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Vancouver Canucks: Redrafting the 2008 NHL Draft

By Janik Beichler

Jan 13, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) skates in warm-ups prior to the game against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Senators 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) skates in warm-ups prior to the game against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Senators 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Round 6 – 161st Overall

Original Pick: F Mats Froshaug
New Pick: D Jason Demers (186th to SJS)
Honorable Mentions: RW Tommy Wingels (177th to SJS), D Matt Bartkowski (190th to FLA)

In the sixth round, finding a full-time NHL player was equally difficult. Only six of them have played at least 100 NHL games, four of them hit the 200-game mark, three even played more than 300. Of course, Canucks pick Mats Froshaug is not one of them.

A skilled two-way center, Froshaug is a star player in Norway, but he never even made his way over to North America. I don’t know whether he wanted to stay in his home country or the Canucks never made an offer, but fact is: Froshaug never became a Canuck. As said, there aren’t many teams who got lucky with their picks, but one of them really hit a home run. Not the Henrik Zetterberg in the seventh round kind of home run, but at least a solid top-four defenseman in the seventh.

The San Jose Sharks drafted D-man Jason Demers with the 186th selection — an absolute steal in round seven. During the 2014-15 campaign, San Jose traded him to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Brenden Dillon, but it is safe to say that Demers had and will have a great NHL career. With Erik Karlsson, Jason Demers and Jared Spurgeon, as well as those who still followed the next years, the Canucks would have a really solid defense today.

Here’s to hoping that Alex Edler, Chris Tanev, Ben Hutton, Erik Gudbranson and Nikita Tryamkin can be solid as well.

Next: Round 7

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