Round 7 – 187th Overall
Original Pick: F Steven Anthony
New Pick: D Oliver Lauridsen
Honorable Mentions: None
With their seventh and final pick of the draft, Vancouver selected forward Steven Anthony. Following his QMJHL career, Anthony moved on to the Kalamazoo Wings, the Canucks’ former ECHL affiliate, before moving on to the Central Hockey League. He is currently active for the University of Windsor, which likely marks the end of his professional dreams.
Instead, I picked defenseman Oliver Lauridsen. Not because he has played in the most NHL games of all players selected after 187th (13), but because he has the highest talent level. Lauridsen, a 6-foot-6, 238-pound giant, moved up and down between the NHL and AHL up until the 2014-15 campaign. Last season was his first in Sweden after eight years in North America, and he is developing into a leader there.
Lauridsen won both the Swedish league title and the Champions Hockey League, a tournament where Europes best teams face off against each other. If he keeps improving, there might be a chance that he returns to the NHL in the next few years. There are, of course, no guarantees, but he might have the best chances.
Overall, it is obvious that Vancouver’s drafting improved, getting Jordan Schroeder, Anton Rodin and Kevin Connauton in the first three rounds. The years of getting zero NHL players out of a draft are gone, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.