HELL, WE’RE NO. 5
29th-place Canucks fall to fifth spot in NHL Entry Draft as Devils win first pick. Could Vancouver end up taking centre Cody Glass, No. 8 in photo, or defenceman Cale Makar with their choice?
The Vancouver Canucks saved their most painful loss for last.
They didn’t tank this year — at least not intentionally. They came by their ineptitude honestly, finishing with the second-worst record in the NHL.
From mid-January on, they were the worst team in hockey. The fans who watched and stayed with the team were among the most courageous in sport. Boy, did they take a beating.
And just when they were hoping to dust themselves off, pick themselves up, the NHL draft lottery’s ridiculously weighted system slew-footed them one last time.
The Canucks really earned the second pick in the this June’s draft. They ended up with the fifth.
Of course they did. Did you really expect anything different?
The lottery system sucks and, historically, so too does the Canucks’ luck. Three teams passed by them because of the ping-pong balls and two of them, the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars, actually have pretty good rosters.
Not so for the Canucks. They desperately could have used one of the top two do-everything centres who will be picked first and second in June. Instead, Vancouver got hosed.
Such is life in our post-Connor McDavid world.
When the Edmonton Oilers won that McDavid lottery, it was their fourth draft win in six seasons, and that started a string of decisions which led to Saturday where the Canucks, the team that finished 29th, had only a 12.1 per cent chance of drafting first and a 11.8 per cent chance of drafting second. Let that last one marinate for a second.
In the history of the league, before last season, the team that finished second last overall drafted second. Makes sense, no?
Now, the team which finishes second last has less than a 12 per cent chance of actually picking where they should be picking. Makes no sense, yes? This should be considered a terribly flawed mathematical equation, but the NHL probably couldn’t care less because one of their snowflake American franchises, the New Jersey Devils, gets a huge boost here with the first overall pick.
Now, drafting fifth is hardly a death sentence for the Canucks. There is a chance both the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, who pick third and fourth, take defencemen to fill huge organizational needs.
It would leave the Canucks in spot where they could pick the third-best centre on their board.
Some believe that could be high school and USHL playmaking star Casey Mittelstadt, who GM Jim Benning scouted late in the season.
But that would surprise TSN draft analyst Craig Button.
“I think Casey is a really good player, but I have him seventh (overall),” Button said.
Button’s top six, he said, includes Nolan Patrick, Nico Hischier as the obvious top picks followed by two defencemen, Miro Heiskanen and Cale Makar.
His third centre is Cody Glass, who played for Portland, where Travis Green coached before leaving for the AHL.
Those are the five Button said he’s drawn a line on.
His No. 6 prospect is forward Martin Necas and then Mittelstadt which leaves one wondering where is Windsor man-child centre Gabriel Vilardi, who many have in their top five.
“I like him, and he comes right after, but the pace of the game, those other three guys are all really good skaters,” Button said. “I saw (Leon) Draisaitl play at the same stage and I don’t think Vilardi is there.
“When you have the skating ability it gives you the edge, and Mittlestadt, Necas and Glass are all better skaters than Vilardi. They’re all significantly better.”
Glass didn’t play a lot last year, and because of that wasn’t highly ranked. He is now, however, and many in Vancouver are going to be hoping the Canucks draft him by June.
“I’ll tell you this, Cody Glass reminds me of Mark Scheifele at the same stage, that kind of rise,” Button said. “Necas reminds me of Claude Giroux, that kind of speed and pace.”
All of these forwards are good options at five for the Canucks, but there is no guarantee the Canucks will take one.
Some around the team believe they have Swedish defenceman Timothy Liljegren higher than most teams on their board, and some even think the Canucks have him in their top five.
This theory is reinforced by some comments Benning made earlier in the season, when we he said Liljegren can be a cornerstone defenceman. He said he was a “dynamic” skater with a good shot who the Canucks could view as answer to their power-play problems.
Liljegren is one of the most fascinating prospects in this draft. There are those who believe he could drop out of the top ten after a disappointing season during which he suffered mono.
Button said the mono hasn’t changed the way he sees Liljegren.
“I’ve seen him a lot,” Button said. “Liljegren to me could be this year’s Jakob Chychrun (who slid in last year’s draft). He could be.”
The knock on Liljegren from many who know him and watch him regularly is his so-called hockey sense, or lack thereof. They see a lot of problems which he creates and some think that’s going to plague him in his NHL career.
Would it be surprising to Button to learn an NHL team had Liljegren rated in its top five? “It would right now,” he said. There is going to be a lot of intrigue around this fifth overall pick. The Canucks didn’t nail it when they took Jake Virtanen in 2014.