A closer look at the sleepers
NHL DRAFT: Here’s who Canucks may consider with fourth-, fifth-, sixth-round picks
Historically, the Vancouver Canucks have unearthed NHL draft gems in later rounds. Realistically, they’re capable of mining more picks this weekend in Sunrise, Fla., because the franchise’s new philosophy of having numerous scouts see the same prospect should lead to a consensus selection.
“I get feedback from scouts in the field and I go out and see who they identify, and it goes through that filter, and I identify for Jim Benning who he should prioritize,” says Canucks vice-president of player personnel John Weisbrod.
“People at several levels in the organization have seen the same players and probably six or seven have laid eyeballs on him. It (draft selection) is then a meaningful conversation.”
The Canucks landed Ben Hutton, Frank Corrado, Kevin Bieksa and Gino Odjick with fifth-round picks, and took Matt Cooke and Brent Sopel in the sixth round.
With the 23rd overall selection, but without a pick in the second and third rounds in 2015 — unless Benning does some expected manoeuvring with his peers — a lot of focus will be on who he can land with the 114th pick (Round 4), 144th and 149th picks (Round 5) and 174th (Round 6).
There’s a need for depth on defence, and despite the quick maturation of Bo Horvat and the potential of Cole Cassels and Jared McCann, a sizable centre of attention should also pique their interest.
So should others who bring something special, especially on defence, where there’s a dire need for depth. If the Canucks draft one at No. 23 — either Brandon Carlo or Thomas Chabot, unless Jakub Zboril somehow slips through — then they’ll be looking to land a sleeper or someone intriguing whom others passed on.
Here’s a look at a few sleepers to consider:
Deven Sideroff, RW, 5-foot-11, 180 lbs., Kamloops (WHL). GP: 64, G: 17, A: 25, Pts: 42.
When the Canucks transition beyond Alex Burrows, Radim Vrbata, Jannik Hansen and Derek Dorsett, the right side will be thin if Zack Kassian doesn’t evolve, or Nick Jensen and Alexandre Grenier don’t arrive as NHL players. Hence the Sideroff curiosity, because he’s ranked anywhere from the late third to fifth rounds — and because the NHL game is trending back to smaller, swifter, skilled players, he might be worth a closer look.
The Summerland native graduated from the Okanagan Hockey Academy and showed superior speed on a struggling team, and that was reflected in a Team Canada under-18 worlds invite. He scored in the 5-2 bronze medal victory over Switzerland and in a 7-2 semifinal loss to the U.S. With the Blazers, he played on the first line and, beyond an obvious skill set, what catches the eye is blazing speed. Think a young Michael Grabner. “He’s got NHL speed and that’s the No. 1 thing that excites people — he can fly,” says Blazers coach Don Hay. “He can beat people wide, but like most players, he stumbled in getting adjusted to the league and the grind. But he grew and got better as the year went on. He’s a real interesting guy because he does things really well offensively and had the confidence to play against real good players and knows he belongs. He’s very coachable and needs a good summer of strength training, but he wants to get better.”
Gustav Bouramman, D, 6-foot, 184 lbs., Sault Ste. Marie (OHL). GP: 67, G:5, A: 39, Pts: 44.
Ranked anywhere from 36th to 166th — scouts either salivate at the Swede’s natural offensive instincts or worry about his defensive game — he’s certainly a wild card. He easily transitioned to the North American game and was on the OHL’s first rookie all-star team because of a good stride and superior passing, with a heads-up vision for the game that made him hard to contain. And even though he doesn’t have a hard shot or even a quick release, he’s good at finding shooting lanes.
The concern: Although he’s positionally sound in his own zone and can keep shooters to the perimeter, Bouramman’s not that physical. Probably projects as a second-pairing defence man and power play point man.
Guillaume McSween, D, 6-foot-4, 214 lbs., Rimouski (QMJHL). GP: 63, G:5, A: 22, Pts: 27.
In his second draft-eligible year, McSween grew his game on a deep back end, was suspended three games for kneeing, and had NHL scouts debating whether to pick the big blue-liner in the sixth or seventh round — or pass.
A project who is still developing his defensive game, he has decent hands and puck smarts, with good vision and playmaking ability.
He competes well down low and usually wins board battles — not enough Canucks do that—and when injuries mounted on the back end, was given more meaningful minutes. Might be worth taking a chance with that sixth-round pick, because D-men take longer to develop.