Vancouver Canucks 1984 NHL Draft Retrospective

In a new series, The Canuck Way looks into how the Vancouver Canucks did in drafting NHL talent. We start off with the 1984 NHL Draft.

The Canucks didn’t really have a good time with the draft in 1984. Out of the 14 players they drafted, only one played more than 100 games. That player didn’t even spend a lot of time in Vancouver.

Let’s get right to to it.

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J.J. Daigneault only played with the Canucks for the first two seasons of his career, a total of 131 games. He spent the remaining 768 games playing for nine different teams. He ended up playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks, New York Islanders, Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild. He is tied for the second-most teams played for in the NHL. Daigneault is still involved in the game, being an assistant coach with the Canadiens since 2012.

Jeff Rohlicek played all of his nine NHL games with the Canucks over two seasons with the team. For the rest of his career, he bounced around the AHL, IHL and ECHL. He last played for the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL. David Saunders played all of his NHL games with the Canucks as well. However, this time it was just in one season. He last played professional hockey in 1989 with the Milwaukee Admirals, then of the IHL.

Landis Chaulk made it as high as the Moncton Golden Flames of the AHL in 1986. Mike Stevens only 23 games in the NHL but managed to split them between four teams over 4 seasons. He played six games for the Canucks in 1984-85, seven for the Boston Bruins in 1987-88, nine for the New York Islanders in 1988-89 and one game for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1989-90. He played in the German League (DEL) for seven seasons until the end of the 2003-04 season.

Brian Bertuzzi made it to the AHL, playing with the Frederiction Express in 1986-87. Brett MacDonald manged to play one game with the Canucks in the 1987-88 season. He last played for the Flint Generals of the UHL. Jeff Korchinski played for Clarkson University for four seasons before calling it a career. Blaine Chrest never made it past the WHL, last playing for the Saskatoon Blades in the 1986-87 season.

Jim Agnew played parts of five seasons with the Canucks, never playing more 24 games in a single season. After his stint with the Canucks, he played 16 games in the 1992-93 with the Hartford Whalers.

Rex Grant would be the second 1984 Canuck pick to not make it out of the WHL. He last played for the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 1984-85 season. Ed Lowney played four seasons with Boston University, but never played professionally. Doug Clarke played two seasons in the IHL with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles after leaving Colorado College. Ed Kister never made it out of the OHL, playing four seasons with the London Knights. He was dealt to the Kitchener Ranegers three games into his fourth season.

There you have it. Not really a good start to this list. Would they be better in 1985? Find out tomorrow.

Next: Has Jamaal Charles Lost a Step?

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