The Vancouver Canucks are preparing for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft — and so are we.
Once again the Vancouver Canucks failed to secure a spot in the NHL playoffs. So, instead of competing for the Stanley Cup, Canucks GM Jim Benning and his staff will use the upcoming months to prepare next season’s roster. Now that the organisation is officially in a ‘transition period’, the 2017 NHL Entry Draft will be of utmost importance.
A four-game winning streak to start the 2016-17 season gave fans hope for the playoffs. But — blame the coach, the roster, injuries or anything else — unfortunately, the team was unable to play competitively for an entire season. With that, they are guaranteed another high draft pick this year.
Here at The Canuck Way, we will do our best to prepare you for the upcoming draft by profiling as many eligible players as we possibly can. Keep in mind that we are not saying these are players the Canucks are targeting. Instead, these are players that we think the Canucks could or should have interest in.
This year’s draft seems wide-open, with no real consensus in any of the seven rounds. So, it will certainly be interesting to see who will put on a Vancouver Canucks jersey come June.
Today we’ll take a close look at a possible late-round target, namely Logan Cockerill.
Name: Logan Cockerill
Position: Right wing
Shoots: Left
Birthdate: 1999-03-03
Height, weight: 5’9”, 163 lbs
Team, league: USA U-18, NTDP
Stats:
G
A
P
PIM
+/-
491413271411
Rankings:
#214 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)
Risk, Reward: 2/5, 3/5
NHL-potential: Bottom-six forward
Draft Range: Fourth to seventh round
Scouting report
"A small, speedy and gritty winger who doesn’t score much but can have a heavy impact on the outcome of games anyway. Works hard in all three zones, standing out on both forecheck and backcheck and making his presence felt. An excellent penalty killer and two-way player. Offensive upside is a question mark, but he does display strong vision and has some nice tools to work with."
Strengths
When you see Logan Cockerill play for the first time, you will likely think one of two things. Either it’s “wow, that kid is tiny” (although he’s on a team with 5-foot-3 Sean Dhooghe) or “wow, that kid is fast.” Though Cockerill may not always be prominent on the score sheet, he makes sure to make his presence felt, and is a player coaches like to have on their team.
More from Draft
- Recapping the Canucks picks from rounds five to seven
- Canucks take Daimon Gardner in fourth round
- Canucks select Elias Pettersson in third round
- Canucks select Jonathan Lekkerimäki with 15th overall pick
- Five players the Canucks could draft with the 15th overall pick
Cockerill makes up for his size with incredible speed, work ethic and grit. He is not afraid to go to the dirty areas and risk being hit in a board battle. And despite his 5-foot-9, 163-pound frame, he plays aggressively on the forecheck, winning puck battles with relentless stick work. You will even see Cockerill throwing his body into opponents occasionally.
Furthermore, Cockerill is a great penalty-killer. What coaches want on the PK are quick, agile players with strong awareness and anticipation to cover the net and clog passing lanes. Cockerill possesses all of those abilities — the only thing that hurts him on the PK is his short reach.
Lastly, Cockerill displays solid vision, finding teammates who get into scoring areas. That along with his dedication to battling for every puck give him some offensive upside as well.
Weaknesses
Johnny Gaudreau is everyone’s favourite example when it comes to small players having an impact at the NHL level. Gaudreau has the same height as Cockerill and is listed at 157 pounds — that’s six fewer than Cockerill. But, Gaudreau possesses something Cockerill does not have: elite offensive abilities. And when all a small player does is play a gritty two-way game, can he succeed in the NHL?
Secondly, I mentioned Cockerill’s vision. While that is certainly an attribute he possesses, he often struggles to get pucks through to the teammates he sees. Cockerill wins a puck battle behind the net, skates around, sees a teammate getting open in the slot and throws a pass… into a D-man’s stick. It remains to be seen whether Cockerill can be some kind of playmaker at the pro level, especially in the NHL.
So, overall, it looks like Cockerill is an intriguing player type who certainly works hard enough to make an NHL roster. But for that player type, he might just be too small.
Final Thoughts
Some USHL or US NTDP fans have hyped Cockerill at various points throughout the season. And, honestly, he is a really intriguing player who deserves some hype despite playing a fourth-line role for his team. However, most scouts seem to agree that he might just be too small to play his role in the NHL, and that the offensive upside just isn’t there.
NHL Central Scouting, who are known for ranking bigger players higher than smaller guys, only have him at 214. I don’t think he should be ranked that low and I am 100 percent sure he will be drafted. But, he likely won’t be a third-round pick like William Lockwood — who produced at a similar level with Team USA — but rather go off the board in the sixth or seventh round. Yet, there is a lot to like about him, and I wouldn’t rule out a team taking a flyer at him as early as the fourth round.
Next: 2017 NHL Draft Profile Overview
The Canucks, by the way, own picks 95, 115 and 188. So for them it’s fourth or seventh round, there’s no in between. Will they sacrifice a fourth-round pick to reach for Cockerill like they did with Lockwood last year? Probably not. But if he’s still around at 188 — and there are no guarantees — they should definitely consider it.