Vancouver Canucks: Pacific Division Draft Grade Ranking

The Vancouver Canucks made a curious decision or two on June 24 and 25, but what about the rest of the Pacific Division?

When the Vancouver Canucks selected US NTDP forward William Lockwood with the 64th-overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, Lockwood himself was probably as surprised as everyone else. Ranked 108th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, most expected Lockwood to go in the 100 range. But, of course, the Canucks had no picks between 64 and 140, so there wasn’t much they could have done about it.

Rankings are just numbers that mean nothing

. Rankings are extremely important and can predict players’ careers with 100 percent accuracy. So picking Lockwood 64th was the worst move Benning has ever made. (I had to say this because this is my intro to a ranking.)

If Lockwood becomes an NHL player a few years down the road, we will all be very happy with the pick. Canucks GM Jim Benning seems to like Lockwood a lot, so we just have to trust him with what he does.

On the other hand, rankings are made for a reason. Out of the five major scouting services, only McKeen’s hockey had Lockwood ranked in the vicinity of pick 64, at 71. In addition to that, TSN’s Bob McKenzie had him ranked 74th. But as McKenzie once said, he’s not a scout — he mostly just ranks by what he hears from NHL scouts.

Future Considerations had Lockwood ranked 194th, so there are some huge differences between each scouting service’s lists. So, Lockwood might be the player to watch over the next few years.

Meanwhile, sure-fire top-three pick Jesse Puljujarvi fell to the Edmonton Oilers. The Calgary Flames picked up No. 2 North American skater Matthew Tkachuk. Top-three defenseman Jakob Chychrun fell to the Arizona Coyotes at 16th overall.

There is a lot to talk about, so let’s get this started. Ranking the Pacific Division by draft performance!

Next: No. 7