Vancouver Canucks: 5 Late-Round Options for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Brock Boeser walks to the stage after being selected as the number twenty-three overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Brock Boeser walks to the stage after being selected as the number twenty-three overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
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The Vancouver Canucks will have many tough decisions to make in June.

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Brock Boeser walks to the stage after being selected as the number twenty-three overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Brock Boeser walks to the stage after being selected as the number twenty-three overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Over the past weeks, we took a first look at the top two rounds of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and profiled players the Vancouver Canucks could target. But the top two rounds are only the tip of the iceberg that is the draft.

Read: 5 First-Round Draft Options

Read: 3 Second-Round Draft Options

Now, you could argue that players drafted later than the second round rarely turn into impact players on the NHL level. While that is certainly true, I want you to take a look through this list and re-evaluate your thoughts:

The Detroit Red Wings snagged two of their best players of all time late in the 1998 and 1999 Drafts, respectively. The New York Rangers and Nashville Predators found their long-time franchise goalies even later. The Dallas Stars selected Jamie Benn outside the top 100, and Benn is currently a top-three scorer in the league.

Obviously, the chances of making a steal like that are extremely slim, but they are there. How about an example from the Canucks? Guess where first-line right winger Jannik Hansen was drafted. In the ninth round, 287th overall, of the 2004 Draft.

Hansen is not a superstar by any means, but he developed into an important player for his team. He now has 517 regular season games played and 210 points in the best league in the world. In addition, he played in 64 playoff contests. That is comparable to the career of Lauri Korpikoski, who was selected 19th overall by the Rangers in the same year.

There is no guarantee for anything in the NHL Draft, which shows one thing: scouting is extremely important, and the later rounds are at least as important as the first two. A lot can and will still change, but it is never too early for a first look.

So, here is one player for each round that the Canucks could, and perhaps should, target at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Next: Round 3

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Round 3 — C Janne Kuokkanen (Karpat U20, Jr. A SM Liiga)

Ranked #27 by NHL Central Scouting (European skaters)

Janne Kuokkanen is a talented scorer from Finland, who currently plays for the under-20 team of Kärpät Oulu in the Finnish Jr. A SM Liiga. He is a big riser who could eventually end up being selected in the second round. If not, the Canucks should gladly pick him in the third round.

At 6-foot-1 and 179, Kuokkanen possesses good NHL size. His standout attributes, however, are his hockey sense and understanding of the game. He always seems a little bit ahead of the game and always seems to know where the puck will go next. That allows him to create scoring chances for himself as well as his teammates.

Kuokkanen is an agile skater with smooth hands and a powerful pass. He knows how to set up plays and how to finish them himself. In 30 games for Kärpät this season, he has 13 goals and 30 assists. Kuokkanen also made his professional debut in a game for Kajaanin Hokki in Finland’s second-highest professional league, where he recorded a goal and an assist.

The left-handed centre started to draw attention in North America with his outstanding performances at the international level. Last season, he had two goals and five points in six games at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He played a total of 22 games for Finland’s under-17 team that season and recorded eight goals and 17 points. This season, he had six assists in five games at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

Potential: Top-Six Forward

Draft Range: 40-80

Next: Round 4

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Round 4 — D Josh Anderson (Prince George Cougars, WHL)

Ranked #62 by NHL Central Scouting (North American skaters)

The Canucks made a good call selecting Prince George Cougars defenceman Tate Olson with the final pick of the 2015 NHL Draft. His teammate Josh Anderson could be an equally good pick, though Anderson could turn out to be the better player in the future.

Anderson is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound two-way defenceman, whose strengths lie in the defensive zone. He was selected third overall by the Cougars in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft and has since developed — quite literally — into a big piece on their blueline.

Anderson is not the best skater out there, but he does a decent job, making up for it with his defensive awareness and physicality. He likes to crush opposing forwards along the boards and uses his body a lot. Anderson is also not afraid to drop the gloves.

Now in his second season of junior hockey, Anderson’s plan was to shift the focus to offence a little more, but the points still aren’t coming along. After posting two goals and two assists in 42 games last season, he currently has a goal and six points in 39 contests.

Anderson probably won’t set the world on fire offensively, but he still has some time to develop that side of his game. He plays good breakout passes — and that’s a good place to start.

Potential: Top-Six Defenceman

Draft Range: 90-120

Next: Round 5

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Round 5 — D David Bernhardt (Djugardens IF U20, SuperElit)

Ranked #17 by NHL Central Scouting (European skaters)

Vancouver currently doesn’t own a fifth-round pick, but this guy could be drafted literally anywhere come June. David Bernhardt is a player who could, though might not, rise far up the rankings as we near the draft. A 6-foot-2, 192-pound defenceman from Sweden, Bernhardt is the top-scoring blueliner in the SuperElit, Sweden’s top junior league. His 32 points in 36 games rank 20th among all skaters.

Bernhardt was on no one’s radar for most of the season and did not make TSN Craig Button’s top-100 ranking in November, but suddenly jumped up to No. 17 on NHL Central Scouting’s list. The reason is simple: Bernhardt has terrific size for a defenceman, scores like there is no tomorrow, but struggles with consistency and his defensive game.

The Swede skates well for his size and plays nice passes, and also possesses a dangerous shot. However, he does struggle in the defensive zone and is not nearly as physical as you would hope for a player of his size. That does not mean he cannot develop that side of his game, though.

If Bernhardt can improve his defensive game and perform consistently, he could turn into a poor man’s Erik Karlsson. Who knows, maybe he could even be an actual Erik Karlsson type and become a huge steal in this draft. No pressure, bud.

Also, let me warn you, his draft range is big. High risk, high reward, if picked as early as the second round. The next few months will be extremely interesting for Bernhardt.

Potential: Top-Four Defenceman 

Draft Range: 50-150

Next: Round 6

Jan 3, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; A detail view of practice pucks on the boards prior to a game between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; A detail view of practice pucks on the boards prior to a game between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

Round 6 — C Tobias Eder (EC Bad Tolz, Oberliga)

Ranked #47 by NHL Central Scouting (European skaters)

Team Germany didn’t do too well at the 2015 World Junior Championship, being relegated to the Division I. Tobias Eder and his team failed to make their way back into the top division this year. However, Edmonton Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl shows that there is still hope for German hockey, and Eder could be the next one to make the jump.

Eder is a smart player who knows where to be on the ice. A good skater, Eder moves around the ice well, sees his teammates and plays crisp, accurate passes. Throughout his junior career, he has always had roughly the same amount of goals and assists, proving that he knows how to put the puck in the net as well.

Unlike most draft prospects — or hockey players in general — Eder has played games in four different leagues this season, gaining experience at very different levels of play. He played two games for EC Bad Tolz’s under-19 team in the DNL, the German top-tier junior league, and 21 for their men’s team in Germany’s third-tier league. In addition, he joined the Red Bull Salzburg under-20 team for four games in the Red Bull Hockey series. Last but not least, Eder made his professional debut for SC Riessersee in the DEL2, Germany’s second-tier league, and scored a goal in that first and last game.

In 21 games for Bad Tolz, he has six goals and 17 points — outstanding numbers for a teenager playing in a men’s league. He is currently “only” eighth in scoring on his team, but leads the team in points per game at .81. Last but not least, Eder was on Team Germany for the Division I World Juniors in Vienna, Austria, this year, where he recorded a goal and two points in five games.

Potential: Bottom-Six Forward

Draft Range: 140-180

Next: Round 7

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Round 7 — G Ty Edmonds (Prince George Cougars, WHL)

Ranked #20 by NHL Central Scouting (North American goalies)

With the Canucks’ final pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, why not select a goaltender? Ty Edmonds of the Prince George Cougars was born in 1996 and is in his third year of eligibility, but it might finally be time to take a chance at him.

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Edmonds is a very quick, agile goalie who has shown some great development over the course of his minor and junior hockey career. He reacts extremely quickly, moves around the crease well and battles hard until he gets the puck under control. Back in 2014, there were already many scouts who expected him to be selected sometime in the later rounds — but Edmonds waited in vain.

So, why did he go undrafted for two years and, more importantly, why should he be selected now? The two main concerns in Edmonds’ game were his rebound control and consistency. Going into a game, you didn’t know whether he would get a 40-save shutout or six goals against on 20 shots — both had an equal chance of happening.

But, Edmonds has improved. He always has. He played on rather bad bantam and midget teams, before joining an equally bad team in Prince George in 2013. Facing a lot of shots is good to make a lot of saves, but it does not exactly make things easy for a goalie. Edmonds fought through it, improved his numbers every year, and now looks like a goaltender who could make it to the NHL one day.

After posting a .887 save percentage and a 3.85 goals-against average in his rookie campaign — good numbers already, considering the situation he was in –, Edmonds improved to a .913 save percentage with a 2.69 goals-against average so far this season, making him a top-10 goalie in the league.

Potential: NHL Fringe Starter

Draft Range: 180-undrafted

Next: Canucks Roster Ready to Win

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