Canucks: Redrafting their 2003 draft class (part 1)
If only NHL general managers could see the future. Today, we redraft each of the Vancouver Canucks’ first five picks in the 2003 draft with the gift of hindsight.
Few pastimes are as much fun as reviewing past NHL entry drafts and the players that came out of them, particularly those later round picks that turned into stars, Today, we harken back to before drafts were only seven rounds by looking at the 2003 draft class, widely regarded as one of the best in NHL history. The Vancouver Canucks had 10 picks in 2003, and each one of them could have been a steal.
Before we begin, let me explain the parameters for this redraft. The goal is to create the best possible draft class from players that were still available when the Canucks made each of their picks.
While this would have been impossible to predict at the time, each one of these players went on to have a prominent NHL career. We are trying to create the best all-around group; in some cases, there will be players chosen higher than others who perhaps didn’t have quite as illustrious a career.
However, choosing all the best players with the highest picks would result in fewer stars taken later on, so sometimes a little flexibility helps. Also, for the sake of simplicity, these selections do not take positional needs at the time into account.
1st Round (23rd overall): Patrice Bergeron
Given the depth of this draft, this was a tough choice that required passing on multiple superstars, including Mike Richards and Corey Perry. However, the fact that Patrice Bergeron is still in a top role 17 years later puts him above the others.
Originally selected 45th overall by the Boston Bruins with whom he has played his entire 1,089-game career, Bergeron has a total of 869 points in the NHL. He has reached the 50-point mark in 12 of his 16 seasons and the 70-point mark three times. Of the four seasons he did not, one was lockout-shortened, one was mostly lost to injury, and one was his rookie season. All around, Bergeron would have been an amazing pick for the Canucks.
That said, who they did pick was no slouch. Ryan Kesler is legendary in Canucks lore for helping carry the team to the 2011 Final and ungraciously requesting a trade in 2014 only to redeem himself in the eyes of Canucks fans this past season.
2nd Round (60th overall): David Backes
The Canucks could have complimented Bergeron’s abilities with a solid top-six presence in David Backes, who was originally selected by the St. Louis Blues just two picks after this one.
Although he has declined sharply since signing with the Bruins in 2016, Backes was once a key part of returning the Blues to prominence in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Known for his feisty style, Backes has racked up five 50-point seasons and five 100-plus penalty minute campaigns. He captained the Blues for five seasons from 2011-2016 and represented them at the 2011 All-Star Game. Backes even represented the United States at three World Hockey Championships and was a member of their 2010 and 2014 Olympic rosters.
With this pick, the Canucks actually chose Marc-Andre Bernier, who spent three seasons in their system, never entering an NHL game, before playing out the rest of his professional career in France. Backes would have been a far more successful pick.
4th Round (111th overall): Joe Pavelski
The Canucks could have had even more elite leadership in Joe Pavelski, another U.S. national team veteran who captained the San Jose Sharks from 2015 until his departure from the team in free agency last summer.
Pavelski could have been the savviest pick from this draft, seeing as the Sharks drafted him in the seventh round, 205th overall. Just like Bergeron, he is a member of the 1,000-game club, having reached the mark this season with the Dallas Stars, his only season away from San Jose.
Pavelski has recorded 792 NHL points to date, including a streak of six consecutive 60+ point seasons from 2013-2019. As deep as the 2003 draft was, he is perhaps the greatest steal.
In reality, the Canucks took winger Brandon Nolan with the 111th pick. He has become well-known in the years since retiring from professional hockey as an advocate for young Indigenous athletes. However, he only ever played six NHL games, none of them for the Canucks, unfortunately making this pick unsuccessful.
4th Round (128th overall): Marc Methot
Not only could the Canucks have boosted their offence and leadership from this draft, but they could have acquired some very solid defensive pieces as well, the first of whom being Marc Methot, originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the first pick of the sixth round.
While never the flashiest defenceman, Methot was the Chris Tanev of his hometown Ottawa Senators during the mid-2010s; little offence and regularly injured, but very effective on the back end. Though there were more notable names taken later on in the 2003 draft (as we will see), Methot would have been a pickup the Canucks would not have regretted.
Instead, they selected Ty Morris with this pick. A winger out of Edmonton, Morris never made an impact in the Canucks organization. The closest he made to the NHL was two seasons in the ECHL before heading to Germany, where he still plays today.
5th Round (160th overall): Dustin Byfuglien
While he has garnered controversy in the past year for his unceremonious departure from the Winnipeg Jets, Dustin Byfuglien’s impact at the NHL level is undeniable. This makes the fact that he was drafted 245th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks extra surprising. It also makes him eligible for our list.
Byfuglien is another big defenceman, this time of the coveted right-handed variety, and one who can score to boot, having five 50-plus point seasons in his 869-game career. Even now as a free agent, his name has been connected to the Canucks as a potential free agent target. They wouldn’t be getting the best Byfuglien has to offer nowadays due to his age, but had they picked the big defender with a late round pick all those years ago, it could have been a steal.
The player the Canucks took with this pick, Nicklas Danielsson, did end up becoming an impact player, just not in North America. Danielsson is still active today, playing for Brynas IF in Sweden, the team from which he was drafted. He has been a point-per-game player in the SHL, but like so many late round picks, never brought that production in the NHL.
Some of these names should demonstrate how some top-notch scouting and a crystal ball could have produced a truly elite squad for the Canucks. Just having one of these players could have changed the team’s fortunes in ways that can only be imagined.
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Who knows, one of them could have even helped produce a Stanley Cup. The second part of this article will be released soon and will cover the Canucks’ final five picks in the 2003 draft and the potential goaltending steals that could have been.