It's the start of a new week, and at Fansided NHL, we will be focusing on missed chances/opportunities. For the first piece in this week's theme, we will be focusing on the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. More specifically, the second round of the draft, where the Vancouver Canucks had the 60th overall pick. The missed opportunity? The Canucks missed out on selecting forward David Backes.
No Takes Backes
At the time, they selected Laval, Quebec native Marc-André Bernier with their second pick of the draft. The unfortunate part, Bernier never saw a game in the National Hockey League. Instead, he played in 39 American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Manitoba Moose. In the ECHL, he played in 143 games split between the Columbus Inferno and the Victoria Salmon Kings. By the time the 2009-10 season rolled around, he was in France.
During his draft year, Bernier had 29 goals and 58 points in 67 games in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Halifax Mooseheads. In his last two seasons in the QMJHL, Bernier had 50 points in each of those seasons with the Mooseheads (2004-05) and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (2003-04).
However, if the Canucks wanted to draft a right winger, they should have taken the guy who was selected two picks later. At the 62nd overall pick, the St. Louis Blues picked Backes out of the United States Hockey League's (USHL) Lincoln Stars.
In his draft year, Backes tallied 28 goals and 57 points in 55 games. That came after having 11 goals and 21 points in 30 games in his first season in the USHL. After being picked 62nd overall, Backes went on to play at Minnesota State Univ. (Mankato), where he tallied 46 goals, 73 assists, and 119 points in 115 NCAA games.
Following his third season at Minnesota State, he went on to play 12 games in the AHL with the Peoria Rivermen, tallying five goals and 10 points. The 2006-07 season was the last time Backes would see time in the AHL, having 10 goals and 13 points in 31 games. From 2007-08 to the end of his career in 2020-21, Backes was an NHL regular with the Blues, Boston Bruins, and Anaheim Ducks.
Over his 15-year NHL career, Backes had 248 goals, 313 assists, and 561 points in 965 games. He went on to spend 10 years with the Blues, tallying 206 goals, 254 assists, and 460 points in 727 games. During the 217 games with the Bruins, he had 39 goals and 54 points. He even went on to be captain with the Blues, along with being the alternate captain with the Blues, along with the Bruins, and the Ducks. Even in his 21 games in Anaheim, Backes was seen as a leader.
While hindsight is 20/20 in 2026, the scouting and pick selection for the Canucks in 2003 really bit them, especially missing out on Backes. However, they did get Ryan Kesler with the 23rd overall pick. Overall, though, Brian Burke, who was the general manager back then, was more hit-and-miss when it came to drafting. He did manage to get the Sedin twins, but taking Bernier over Backes still is a bitter missed opportunity.
Would things have gone the same for Backes with the Canucks? Maybe, but even if it was half of what Backes became, it would have been better than zero NHL games with Bernier. Especially with him being in France within six years and a handful of AHL and ECHL games.
When it comes down to it, the Canucks missed out on Backes at 60th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. If he had made it on the same teams as Kesler, the Sedins, and others who made some solid Canucks squads in the late 2000s and early 2010s, things might be different in Vancouver.
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