Looking back at the Canucks 2017 draft

It’s hard to believe but 2017 was half a decade ago. At the time of this writing, it is July 23 and this article will be out on July 24. Five years ago on these exact dates, the Vancouver Canucks welcomed a new batch of prospects at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in Chicago.

The Canucks were coming off a season where they finished second last in the NHL with 69 points only behind the Colorado Avalanche who had 48 points which was the lowest in the salary cap era. Now the Avalanche are one win away from the Stanley Cup.

But enough about the Avalanche. The Canucks did not get any luck at the draft lottery as they fell three spots to fifth overall. They had a total of eight picks in the 2017 draft which included two second round picks.

Let’s take a look back at the 2017 draft class for the Canucks and see how they have done in the five years since.

First round: fifth overall: Elias Pettersson

Before the 2017 draft, fans, media and scouts speculated that the Canucks would take Cody Glass, Gabe Vilardi or Casey Mittelstadt.

However, they took Elias Pettersson. At the time, the pick was taken by some surprise. Many mock drafts had Pettersson going ninth overall. Scouts praised his vision and playmaking but there were concerns about his lack of muscle.

The Sportsnet draft board said his potential was a second-line centre and his NHL player comparable was Paul Statsny who was a member of the St. Louis Blues at the time. I’ll admit my first choice was Glass but I was ok with the Pettersson pick at the time (despite being kind of surprised) because I didn’t know much about him.

It’s fair to say that this pick was a homerun.

Pettersson broke the SHL scoring record by a rookie the following season and won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year the season after. He has also been an All-Star twice. Since coming into the league, Pettersson has managed 97 goals and 124 assists in 245 games.

He is and will be the franchise’s number one centre for many years and is a massive core piece. Pettersson has wowed fans with his playmaking, dekes, shot and even his defensive play. He has become a star in the league and is only getting better. Pettersson is the face of the franchise.

Apparently, Pettersson was a guy then-General Manager Jim Benning never wanted and was convinced by then-Director of Amateur Scouting Judd Brackett according to an article by Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News.

As for his lack of muscle, Pettersson has since bulked up.