Vancouver Canucks: Redrafting the 2005 NHL Draft
Round 2 – 51st Overall
Original Pick: LW Mason Raymond
New Pick: D Kris Letang (62nd to PIT)
Honorable Mentions: G Jonathan Quick (72nd to LAK), D Keith Yandle (105th to ARI), D Niklas Hjalmarsson (108th to CHI)
Mason Raymond, the Canucks’ 51st-overall selection in 2005, is on an active 605 NHL-game career — not too bad, eh? True, but despite his decent 6-foot-1 frame, he always lacked the strength to become a legitimate top-six scorer. Compared to some other picks that were made in the second and third rounds of this draft, Raymond was a good pick. But Vancouver could have had better.
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Kris Letang, Jonathan Quick, Keith Yandle and Niklas Hjalmarsson were all picked between 51st overall and the Canucks’ next selection, and all four would have been better picks than Raymond. For me, the decision was between Letang and Quick, and I opted for Letang because the Canucks drafted Cory Schneider in the first round in 2004.
Letang is an elite all-around defenseman and two-time Stanley Cup Champion, and a player the Canucks would love to have right now. While Letang won his second Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, Mason Raymond played in the American Hockey League for the first time since 2007-08.
Vancouver has a chance to make Keith Yandle a Canuck this summer, as he is an unrestricted free agent who will most likely not be re-signed.
Next: Round 4