Here at The Canuck Way, we will be giving our picks of who we think the Vancouver Canucks will draft at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Not all of our team were able to participate, but the ones that were able to do so are, David Quadrelli, Alex Hoegler, Stephen Kronstein, Ben Steiner, Owen Gibbs, Joshua Rey, Matthew Zator, and Jarred Chan. We hope you enjoy our Vancouver Canucks 2019 mock draft.
Round 1
The Canucks are currently the owners of the tenth overall pick in round number one. We kept this in mind, but obviously, the draft order can be shaken up on draft day. With that in mind, here are our picks for who the Canucks will take at tenth overall.
David Quadrelli: Alex Newhook. Newhook is a player I have written about numerous times, and is a player that I have been very vocal about on Twitter. I want to see this kid in a Canucks uniform. He’s committed to Boston College, but just played the last two seasons in the BCHL with the Victoria Grizzlies. That likely means he’s already comfortable in the beautiful province of British Columbia. Aside from that, Newhook is an elite skater, and would help to make the Canucks one of the fastest teams in the entire NHL. I am all for the team taking Newhook, a player the team has expressed interest in, at 10th overall.
Alex Hoegler: Philip Broberg. For a while, I fully believed the Canucks were going to take a winger to play in the top six here. But with Alexander Edler likely on his way out, general manager Jim Benning needs to find a capable top-four blueliner quickly. That’s where Broberg comes into play. He’s well-rounded, has tremendous skating abilities and plays effective hockey at both ends of the ice. This is the ideal player for Vancouver to build around alongside Quinn Hughes. If Benning is desperate to find a scoring winger, he can do it in free agency. But he has to take his shot here and find a blueliner. Broberg isn’t ready to play in the NHL yet, but that shouldn’t stop the Canucks from taking him if he’s available here.
Stephen Kronstein: Matthew Boldy. He’s only available if some teams surprise by drafting off the board – maybe due to risers like Cole Caufield or Philip Broberg. Boldy may fall in rank a little because he’s a left-handed winger, but don’t let a fall fool you. Boldy is a complete, top-line power forward with strong and balanced skating, outstanding puck skills, and a hard and accurate shot. He can dangle in traffic, play a durable net front game, kill penalties, and seems coachable for having improved his skating. While he’s able to play a big game in all situations, he falls in rank because his impressive stats have been in somewhat-sheltered-second-line role, and his apparent USA-dream team only won the bronze.
Joshua Rey: Trevor Zegras. If he is available, the Canucks should take Zegras with the No.10 pick. Zegras can play both centre and the wing who has tremendous hockey IQ and playmaking ability. Zegras is an excellent passer with good speed and also has a very good shot. Whether he is in the offensive zone or defensive zone or neutral zone, you can count on Zegras to make the right play.
Ben Steiner: Cole Caufield. In round one of the NHL entry draft, the Vancouver Canucks should pick the best players available, this player is unlikely to be a defender. So for the first pick in the draft, I would like to see the Canucks select USNTDP winger Cole Caufield if he is still available. His pure goal-scoring prowess promises to light up the top six alongside Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson.
Owen Gibbs: Peyton Krebs. Krebs is a dynamic jack-of-all-trades with a tremendous drive and leadership ability. He could easily play on a line with Bo Horvat in a few years and be very effective.
Matthew Zator: Matthew Boldy. The Canucks need more skill on the left wing and Boldy brings that in spades. Jim Benning needs to stay away from defencemen here as there is a lot of skill in the top 10. The creativity Boldy processes would look great beside the equally creative Elias Pettersson.
Jarred Chan: Trevor Zegras. Zegras is an all around offensive force, playing this year behind teammate Jack Hughes. Zegras can play all three forward positions and is known for his playmaking ability, iq, and positioning. Ranked between seven and ten, if he is available at ten, Canucks should jump on the chance to draft Zegras. Honourable Mention: Matthew Boldy.