Vancouver Canucks Analysis: Troy Stecher Means Much More

By signing D Troy Stecher, the Vancouver Canucks have taken a big step.

The Vancouver Canucks made their first splash of the year in the college free agent market by signing Richmond-native defenceman Troy Stecher to a two-year entry level contract. Then the whole of Vancouver just forgot about him despite the fact that nothing else is going on in Van City.

This is a very opportune signing for Jim Benning and his club. For how many years has Vancouver mourned the lack of a young puck-moving defenceman? Great for the team’s future — that’s what you may have thought last week.

But now that the dust has settled, the true beauty of this acquisition has me at awe. The Vancouver Canucks have just accomplished a great feat at the organizational level with a single no-cost move.

Troy Stecher makes this Canucks team so potent for the upcoming 2016-17 season even before lacing up the skates for a single practice in a Canucks uniform. Let’s start with a scouting report from Elite Prospects:

"Highly skilled two-way defenceman that displays tremendous poise with and without the puck. Soft hands that can pass as well as let rockets fly. Excellent vision and a playmaker’s knack for the game. Very aware and responsible defensively, but is not comfortable having the puck in his own end for too long and will take it upon himself to get the puck out of the defensive zone. His impact upon the game occurs at both ends of the ice as an offensive and defensive force. [EP]"

Here is how Stecher means much more to the Canucks than what the common fan might think:

Next: The Stecher Effect #1: Empowering the Draft