Redrafting the Canucks’ 2003 draft class (part 2)

We redrafted the Vancouver Canucks’ first five picks in the 2003 NHL draft based on who was still available at each pick. Here are the other picks from that year.

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 continue to look at the 2003 draft class, widely regarded as one of the best in NHL history. In the first half of this article, we redrafted the first five of the Vancouver Canucks’ first 10 picks in the 2003 draft. In hindsight, these would have been the best of the other five.

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.

6th Round (190th overall): Kyle Brodziak

Kyle Brodziak is perhaps the black sheep among this group of possible Canucks draft picks. He is best known for his role as a career bottom-six centre, playing for the Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, and St/ Louis Blues from 2005-2019.

Originally a seventh-round pick by the Oilers, Brodziak was never a prolific scorer, his career-high being just 44 points in 2011-12 while playing for the Wild.

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He consistently suffered from gaps in his defensive game and was never known for being overly physical.

However, Brodziak embodied the fight that it takes to make it to the NHL in how he worked his way up from the WHL to the NHL and stuck there for as long as he did, even battling chronic back issues that eventually forced his retirement along the way. Those are the kind of players that you want on your team.

Chad Brownlee, the Canucks’ actual sixth round pick did end up being successful, but as a musician rather than in hockey.

After concussions caused his departure from the game in 2008, he started a country music career that is still going strong and includes two Juno Award nominations. However, he just never quite turned out as a Canucks prospect.