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