Vancouver Canucks 1990 NHL Draft Retrospective

The Canuck Way continues to look at how the Vancouver Canucks drafted in years past. Today, we look at the 1990 NHL Draft.

The Vancouver Canucks had a bit more success than usual in the 1990 NHL Draft. They had three players go on to play more than 600 games in their NHL career. That’s a pretty good success rate for any team in the NHL. The Canucks must have felt that they needed defense and left wingers because all but one of the Canucks picks in 1990 were one of those positions.

Let’s take a look at the picks.

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Petr Nedved was definitely a good first-round pick, after a few years in which the Canucks first-rounder has not been very good. However, a continuing problem continued in that Nedved only spent three seasons with the Canucks. He later played for the St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers (two stints), Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers (two stints), Phoenix Coyotes and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Nedved’s best years came with the Penguins and in his second stint with the Rangers. The odd thing about Nedved’s career is that in the 1994 Winter Olympics, he represented Canada. However, in the 2012 World Championship, he represented his birth country of the Czech Republic. He retired from the game in 2014 after playing in the Czech Republic since 2007.

The Canucks second first-round pick, Shawn Antoski, played parts of five seasons with the Canucks before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. He spent a season a half with them. He also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Mighty Ducks. He would never establish himself as full-time member of the lineup for either team.

Jiri Slegr would be the second Czech-player taken by the Canucks. He would also be the second player to spend only three seasons or less with the Canucks to start their career. He would later play with the Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers, Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins. He would return to the Canucks for 16 games in the 2003-04 season. His best years were with the Penguins. He is actually the estranged son of former Canucks defenseman Jiri Bubla, changing his last name as a child.

Darin Bader played one season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL after leaving the WHL.

Let’s just say that Gino Odjick will never be remembered for his offensive prowess. Averaging 253.38 penalty minutes a season over seven and a half seasons with the Canucks, he was never far away from the penalty box. He later played for the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens, although he never played a full season with any of them. His NHL career was ended by a puck hitting him in the back of the head at a Canadiens’ practice. He was later suspended for not reporting to the Habs’ AHL affiliate after being sent down. He retired shortly thereafter,

Daryl Filipek played in the AHL, CoHL and the IHL after leaving Ferris State Univeristy. Paul O’Hagan played four playoff games for the Toledo Storm of the ECHL four years after leaving the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. Mark Cipriano played in the ECHL, AHL and WCHL after leaving the WHL.

Troy Neumeier continued a trend of a Canucks draft pick playing in Great Britain. He would spend the majority of his career there. Tyler Ertel played in the Central Hockey League, the AHL, CoHL as well as one season with the University of Prince Edward Island. Karri Kivi played the majority of his career in Finland with the SM-liiga. He played one season in the Swedish Elite League.

Next: Thomas Chabot Draft Profile

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