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

7. San Jose Sharks

When your team makes the Stanley Cup Final, there is no reason to be upset if the draft didn’t go too well. Unless you lose the final, that is.

The San Jose Sharks started the season playing worse than the Canucks, but got better and better as the season progressed. By the end of it, they not only played in the final, but they had a legitimate chance to win. It didn’t happen, and it might have been the closest the Sharks will get for a while. We feel ya, San Jose.

In the draft, things didn’t get much better. Of course, the Sharks only owned five picks, with a second-round selection being the only pick in the first three rounds. But they could have done better than they did. It kind of went like this: head scratcher, big-time steal, head scratcher, head scratcher, head scratcher, head scratcher. Here are the names to those picks:

While Vancouver’s third-round pick was almost a second-rounder, San Jose’s second was just two picks short of a third-rounder. But still, the Sharks managed to go a bit off the board with their first one, selecting overage center Dylan Gambrell of the University of Denver. The reasoning is much the same as it was for Vancouver and Lockwood: the Sharks only picked 60th and 111th, so if they wanted him, they had to get him early.

Related: Noah Gregor Prospect Profile

Then came the big-time steal. WHL Moose Jaw Warriors center Noah Gregor fell all the way to the fourth round. Most saw him going off the board in the late second round while some even expect him to become a better player than Warriors first-rounder Brett Howden.

In the later rounds, the Sharks went with another overager in Manuel Wiederer and two players not many had on the radar. As a German, I am happy to see Wiederer picked, and he has good potential, but none of those final three players were locks to be drafted.

Grade: C

Next: No. 6

5. Vancouver Canucks

You might have noticed, the bottom-two teams of this ranking are two of the top-three teams in the division, which only makes sense. You also might have noticed that the Anaheim Ducks should be up next to complete the top-three group. Well, they are not — surprise, surprise.

For weeks leading up to the draft, fans were scared of Vancouver picking Olli Juolevi fifth overall. It almost seemed like I was the only one who was secretly hoping for Benning to make that call. Since center Pierre-Luc Dubois was not an option at five, most fans are fine with the pick now, and it is safe to say that it deserves an ‘A’.  Juolevi is the best defenseman of this draft class and he will battle for a spot in training camp this year — even if he might not make it.

After that, as said in the introduction, it got a little bit shaky. At 64, Benning reached for the player he really wanted because he didn’t have another pick until 140. Next was a promising two-way defenseman from the OHL, though injuries could be a concern with him. Lastly, the Canucks went with three overage forwards. Here is your 2016 Vancouver Canucks draft class:

All we can do is hope Benning was right about Lockwood. The problem is that there is a need for centers once Henrik Sedin retires, but Lockwood projects as a bottom-six player at best — and he is a winger anyway. At 64, Vancouver could have had Will Bitten and Noah Gregor, among others.

Of the final four picks, I like Rodrigo Abols the most. There is a chance that Vancouver could have just signed him as a free agent this summer, but after drafting him with a very late pick, no one can “steal” him from the Canucks. Abols is a big two-way center who can jump into the AHL this year.

Grade: B

Next: No. 4

No. 4 Arizona Coyotes

The NHL’s youngest general manager made a splash at his first draft. John Chayka didn’t make a big trade or draft first overall, but he made some interesting picks. With his first two picks, he got two highly-touted prospects who could turn into big-time steals or big-time busts. After that, he went for two Canadian Jr. A defensemen nobody really had on their radar. This could go really well or really wrong.

This is the 2016 Arizona Coyotes draft class:

Clayton Keller was a bit of a reach. Some scouts and scouting services liked him a lot, like Future Generations who had him ranked right were he was picked, but others liked him less, like ISS Hockey who ranked him 12th. Keller might be the player with the highest offensive potential in the entire draft, but as a 5-foot-10, 163-pound center, there is also a size concern and bust potential. Jordan Schroeder, for example, was also a highly-touted US NTDP prospect — though he didn’t quite have the same offensive upside.

Arizona’s second pick was originally 20th overall, but they traded up to 16 and selected defenseman Jakob Chychrun. Originally pegged to go second overall, Chychrun dropped down draft rankings all year, and eventually ended up falling on draft day as well. Despite being ranked in the teens by some scouting services, Chychrun was still picked as high as fourth in many mock drafts. If he can prove those wrong who question his hockey sense, he can become a big-time steal, and the best defenseman of this draft.

Read: Clayton Keller — Draft Profiles — Jakob Chychrun

Defenseman Cam Dineen was ranked lower than 68th by most, but he could be a steal as well. The undersized defenseman had 59 points in 68 games from the blue line in 2015-16, and shows great playmaking ability. Size and defense are Dineen’s only weaknesses. On the one hand, that is unfortunate because the job title is defenseman. On the other hand, the analytics community around John Chayka swears not ever D-man needs to know how to play defense — we’ll find out who’s right.

With their final two picks, the Coyotes selected two more defensemen, Patrick Kudla and Dean Stewart. While Stewart is a solid defenseman who was ranked as high as 137th by HockeyProspect.com, Kudla is a 20-year-old still playing Jr. A, and nobody really knows why he should be drafted.

Grade: B+

Next: No. T-2

T-2 . Anaheim Ducks

As the 2016 Pacific Division champions, the Anaheim Ducks managed to have a better draft than the Vancouver Canucks and the Arizona Coyotes. Part of the reason is that Anaheim owned two first-round picks. They were both late — 24 and 30 — but they were first-round picks. In addition, the Ducks had a third, two fourths and a seventh. So, Anaheim and Vancouver had the same amount of picks, but the Ducks had a higher average draft position nonetheless.

With that, Anaheim obviously had it easier. But trades like the one that sent goalie Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 30th-overall pick are part of what made this a good draft for the Ducks. Jim Benning said he wanted to acquire another third-rounder, but he even failed to do that.

This is the 2016 Anaheim Ducks draft class:

With their first pick, the 24th-overall selection, the Ducks got power forward Max Jones from the Memorial Cup champions, the OHL London Knights. Jones was expected to go as high as 14th, which was his rank on ISS Hockey’s final list, but he fell into Anaheim’s lap 10 picks later. An easy call for the Ducks, who will have a lot of fun with this smart, hard-working scorer.

Their second pick, Sam Steel, was ranked lower than 30 by all major scouting services, but he was a terrific pick as well. Instead of a two-way player like Rasmus Asplund, Pascal Laberge or Boris Katchouk, the Ducks went for a slightly undersized but very smart playmaker.

After that, they added a solid defenseman in Josh Mahura and another power forward in Jack Kopacka. Both were expected to go slightly higher than they did, and the Ducks can be happy to have them.

With their final two picks in the draft, the Ducks got two overage centers. Both are undersized, but they show great offensive potential. A terrific draft class overall.

Grade: A

Next: No. T-2

T-2. Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers lost the draft lottery, meaning they finally won’t get a top-three talent in the draft. Seeing the Canucks drop to fifth hurt, but seeing the Oilers miss out as well could make us feel a little bit better. Or so we thought. Instead of the Oilers picking a defenseman or Matthew Tkachuk, leaving Canucks fan favorite Pierre-Luc Dubois for Vancouver, Dubois went to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Jesse Puljujarvi dropped into the Oiler’s lap.

Well sh*t.

Another player many Canucks fans would have loved to see in Vancouver was forward Tyler Benson. He, too, was picked up by the Oilers. Many fans liked big OHL defenseman Markus Niemelainen, but guess where he went: 63rd to Edmonton.

Here is the 2016 Edmonton Oilers draft class:

The Oilers obviously had it easier than the Canucks, owning nine picks including five in the first three rounds. But the Oilers also used them well, picking players where they were expected to be picked, and grabbing others that fell much farther than expected.

Matthew Cairns is a big two-way defenseman from the Ontario Jr. A league. He is committed to Cornell University, and we won’t find out how big his potential really is until next year. But, he shows a lot of promise already, and could become a great two-way player with good size, who can solidify an NHL top four.

Read: Tyler Benson — Draft Profiles — Markus Niemelainen

Filiip Berglund is an overage D-man from Sweden who had a breakout year in Sweden’s top junior league. With 19 goals and 41 points in 43 games, he showed a lot of promise offensively, while playing a solid defensive game as well. Berglund could be an elite player in Europe or a top-four guy in the NHL, depending on his development.

Another notable pick is Finnish center Aapeli Rasanen, who was ranked 59th by Future Considerations. Only time will tell whether Edmonton made a bad pick or FC completely misjudged Rasanen. As of today, it looks like Edmonton got a great two-way center very late in the draft.

Grade: A

Next: No. 1

1. Calgary Flames

It hurts, I know. The Vancouver Canucks’ biggest rivals rank first and second respectively in our draft grade ranking. Like the Oilers, the Calgary Flames owned far more picks than the Canucks — nine to be exact. So, they had it much easier as well. But they also used their nine picks very well.

This is the 2016 Calgary Flames draft class:

As of today, I expect at least five of Calgary’s nine picks to make the NHL. That is more than 50 percent, which is something I wish I could say about Vancouver’s draft class.

Calgary’s first pick was sixth overall, just one after the Canucks picked defenseman Olli Juolevi. For Vancouver fans, there is a feeling that we missed out on a new No. 1 center while in Calgary, people are simply excited to have a future top-six scorer. That doesn’t mean Juolevi can’t become a better player than Tkachuk; the Flames simply ended up with a terrific player.

With two picks close together in the second round, they selected a goalie and an undersized center. Some scouts expect Tyler Parsons to be the best goalie of the draft and, even though goalies are always wild cards, he was a great pick. Next up was Dillon Dube who may be undersized, but his game is focused on speed and skill, much like that of Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau. The Flames aren’t afraid of undersized players, and this one can be a top-six player in the NHL.

Read: Matthew Tkachuk Prospect Profile

In rounds three to five, Calgary added four players who were all expected to go off the board earlier than they did. Adam Fox, Linus Lindstrom, Mitchell Mattson and Eetu Tuulola all have solid NHL potential. Especially Tuulola could be a great value pick, as he was taken 68 picks later than his worst rank by the major scouting services. If he can develop his raw tools, he could become an outstanding power forward.

Lastly, the Flames grabbed the shortest and the second-tallest players in the draft. Matthew Phillips scared many teams away, but size is secondary in Calgary. To compensate for their four undersized players in this draft, they picked up 6-foot-7, 225-pound defenseman Stepan Falkovsky. The overage blue liner shows some nice two-way ability along with outstanding size.

Grade: A+

Next: Outlook

Outlook

The 2016 NHL Draft could have gone better for the Vancouver Canucks. That said, the result was still good, getting an overall grade ‘B’. Looking at other Pacific Division teams, however, it might be time to get scared.

Vancouver will open the 2016-17 campaign with a home game against the Calgary Flames. The Flames are led by young forwards Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennett, as well as top defensemen Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton. They also have ex-Canucks blue-chip prospect Hunter Shinkaruk and now added more talent to the system. Calgary will be a force not too long from now.

The Edmonton Oilers had a crazy amount of talent up front for many years now, and their forward group just keeps getting deeper. Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Jesse Puljujarvi could be an outstanding top six for many years. Even if they finally manage to trade one of them for a top-pairing defenseman, that forward group will be scary good. We say this every year, but it won’t be long before Edmonton rises to the top.

Next: 5 Canucks Games to Look Forward to in 2016-17

Jim Benning wants to make the playoffs every year. But playing in the toughest division of the league, that will be a difficult task — not just this season, but every season in the future.

Looking at the rest of the division, a full-on rebuild might be inevitable. Let’s hope Benning figures something out.