Canucks need to improve drafting outside of 1st round

The Vancouver Canucks have a lot of things to work on this summer.

One of the things on the to-do list is the draft. The prospect pool needs to be refilled with talent. While this year’s draft isn’t as deep as the drafts of the past, I already wrote about five players the Canucks could potentially select with the 15th overall pick.

However, one thing the Canucks should improve on is drafting outside of the first round. New General Manager Patrik Allvin says that is one of the keys to success in the NHL.

“Well, I think first and foremost, I think you’ve got to be open-minded,” said Allvin on his scouting philosophy at his introductory press conference in January. “I think players change and the game is changing consistently. You’ve got to look for talent, and you’ve got to trust your scouting staff and the people that work for you. We want to play a fast and skilled game. I think, in order to be successful, you got to be able to find players outside the first round in the NHL Entry Draft. ”

The Canucks haven’t had much success with draft picks beyond the first round. Yes, there is Nils Höglander who has already played 116 games with the Canucks in two seasons. He had a good rookie season but a tough sophomore year and there are still lots of things he needs to work on in his game.

There were many other Canucks draft picks drafted beyond round one during Jim Benning’s tenure who have made the NHL. They include Adam Gaudette, Kole Lind, Nikita Tryamkin, Jack Rathbone and Will Lockwood. Of course, Gaudette, Lind and Tryamkin are no longer with the Canucks organization and have had their struggles.  Rathbone and Lockwood look to be NHLers but not high-end players.

The best Canuck drafted outside the first round in the last decade is Thatcher Demko who has started to become one of the best netminders in the NHL.

The last Canucks player to be drafted outside the first round and play over 200 games with them is Mason Raymond. He played 546 NHL games over 10 years and 374 of them were with the Canucks. Raymond was drafted in the second round at 51st overall in 2005.

So even in the Mike Gillis and Dave Nonis days, the drafting beyond round one wasn’t good.

Throughout their history, the Canucks had many players drafted outside of the first round who had respectable careers. They include Jannik Hansen,Doug Lidster, Alex Edler, Stan Smyl and Pavel Bure. (Though a respectable career would be an understatement for him.)

When drafting outside of the first round, there is a chance you get a steal. Let’s take a look at the Tampa Bay Lightning for example. Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevsky were drafted in the second and third rounds respectively. Of course, they are two among the best players in the NHL and key to the Lightning’s two Stanley Cups.

The Canucks don’t need to look for a potential superstar when drafting outside of the first round and not all draft picks even make the NHL. They just need to find players who have the potential to be everyday NHLers.

Drafting outside of the first round could kickstart the development of players in Abbotsford. There hasn’t been a lot of success in terms of developing players in the AHL for the Canucks other than Demko and Chris Tanev in the last decade.

The best way to fill the prospect cupboards is the draft and looking for potential outside round one is key for the Canucks future success.