Brock Boeser and Adam Gaudette
The Canucks’ 2015 draft was headlined by none other than yours truly, Brock Boeser. The team made the playoffs as the second seed in the Pacific Division, and they still managed to get their hands on a Calder Trophy finalist at the draft board.
The Bruins made the steal of the draft in 2014, but they fell on their faces this year, failing to draft Boeser, Kyle Connor or Matt Barzal with three consecutive draft picks.
Boeser was “all over” maps for scouts, as TSN’s Blake Price noted, and it seemed like there was a fairly large range for him to get picked. It seems like when Benning’s or (Judd Brackett’s) guy is under the radar, he gets him. Boeser was drafted at 23rd overall.
Boeser was all over the projections: 9th, 14th, 27th, 34th but the Canucks get him at 23... So totally depends on who you're listening to.
— Blake Price (@justBlakePrice) June 27, 2015
Adam Guadette was picked 149th, and while there are very little criticisms for later round picks, Benning seems to take criticism for a lot whether it be deserved or not.
#Canucks Gaudette USHL Cedar Rapids the C is 6ft 170 and sounds like he's valued as depth type of player. Northeastern U commit #TSN1040
— Jon Abbott (@AbbsPxP) June 27, 2015
The Canucks won this draft, securing two players who are currently on the roster without a second-round draft pick.
Boeser rose to fourth overall on NHL Tonight’s redraft, Puck Prose has him at seventh and DraftSite.com has him being picked at eighth overall. The Canucks selected a Calder Trophy nominee with the 23rd overall selection, and there is no telling where Benning would have been by 2016 if he hadn’t picked Boeser in this slot — especially considering his later follies.
Gaudette has the 38th most points of the 2015 entry draft while playing only 82 games at the time of writing (Dec. 12).
Gaudette had the 38th most points in the 39th most games. If points were everything, you could easily slot him into the second-round pick, but defencemen and goalies are also extremely valuable. Gaudette would likely land in the second round of a redraft, and there’s no way that the Canucks didn’t secure at least +100 slots of value on draft.