Scenario 3: The Even Angrier Fan
What could make fans angrier than reaching for a defenseman with the fifth-overall pick? Reaching for a forward, of course. Like, Logan Brown, Tyson Jost or Clayton Keller. The Canucks need a Henrik Sedin successor, so this is a legitimate option.
This scenario would likely only unfold if Benning wants a center and Dubois goes off the board at No. 4, while Benning fails to trade down to draft a center there. Plus, he would have to like one of Brown, Jost and Keller more than he likes Tkachuk or Nylander. I admit, this is kind of unlikely, but it is a possibility.
Read: 3 Players Vancouver Could Reach for
Whether Henrik Sedin retires in 2018 or not, he will likely be a better fit for a middle-six line then. However, neither Bo Horvat nor Brandon Sutter project as No. 1 centers. So what could be done other than signing Steven Stamkos or drafting another center?
There obviously isn’t much.
Unless Vancouver gets another high pick next year, getting a chance to draft WHL Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick or Windsor Spitfire Gabriel Vilardi, they won’t have many other opportunities. Benning keeps saying he wants to make the playoffs — and he makes moves accordingly — so they can’t really count on that. A winning team needs a true No. 1 center, and Benning knows that, which is why he probably has his eye on Dubois.
Brown, Jost and Keller all have the potential to be that No. 1.
Next: A Little Trading Never Hurt Nobody