Redrafting the Canucks’ 2003 draft class (part 2)
By Owen Gibbs
7th Round (222nd overall): Toby Enstrom
Like Brodziak, Toby Enstrom is a bit of a black sheep in this group, playing the role of the underrated workhorse rather than the superstar. The Atlanta Thrashers originally selected Enstrom in the eighth round with the 239th pick, and he spent his entire career in the Thrashers organization, including as it moved to Winnipeg in 2011. He was a defenceman known for his cerebral style of play, much like Chris Tanev.
If everything was going well, you would hardly realize that he was there. However, unlike Tanev, Enstrom had a solid offensive side to his game, reaching 30 points in each of his first five seasons, including two 50-plus point campaigns in 2009-10 and 2010-11, even being named an All-Star in the latter. Through the years, Tanev has usually been an asset to the Canucks, and Enstrom would have been as well.
Instead, the Canucks opted to draft François-Pierre Guenette, a centreman out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, who toiled in the ECHL for several years before playing out his career in the Italian and French leagues.
8th Round (252nd overall): Jaroslav Halak
The 2003 draft didn’t just give the Canucks a shot at what would be a decent haul of skaters, but a few good goaltenders as well, the best of whom ended up being Jaroslav Halak. The current Boston Bruins backup was originally taken 271st by Montreal, where he would spend four seasons, including two as a starter.
Halak has become well-traveled in his 520 career starts, appearing as a member of five different franchises. Along the way, he has posted a career save percentage of .916 and career goals-against average of 2.48. He has consistently demonstrated the ability to be a capable starting goalie, making it a wonder that Halak has spent the majority of his career as a backup. Maybe that trend could have been different in Vancouver.
Instead of Halak, the Canucks looked to Russia with the 252nd pick, selecting forward Sergei Topol from Avangard Omsk. Always more of a shutdown player than a scorer, Topol never played a game outside his home country and even struggled to make it as a regular in the KHL. He retired following the 2013-14 season.