When you look at Ron Delorme’s drafting from 1999 onwards, as a Canuck fan, it’s enough to make you cringe. Aside from the Sedin twins, Ryan Kesler and a diamond in the rough in Cory Schneider, Ron Delorme’s tenure as Canucks head scout has been one to forget. However, with the new talent in Nicklas Jensen, Bo Horvat, Frankie Corrado and Hunter Shinkaruk, maybe, just maybe the Canucks drafting fortunes are turning around.
Canucks Recent Drafting History
From 1999 to 2004, the Canucks drafting was actually not half bad. The Canucks selected the future cornerstones for their franchise in Henrik and Daniel Sedin at #2 and #3 in 1999, found Kesler at #23 in the 2003 draft, and found all three of Schneider, Alex Edler and Jannik Hansen in the 2004 draft. The Canucks made the most of their early round picks, but their later round picks (in exception to Hansen and Edler) seemed to fall off the face of the earth, which is a continuing theme in Delorme’s draft history throughout the years. However, the acquisition of the Sedins, Kesler, Edler and Schneider was enough for Delorme to get a “pass” for his drafting from ’99 to ‘04.
Arguably, 2005 to 2010 was the worst of Delorme’s tenure, manufacturing almost no NHL talent from his draft classes. I’d give Delorme a pass on 2005, as a tragic accident ended a hopeful NHL career for Luc Bourdon, who looked to be the next Dan Hamhuis type defender, and unfortunately there’s not much you can do about that, and he snagged Mason Raymond in the second round of the ’05 draft.
The Canucks also grabbed Michael Grabner in the first round of the 2006 draft, but traded him away just a couple years after and found nothing else in the ’06 draft, Sergei Shirokov showed lots of promise in the 2008-09 pre-season, but never panned out in the long run.
The 2007 draft was nothing short of atrocious. The Canucks selected Patrick White in the first round, which is one of the worst draft picks in not only Canucks history, but in NHL history. The Canucks’ second round pick in Taylor Ellington didn’t pan out either, as he also never suited up in an NHL game.
The 2008 draft class featured Cody Hodgson in the first round, who panned out to be a good Top-6 center, but the rest of the draft class featured little to no NHL talent, with Yann Sauve playing a grand total of 8 NHL games and the rest of Prab Rai, Mats Froshaug and Morgan Clark never even getting an entry-level contract.
Lastly, the 2009 and 2010 drafts produced nothing for the Canucks, Jordan Schroeder was the captain of Team USA in the 2009 World Juniors, and showed a lot of promise, but never panned out at the NHL level. Joe Cannata and Patrick McNally are the last hopes for the ’09 and ’10 draft classes to make an NHL impact.
By jettisoning Kesler this off-season and with the recent signing of Schroeder in Minnesota, the Canucks don’t have a single first round pick from between 1999 and 2011 still in the organization.
Recent Drafts Fill Canucks Prospect Pool
That brings us to the 2011 draft class, probably the most promising draft since the 2003 draft for the Canucks organization. Winger Nicklas Jensen was the 29th overall pick that year and has already made a good impact for the Canucks thus far. Also, the Canucks snagged Frankie Corrado in the 5th round of that draft, who’s already developed into a depth NHL defenceman and will be looking to earn a full time spot next season. The 2011 class also has some underrated hopeful prospects in Alexandre Grenier and Henrik Tommerne,s that are climbing the ranks en route (hopefully) to an NHL career.
The 2012 draft produced some bottom-6 future talent for the team, with picks like Brendan Gaunce and Alex Mallet to help round out a skilled team. Although the 2012 class doesn’t have as much talent or flair as their predecessor, prospects like Gaunce and Mallet are instrumental to a winning team.
The 2013 draft gave the Canucks new life. With the Cory Schneider trade bringing in Bo Horvat and the Canucks also grabbing Hunter Shinkaruk at 24th, the Canucks had arguably the best first round in the entire league. Horvat and Shinkaruk’s skill put them atop the Canucks’ prospect pool and both will contend for a spot on the NHL roster this upcoming season. Not to mention, the likes of Cole Cassels, Jordan Subban and Anton Cederholm are also looking very promising in their young careers.
Lastly, the 2014 draft class produced tons of young talent that will look to fill out the Canucks roster down the road. The Canucks drafted Abbotsford product Jake Virtanen 6th overall, then snagged Jared McCann all the way at #24 thanks to the Ryan Kesler deal. The Canucks also picked the top goalie in the draft, taking Thatcher Demko at #36. Then, the Canucks drafted a Russian for the first time in forever, taking Nikita Tryamkin in the 3rd round, nicknamed “the Russian Bear” due to his 6’7’’ frame that towers over his opponents.
With the Canucks’ horrid luck with drafting since finding Schneider, it’s about time the Canucks finally get some good young talent in their prospect pool. With the Sedins and the rest of the Canucks main core on a decline and headed into the later half of their careers, prospects like Jensen, Horvat, Shinkaruk, Virtanen, Demko and Corrado will be the new go-to guys once the Canucks’ current core hangs up the skates. For the Canucks organization, the future is bright, with tons of young talent filling up the prospect pool; the Canucks should feature some exciting hockey for years to come.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @TBennz. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Main Photo:
