With the Stanley Cup being awarded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second year in a row, it is officially the offseason for the Vancouver Canucks.
So far, it’s been pretty quiet, with the only “news” coming from the blueline.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that Nate Schmidt wants out of Vancouver after only spending one season with the club.
A few days later, according to insider Nick Kypreos during his appearance on “Tim and Friends”, the Canucks are also showing some renewed interest in Oliver-Ekman Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes. Kypreos went so far to suggest swapping the two defencemen to appease both sides.
Kypreos on OEL talks: I'm told Vancouver is re-enaging in that. Schmidt has made it clear he would like to move on. Moving Schmidt to Arizona makes a lot of sense to slide in OEL.
— Taj (@taj1944) July 8, 2021
(Tim & Friends)
Of course, as it goes with all teams, this is purely speculation, and anything could happen when it comes to these players. One thing that the team knows is happening, however, is the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, set to take place from July 23rd to 24th.
We’ve already covered players that the Canucks could select in the first round, including Mason McTavish and Fabian Lysell. But, as we all know, there are usually some hidden talents in the later rounds that could eventually turn into steals, and it’s important for teams to build their prospect pool as much as they can outside of the first round because of that. The Canucks have been able to find strong players in the past in the second round, such as Thatcher Demko, Mason Raymond and Nils Höglander.
The Lightning were even able to snag Nikita Kucherov 58th overall in 2011, and look how that turned out.
This year, the Canucks hold the 40th overall pick in the draft, and will be looking to capitalize on a player that could hopefully impact their organization for years to come.
Let’s take a look at four players that the Canucks could possibly select in the second round:
Logan Mailloux, RHD
As we already know, right-handed defencemen are a big need for the Canucks, and Logan Mailloux could fit the bill for the team.
Mailloux, who clocks in at 6’3″ and 214 pounds, previously played for the London Knights of the OHL in 2019-20, but he spent the past season on loan to SK Lejon of Sweden’s second division. There, he scored seven goals and eight assists in 19 games.
Look, I know the HockeyEttan isn't the best league in the world, but plays like this are why we have Logan Mailloux in our first round at @mckeenshockey. He's a pretty skilled, big defender, as you can see from this recent goal. pic.twitter.com/Bfj7vg4nc8
— Brock Otten (@BrockOtten) February 5, 2021
Mailloux has the size, agility and excellent skating abilities, as well as good stick-handling, to allow him to transition up the ice effectively. He also has an accurate shot, which includes a cannon of a one-timer. Defensively, there is still improvement to be made. He is reliable when it comes to winning puck battles, but he needs to work on defending on the rush.
The Canucks desperately need size, skill and strong shooting abilities on the right side of their blueline, and Mailloux could check all of those boxes.