Vancouver Canucks Analysis: Troy Stecher Means Much More
By David Joun
The Stecher Effect #1: Take the Best Player Available at the Draft
With the addition of a prolific defenceman like Stecher, the Canucks have added to the number of prospect defencemen who will be between the ages of 19 and 23, what I would deem the most valuable years in player development.
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The Canucks now have a good crop of young defencemen in that age group, including Guillaume Brisebois, Carl Neill, Tate Olson, Jordan Subban, and now Stecher.
This alleviates much pressure from Benning’s shoulders. With the Canucks set to draft high in this year’s draft, the team was not going to be able to address the lack of blueline prospects in the system.
With the top-five group at this year’s draft consisting a centreman (Auston Matthews) and four wingers (P. Laine, J. Puljujarvi, P. Dubois, M. Tkachuk), the best player the Canucks were going to get was at the forward position.
Now the Canucks don’t have to worry about drafting by position so early in a gem-filled first round.
By signing Stecher, they are now ready to pass on the likes of lower-ranked top defencemen such as Olli Juolevi and Jacob Chychrun. No worries about Benning doing anything odd to trade down to a “defenceman’s pick”.
Next: The Stecher Effect #2: A Trade Catalyst on the Blueline