The Canuck Way continues to look at how the Vancouver Canucks have done in drafts past. Today, we look at the 2000 NHL Draft.
Okay, I just have to get one thing out of my system: Yuck! The Vancouver Canucks came out of the 2000 NHL draft with a total of only 39 NHL games played between two of their picks. Now, you can have success with only two picks making it to the NHL. The previous draft, they only came out of the draft with Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. The difference between the two drafts is that Sedins have played over 2,000 games combined.
Let’s take a look at the picks.
Nathan Smith stayed with the Canucks organization until the 2006-07 season, but only played four games with the team. He played 13 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007-08.
He signed with the Colorado Avalanche for the next season but only played for their AHL farm team in Lake Erie. He played nine games for the Minnesota Wild in 2009-10. He then spent a season in Germany before coming back to play in the AHL for one season.
Thatcher Bell played four seasons in the Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey league. He then played a season each in the ECHL and the LNAH, a Quebec-based league. Tim Branham spent most of his career in the ECHL, although he did play in the AHL and Central Hockey League at points of his career. Pavel Duma never left Russia.
Brandon Reid debuted with the Canucks in the 2002-03 season, playing seven regular season games along with nine playoff games. He only played three games for the Canucks the next season. He decided to play in Germany during the 2004-05 lockout and played another season in Switzerland the next.
He returned to the Canucks for the 2006-07 season, but only played three games for them. Since then, he has returned to play in Germany and Switzerland while last playing in the KHL.
Nathan Barrett played four seasons in the AHL, three with the St. John’s Maple Leafs and one with the Norfolk Admirals. He split the 2006-07 season season between Germany and Finland. He started the next season in Switzerland, playing three games for Visp of the Swiss B-League. He left to play in the ECHL, where he would play the next two swasons.
After splitting three seasons between the AHL and ECHL, Tim Smith played in Germany, Switzerland and even Asia.
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