Redrafting the Canucks’ 2003 draft class (part 2)

8th Round (254th overall): Matt Moulson

He has fallen out of form in the past few years, but there was a time with Matt Moulson was a force to be reckoned with. Though his best years came as a member of the New York Islanders, Moulson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the beginning of the ninth round, 263rd overall. A former starter for four different franchises, he was dominant from 2009-2013 with the Islanders. For three consecutive seasons, Moulson was a 30-goal scorer, including a 69-point year in 2011-12.

During the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, he scored at near a point-per-game pace. Unfortunately, Moulson’s failure to transition his game to the quick, less physical style of play that characterizes the NHL today has left him in the AHL, but for a few years, there were few more productive players around.

Compared to most eighth-round picks, the Canucks got some decent NHL potential out of this pick in the form of Nathan McIver. A left-handed defenceman, McIver was one of their top prospects in the late 2000s.

After several years in the OHL and AHL, he made a total of 18 appearances for the Canucks in 2006-07 and 2007-08 without registering a point. In 2008, he was claimed off waivers by the Anaheim Ducks, where he played another 18 games and finally got his first and only NHL point. That would be it in the NHL for McIver, but for such a late-round pick, he did relatively well.

9th Round (285th overall): Brian Elliott

The later stages of the 2003 draft provided the opportunity for the Canucks to acquire not just one, but two NHL goalies. Brian Elliott was actually taken with the second to last pick in the entire draft, chosen by the Ottawa Senators 291st. With 471 starts under his belt, he has had an up and down career.

His best season came with the St. Louis Blues during a 2011-12 campaign in which he posted an astounding .940 save percentage in 38 starts, but he followed that performance up with one of his worst in 2012-13. However, Elliott’s next three seasons in St. Louis were some of the best of his career. Ever since signing with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2017, Elliott’s career has been on a downward trajectory.

He has now been relegated to a backup role behind youngster Carter Hart, but there was a time when Elliott was unbeatable. If our 2003 Canucks redraft class is to be a long-term team, Brian Elliott is likely the starting goalie.

The Canucks didn’t have very many options by the time they got to their tenth and final pick. Hindsight tells us that Elliott would have been the best, but they selected defenceman Matthew Hansen instead. Little is known about what happened to Hansen, but it appears that he was never signed by the Canucks or any other NHL team. It seems as though he finished his period of age eligibility in the WHL before riding off into the sunset.