THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS’ DRAFT DAY WISH LIST
A look at 10 players the Canucks could target in the 2017 draft: 1 Nolan Patrick (C, Brandon, WHL, 6-3, 198 pounds) The stats: GP: 33, G: 20, A: 26, Pts: 46 The skinny: A can’t-miss if sports hernia problems don’t reoccur. Speed and skill are in vogue, but size also matters. Can produce and play in traffic. 2 Nico Hischier (C, Halifax, QMJHL, 6-0, 174 pounds) The stats: GP: 57, G: 28, A: 48, Pts: 86 The skinny: Changes speed based on the situation and attacks the neutral zone and offensive zone at different angles consistently.
Throws forwards and defencemen off on how to gap-control him. 3 Gabrial Vilardi (C, Windsor, 6-2, 193 pounds) The stats: GP: 49, G: 29, A: 32, Pts: 61 The skinny: Projected to fill out and is going to play a power game. His first two or three steps need to be quicker and better, but he’s big and solid. 4 Cody Glass, (C, Portland, WHL, 6-2, 178 pounds)
The stats: GP: 60, G: 32, A: 62, Pts: 94 The skinny: More than 70 per cent of his points come five-on-five and that’s exceptionally good. Put a big star beside that.
5 Cale Makar (D, Brooks, AJHL, 5-10, 175 pounds) The stats: GP: 54, G: 24, A: 51, Pts: 75 The skinny: Hard to project Tier 2 points, but Makar is a dynamic puck-moving blue-liner. 6 Miro Heiskanen (D, HIFK Helsinki, SM-liiga, 5-11, 174 pounds) The stats: GP: 27, G:5, A: 5, Pts: 10 The skinny: Has passed the inconsistent Timothy Liljegren with a strong second half. Lots of hype. 7 Casey Mittlestadt (C, Green Bay, USHL, 6-1, 201 pounds) The stats: GP: 24, G: 13, A: 17, Pts: 30 The skinny: A high school centre who also played in USHL. 8 Martin Necas (C, Brno Kometa, Czech, 6-0, 167 pounds)
The stats: GP: 41, G:7, A: 8, Pts: 15 The skinny: Has ability to play at speed and make plays at speed. 9 Elias Pettersson (C/LW, Timra, Sweden, 6-2, 161 pounds)
The stats: GP: 43, G: 19, A: 21, Pts: 40 The skinny: Two-way talent who played with Canucks prospect Jonathan Dahlen. 10 Michael Rasmussen (C, TriCity, WHL, 6-5, 200 pounds) The stats: GP: 50, G: 32, A: 23, Pts: 55 The skinny: Wrist surgery shortened season, but big frame and 32 goals will attract attention.