Vancouver Canucks: Redrafting the 2009 NHL Draft
Vancouver Canucks drafting greatly improved in 2009, but there was still a lot of work to be done.
The years prior to the 2009 NHL Entry Draft were sad for the Vancouver Canucks, to say the least. Embarrassing probably isn’t too strong a word for what Vancouver did on draft day regularly. In 2008-09, they won the second Northwest Division title in three years, and their drafting improved as well.
Whether you like Mike Gillis or not, he led the Canucks to success extremely quickly, and he led them to their biggest achievement to date. All that started with his first draft in 2009, when he selected the following players:
22 – C Jordan Schroeder
53 – W Anton Rodin
83 – D Kevin Connauton
113 – D Jeremy Price
143 – D Peter Andersson
173 – G Joe Cannata
87 – F Steven Anthony
You might notice that only one of them is currently on the team’s roster — Anton Rodin. But even Rodin is only virtually on the roster, as he will have to prove his worth in training camp this year. Compared to past years, however, it has been an improvement.
Jordan Schroeder is still in the league, or rather again. So is Kevin Connauton. Joe Cannata is currently a member of Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, and as said, Rodin will hopefully be in Vancouver starting this year. There is no denying that those four players were better picks than what Dave Nonis got in the years prior.
Still, it could have been much better. As the Northwest Division Winner, Vancouver obviously missed out on the top-end players like John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene, but there was enough talent left at 22.
See for yourself.
Next: Round 1
Round 1 – 22nd Overall
Original Pick: C Jordan Schroeder
New Pick: C Ryan O’Reilly (33rd to COL)
Honorable Mentions: F Marcus Johansson (24th to WSH), W Alex Chicasson (38th to DAL), W Jakob Silfverberg (39th to OTT)
The 2008 draft triggered a disappointing story about a center who never lived up to the hype (Cody Hodgson), a winger who spent more time in Vancouver but never lived up to his potential either (Zack Kassian), and a Canucks team that doesn’t have either anymore. A similar story, yet even worse, came along with the 2009 draft, when the Vancouver Canucks proudly selected the No. 5 ranked North American skater — center Jordan Schroeder.
Schroeder was a standout in the USNTDP and the NCAA, and he was and still is a great AHL scorer. However, the undersized forward — listed at 5-foot-9 and 176 pounds — never managed to stick around in the NHL. After four years with the Canucks and their AHL affiliates, Vancouver chose not to qualify Schroeder as a restricted free agent, letting him walk for no compensation. Schroeder chose the Minnesota Wild and is continuing where he left off in Vancouver.
In 75 games for the Iowa Wild, Schroeder recorded 24 goals and 62 points. Thanks to injury struggles in Minnesota, he got some NHL time as well, but only recorded five goals and 12 points in 51 games. Unfortunately, Schroeder is the typical “top-six or nothing” player, mainly due to his size, so he likely won’t become a full-time NHL player at all.
The Canucks could have had it so much easier, had they picked Ryan O’Reilly or Marcus Johansson instead. The former became a leader in Colorado and was only let go because of his crazy contract demands while the latter is still a top-six player with the team that drafted him — the Washington Capitals. O’Reilly is one of the best two-way centers in the NHL and had 60 points in 71 games on a bad Buffalo Sabres squad in 2015-16.
Next: Round 2
Round 2 – 53rd Overall
Original Pick: W Anton Rodin
New Pick: D Tyson Barrie (64th to COL)
Honorable Mentions: W Anton Rodin, D Dmitri Orlov (55th to WSH), W Reilly Smith (69th to DAL)
Get this: the Canucks’ 53rd-overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft is still a part of the organization! Better yet, he is supposed to be at least a middle-six scorer for many years to come. But, of course, there is a catch. Anton Rodin has never played in the NHL because he failed to produce offense in the American Hockey League last time he was here.
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Three years later, Rodin decided to come back to Vancouver after being named SHL MVP and captain of his club Brynas IF. He is still a promising player and will hopefully develop into a top-six scoring winger for the Canucks. At just 25 years old, there is still time to develop, and he won’t hit his prime for another couple of years. All that said, I would make a different pick in hindsight.
We covered the Tyson Barrie trade rumors this summer more than enough. Barrie was said to ask for too much money, just like the aforementioned Ryan O’Reilly who, by the way, shares the same agent. However, Colorado GM Joe Sakic made clear that he wants to keep Barrie, who is one of the league’s top offensive defensemen. A good choice, as Barrie’s 25 goals and 102 points in 158 games over the past two seasons are probably just the beginning.
The Avalanche did a terrific job at the 2009 NHL Draft, snagging Matt Duchene in the first, O’Reilly in the second and Barrie in the third round. Vancouver could have had two of those players. If there is one thing that can cheer you up, it is probably the fact that Vancouver owns the 64th pick in the 2016 draft and (with a lot of luck) could use it to draft a Barrie-type player.
Next: Round 3
Round 3 – 83rd Overall
Original Pick: D Kevin Connauton
New Pick: D Sami Vatanen (106th to ANA)
Honorable Mentions: F Cody Eakin (85th to WSH), RW Craig Smith (98th to NSH)
I really, really, really wanted to redraft at least one player that is an original Canucks pick. Kevin Connauton, a current NHLer for the Arizona Coyotes, was supposed to be the one. But then I discovered Sami Vatanen at 106, which destroyed the entire plan. Vatanen is simply better than Connauton.
To be fair, Connauton was one of the Canucks’ top prospects when they decided to trade him in 2013. At the time, he led the AHL Chicago Wolves in goals by a defenseman (7) and points by a defenseman (25). He looked like a big, physical D-man with great two-way abilities. But the Canucks were in win-now mode, so they dealt Connauton and a second-round pick to the Dallas Stars for center Derek Roy.
Roy was a former star center with a career-best 81-point season in 2007-08, and he still had the potential to help Vancouver in a playoffs. But, you might remember, he didn’t. Roy was in Vancouver for 16 games, played for three more teams in the next two years, and is now in Switzerland. It could have been so much easier.
It took Sami Vatanen four years to land a full-time NHL gig, but at least he made it. He also didn’t make it as a depth defender, but he is an important part of the Anaheim Ducks’ D-core. The Ducks just signed him to a four-year $19.5 million contract extension and he will stay with the club for many more years.
Next: Round 4
Round 4 – 113th Overall
Original Pick: D Jeremy Price
New Pick: LW Mike Hoffman (130th to OTT)
Honorable Mentions: D Ben Chiarot (120th to ATL/WPG), W Gabriel Bourque (132nd to NSH)
While 10 players picked between 83rd and 113th played in at least 100 NHL games, finding NHL talent in the fourth round was significantly harder. Of course, the Canucks didn’t manage to do it, picking defenseman Jeremy Price. An offensive defenseman, Price had a successful college career, appeared in five AHL games for the Chicago Wolves and played 38 games in the ECHL. But after that, he called it a career.
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Discovering Mike Hoffman as NHL talent wasn’t easy, though. Hoffman got cut off the roster by the OHL Kitchener Rangers and made his way over to the QMJHL. In his first year in the Q, he had 24 goals and 48 points in 62 games. With his production that low and obvious holes in his defensive game, he was passed over in the 2008 draft.
It wasn’t until the 2008-09 season that Hoffman broke out in dominant fashion, scoring 52 goals and 94 points. Enough to justify his selection by the Senators. But even then, Hoffman still had holes in his defensive game and was an overager, so his pick was anything but safe. Not a Canucks mistake, just something that could have ended well for Vancouver.
Hoffman just broke into the NHL two seasons ago, with the 2014-15 campaign being his first full year in the league. Between 2014 and 2016, however, he had 57 goals and 110 points in 157 games. So, yes, Mike Hoffman looks like a big-time steal.
Next: Round 5
Round 5 – 143rd Overall
Original Pick: D Peter Andersson
New Pick: C Marcus Kruger (149th to CHI)
Honorable Mentions: F Anders Lee (152 to NYI)
The later it gets in a draft, the harder it is to find NHL talent. Of the players selected between Canucks picks 143 and 173, there are only two who played in at least 100 NHL games. Only 10 of them played in the NHL at all, while the other 20 never made it. Defenseman Peter Andersson is one of those 20. If the name sounds familiar, though, Andersson was with the Chicago Wolves and later the Utica Comets until last year.
As opposed to fellow Swede Anton Rodin, Andersson stayed in Sweden first, then came to North America for three years, and just went back to Sweden. So, as opposed to Rodin, he likely won’t return. Ever.
The Chicago Blackhawks had more luck with their Swedish fifth-round pick. Marcus Kruger has been in the league for parts of six seasons and has 411 games under his belt. Kruger is a solid two-way defenseman that has helped the Blackhawks to two Stanley Cup victories. He won’t set the world on fire offensively and there are better defensive players as well, but he is a cheap bottom-six option Chicago will likely keep around for a long time.
Next: Round 6
Round 6 – 173rd Overall
Original Pick: G Joe Cannata
New Pick: F Erik Haula (182nd to MIN)
Honorable Mentions: RW Tyler Randell (176th to BOS), W Jordan Nolan (186th to LAK)
In the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Draft, the Vancouver Canucks selected goaltender Joe Cannata. The 26-year-old just played his second full AHL season for the Utica Comets and there is still a chance for him to become an NHL backup one day. His window is slowly starting to close, goalies tend to hit their prime later than skaters, closer to 30.
Instead, the Canucks could have had another forward similar to Marcus Kruger. Erik Haula, from Sweden’s rival country Finland, is a solid bottom-six forward for the Minnesota Wild. He can play at center or on the wing and, although he has been part of recent trade rumors, he is a solid NHL player. Unlike Cannata and most other players picked in the sixth round of 2009.
Jordan Nolan of the Los Angeles Kings and Tyler Randell of the Boston Bruins were the other options. Nolan has the longest career of the three so far, having played in 276 NHL games. He is also a two-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Kings, but he doesn’t produce nearly as much offense as Haula. Randell, the third option, is just starting to break into the league and might not stick around for long.
Next: Round 7