The first round gets all the hoopla and fanfare. The draft takes place over two days, but the first day is dedicated entirely to the first round.

If you’re a first round pick, you get to walk up to the stage like it’s a graduation ceremony. That comes after your new team’s General Manager has thanked the host city, congratulated the Stanley Cup Champions, said “Whatup!” to the draft party at Seth’s Burger Shack back home, and butchered the pronunciation of your name.

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Once you’re on the stage, you’ll join the GM, the Assistant GM, the Assistant to the Assistant GM, the Director of Amateur Scouting, Director of Player Development, The Owner’s Oldest Son in an Ill-Fitting Suit, the Owner’s Youngest Son in an Ill-Fitting Hat, Domino the Official Draft Dog, and Gary Bettman. You’ll get your own jersey with your name on it, an ugly baseball hat, and pose for photos. It’s a whole thing.

Even if you’re picked 31st overall, you still get all of the pageantry. 32nd overall? You get bupkus.

The second day of the draft flies by, with six rounds taking about half the time the first round took all on its own. If you get picked in the second round, you’ll barely have time to shake the GM’s hand before another name is announced and another prospect gets his 15 seconds in the spotlight.

There are plenty of players that show up to the draft expecting to be a first-round pick, but, for one reason or another, fall out of the first round and get picked on the second day of the draft. The Canucks, with the 37th overall pick, might be able to grab a prospect with first-round talent several picks outside the first round.

Consider Kole Lind, who Jim Benning was absolutely shocked to see fall to them in 2017: “Why isn’t anyone taking Kole Lind?”

Here are five players that might slide out of the first round and into the Canucks’ lap.

Ryan Merkley

Why he should go in the first round:

Merkley has elite offensive skill, to the point that many consider him the second best defenceman in the offensive zone in the draft, behind only Rasmus Dahlin. When it comes to dynamic offensive ability, Merkley is up there with Quinn Hughes and Adam Boqvist. He’s an elite skater, one of the best passers in the draft, and a fantastic power play quarterback with a right-hand shot.

Why he might fall:

Merkley is one of the most contentious players in this year’s draft. Some draft lists have him as high as 10th overall, while International Scouting Services has him all the way down at 47th and Central Scouting ranks him 45th just among North American skaters. The biggest reason? He’s a defensive black hole.

It’s not just that his positioning is haphazard and his decision-making questionable, but that he doesn’t seem to care. Concerns have been raised about his attitude and his effort level. He’s had noticeable spats with coaches on the bench. On the ice, his emotions sometimes get the best of him and he crosses the line, like when he took a baseball swing at an opponent.

If character, coachability, and a well-rounded game matter to enough teams, Merkley could slide right out of the first round.

Why the Canucks should pick him:

The Canucks badly need offensive talent on the blue line, even if they pick a point-producing defenceman with the seventh overall pick. Someone’s going to take a chance on Merkley in hopes that added maturity and careful development will patch over those flaws and that team could be the Canucks.

He’s one of the youngest players in the draft, so there is room for growth both on and off the ice. Merkley is a boom or bust type of prospect, but the boom might be worth it.

Dominik Bokk

Why he should go in the first round:

Dominik Bokk doesn’t just have one of the best names in this draft class; he has serious offensive skill as well.

Bokk boasts soft hands, great vision, and a dangerous shot, along with speed, acceleration, and agility in his skating. Most importantly, he’s a smart player, thinking the game at a higher level than most players his age. He’s particularly dangerous in one-on-one situations, where he has the shiftiness, stickhandling, and hockey IQ to beat defenders.

Why he might fall:

The biggest question marks for Bokk are his defensive game and his attitude. The winger absolutely has high-end offensive talent, but seems to get easily frustrated when plays don’t develop the way he envisions them and has been prone to coasting on the backcheck or to the bench on a line change. One scout suggested Bokk needed to make a serious attitude adjustment if he wants to find success in the NHL.

Why the Canucks should pick him:

Aside from the tremendous talent that Bokk possesses, there’s the added bonus that Bokk played with Elias Pettersson on the top line for the Växjö Lakers for a stretch. He performed well with Pettersson, even if he had no shooting luck and only tallied two points in 15 SHL games. He also had two points in three Champions League games with the Lakers.

Pettersson speaks highly of Bokk, suggesting they have similar attributes and the idea of a future line of Jonathan Dahlen with Pettersson and Bokk is tantalizing.

Alexander Alexeyev

Why he should go in the first round:

Alexeyev is a well-rounded two-way defenceman with few glaring weaknesses. He has good size at 6’3” and 200 lbs, but can also skate well and distribute the puck. He put up 37 points in 45 WHL games, good for third among first-time draft-eligible defencemen. Some scouts suggest he has the potential to be a top-pairing defenceman and say he already plays a pro-style game.

Why he might fall:

There are a couple concerns with Alexeyev. One is consistency, which is repeatedly brought up in various draft rankings. Another is health. Alexeyev has dealt with injuries in both of his last two seasons. Then there’s the Russian factor, which might make some teams nervous still, as there’s always the looming possibility of heading back to the KHL.

For some combination of those reasons, several draft rankings don’t see him as a first-round pick. For example, Future Considerations ranks him 42nd, while The Hockey News has him all the way down at 54th.

Why the Canucks should pick him:

Getting a potential top-pairing defenceman in the second round would be a coup. Whatever reasons others teams might have for staying away from Alexeyev, he has enough potential to be worth taking in the second round.

Jett Woo

Why he should go in the first round:

Jett Woo is a fast-skating, hard-hitting defenceman, who can play in any situation. He’s reliable defensively, but has some offensive upside as well, tallying 25 points in 44 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors this past season. He wins puck battles and makes great reads in the defensive zone, making him difficult to play against. Despite his reputation for throwing big hits, Woo avoids penalties, with just 33 penalty minutes last season.

To top it all off, his name is Jett Woo. Jett Woo, people. His name alone should move up up five spots on your draft list.

Why he might fall:

Woo is already just a borderline first-rounder. The various draft rankings are widely split on where he belongs, from 21 in The Hockey News all the way down to 66 according to International Scouting Services. That’s right: ISS doesn’t just think Woo isn’t a first-rounder, but suggests he shouldn’t even be a second-rounder.

Some scouts question his hockey sense and whether he’ll be able to make decisions quickly enough at the pro level. An even bigger concern might be whether he can stay healthy enough to continue playing his physical brand of hockey against bigger players. His season was plagued with injuries, from a separated shoulder to a strained oblique muscle.

Why the Canucks should pick him:

If the Canucks get a point-producing offensive defenceman with the seventh overall pick, grabbing a steady, physical defensive defenceman in the second round would make a lot of sense, particularly since Woo can still skate well and move the puck.

Also, Woo may have some untapped offensive upside: on a deep Moose Jaw Warriors team, Woo didn’t get a lot of offensive opportunities. He’s also on the younger side of the draft, as he doesn’t turn 18 until late July.

Filip Hallander

Why he should go in the first round:

Hallander is one of the best forwards in this draft class without the puck. International Scouting Services ranked him as the third best defensive forward in the draft and scouts praise his intelligence and hockey sense.

Offensively, he can set up plays with his excellent vision and can score goals with his accurate wrist shot and willingness to go to the net. He had the highest points-per-game among draft-eligible players in the Allsvenskan, tallying 9 goals and 20 points in 40 games against men.

Essentially, Hallander is a versatile player that could play up and down the lineup, whether it’s shutting down the opposition as a gritty, defensive third-line centre, or setting up plays in your top-six.

Why he might fall:

An injury caused him to miss the World Under-18s, giving him one fewer chance to catch the eyes of scouts. That might be one reason why he’s ranked outside the first round by the likes of ISS, The Hockey News, and Future Considerations.

There are other reasons, however. Scouts disagree about his skating, with some praising it and others seeing it as a key flaw. Others question whether he has the offensive upside to put up points at the NHL level, seeing a ceiling of third-line centre.

Why the Canucks should pick him:

Hallander would provide a nice boost to the Canucks’ depth at centre, and there’s reason to believe that there’s more offence there than he showed this past season. All but three of his points came at even-strength and he played through an injury for the last couple months of the season.

As an added bonus, Hallander played with Jonathan Dahlen in Timra, if only occasionally on his line. His highlight reel includes several nice assists on Dahlen goals. It should be noted that Jacob Olofsson, another player that might slide out of the first round, also played with Dahlen, occasionally centring him on the first line. Olofsson is just a little more likely to stay in the first round than Hallander.

