What ever happened to: The Vancouver Canucks 2003 draft class (Part 1)

Ryan Kesler has become perhaps the most well-known member of the Canucks’ 2003 draft class. He split the two seasons following his draft between the Canucks and the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League, before spending the entirety of the next eight seasons with the Canucks.

During this time, Kesler became one of the Canucks’ best players, reaching peaks of 41 goals and 75 points. He won the 2011 Frank J. Selke award and was integral to defeating the Nashville Predators in the second round of those playoffs enroute to the Stanley Cup Final.

However, his relationship with the Canucks and the city of Vancouver quickly soured and he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2014. He has remained with the club ever since, showing steady decline along the way.

Furthermore, hip problems have caught up with Kesler. This past May, he underwent hip surgery that will keep him out for the 2019-20 season and has the potential to end his professional career altogether.

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Marc-Andre Bernier (2nd Round, 60th overall)

Marc-Andre Bernier’s story is that of a promising prospect who could just never find his groove in the Canucks system. After being selected by the Canucks, he played four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with both the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Halifax Mooseheads.

In 2005-06, Bernier made the jump to the AHL, where he was unable to register a point in 16 games played, resulting in him playing out the season with the ECHL Columbia Inferno.

He got another crack at the AHL the following season but was once again unable to capitalize on the opportunity and returned to the ECHL, where he spent the entirety of the 2007-08 season. The Canucks and Bernier decided to part ways and he signed with the Edmonton Oilers, though he never played an NHL game for them.

North American professional hockey was not for Bernier, and he joined the French Briancon team. His time in the French league was more successful. In six seasons with Briancon, Bernier earned the captaincy after scoring at a significant 1.5 points-per-game pace.

In 2015, he joined Gap HC before returning to Canada in 2017. He played his final professional season with the Sorel-Tracy Blackhawks of the Ligue Nord-americaine de Hockey, where he managed 21 points in 29 games before riding off into the sunset.