Woo Who? He’s a Canuck

Jett Woo was Vancouver’s second overall pick on Saturday, a day after the team took blue-liner Quinn Hughes at the NHL Entry Draft in Dallas

DALLAS — You just knew the Canucks weren’t getting through this weekend without a little controversy.

Vancouver’s biggest draft lovers were getting excited heading toward the Canucks’ third-round pick because USHL centre Jack Wise was still available. Wise carried his own line and put up 28 points in 18 games. Despite injuries, some had him with a first-round grade heading into this weekend and with a better than 50-per-cent chance to turn into an NHL player.

But the Canucks passed and selected Tyler Madden instead at 68th overall. He’s the son of former NHL star John Madden and is slight as a flyer at just 150 pounds. He had 20 points in 32 games for his USHL team. So the same league with fewer points in nearly double the games than Wise.

And wouldn’t you know, with the next pick, No. 69 overall, the Chicago Blackhawks took Wise.

Both, by the way, are a long, long way from the NHL. Madden is smart and fast and plays a game that isn’t dissimilar to Adam Gaudette. Like Gaudette did, Madden is going to Northeastern University. When the

Canucks picked Gaudette the Canucks faced similar criticism.

“I do (see some comparison),” said Judd Brackett, the Canucks’ director of amateur scouting. “Something that always resonated with Adam was his hockey sense and also his drive. He had to work on his foot speed, but he was always involved and always determined. There’s a lot of that same determination in (Madden).”

But what about passing on Wise?

“For us, part of it was the underdeveloped part of Madden,” Brackett said. “And the ability to continue to grow and get stronger.

“That’s where the ceiling may be a bit higher.”