both Boston College and Boston University, who have a combined 50 titles out of 66 that have been played. With Northeastern looking for just its fifth title win, Gaudette scored three goals in the final, completing his hat-trick with an empty net goal to secure a 5-2 win in the tournament. Guadette earned the Most Valuable Player trophy for his performance as Northeastern University won the Beanpot for the first time in 30 years.

Having a big stage only seemed to elevate his play, and with Northeastern in the middle of a successful season currently ranked inside the top 15 in the nation, they could make noise in the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship. The Huskies have never won the Men’s Ice Hockey Championship, and Gaudette is looking to help bring further success to a Northeastern program that has only been to the Frozen Four once.

To add to his resume, Gaudette is also a current nominee in the first round of voting for 2018 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which is the most prestigious award in college hockey, given to the play judged to be the top player in the nation. Former players who have won the award include Paul Kariya, Chris Drury, Jack Eichel and Johnny Gaudreau. An award win would put Gaudette’s credentials over the top as he nears a possible NHL job.

Regardless if he earns any additional hardware to the Beanpot, Adam Gaudette is certainly higher on the Canucks’ radar as he continues to produce, and he may earn an entry-level contract from them sooner rather than later.