Quinn Hughes was supposed to be gone before the Canucks picked. If the Ottawa Senators or Arizona Coyotes didn’t take him, surely the Detroit Red Wings would. Detroit needs defencemen, Hughes played in their backyard at the University of Michigan, and their head coach, Jeff Blashill, coached Hughes in the 2018 World Hockey Championships.

Then the Montreal Canadiens reached for Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the Senators pounced on Brady Tkachuk, and the Arizona Coyotes surprised everyone by selecting Barrett Hayton, who nobody thought would be a top-ten pick. That dropped Filip Zadina to the Red Wings, who couldn’t say no.

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Just like that, Quinn Hughes was there for the taking. An elite-skating, puck-moving, powerplay-quarterbacking defenceman, who has the potential to be the number one defencemen the Canucks have never had.

After making the pick, Jim Benning was as close to giddy as I’ve ever seen.

“I’m so excited for our fans right now. I didn’t think he was gonna be there, but I’m so happy that he was,” he said to Elliotte Friedman. “I’m over the moon right now, because I think he’s going to be an exciting player for a long time for us.”

The rest of the first round was just as unpredictable. Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom slid out of the top-ten. Ty Smith fell all the way to 17th. Expected second-round picks Liam Foudy and Jay O’Brien jumped into the middle of the first round. The Minnesota Wild went way off the board to draft defenceman Filip Johansson.

In some ways, the unpredictability was, paradoxically, predictable. A lot of draft experts suggested that this was a draft with wildly different rankings from different teams, but I’m not sure anyone expected it to be this volatile.

The upshot for the Canucks, however, is that there are some very talented players that could be available with the 37th overall pick. Predicting exactly which player they’ll take is a fool’s errand given how entirely unpredictable everything else has been, but here are eight players that would make sense for the Canucks.

Jonatan Berggren - RW

A lot of draft experts saw Berggren as a potential first-round pick and were surprised when he didn’t get drafted on day one. You can expect his name to be announced early on day two, so he might not make it to the Canucks at 37th overall.

Berggren earned attention with an outstanding performance at the World Under-18 Championships, leading Sweden and finishing fourth in tournament scoring with 5 goals and 10 points in 7 games. He was also the top scorer in the Swedish junior league, the Superelit, tallying 18 goals and 57 points in 38 games.

Berggren is a dynamic skater with excellent vision and a nose for the net. He has a great release and an accurate shot, but is primarily a playmaker, to the point that Sweden used him as a power play quarterback from the point. While he lacks size at 5’10”, he isn’t afraid of going to tough areas on the ice. He has top-six potential.

Calen Addison - D

Addison was not far behind Ty Smith in the WHL this season, though his defensive game isn’t as well-rounded. He’s a smooth-skating, undersized offensive defenceman, who finished second on the Lethbridge Hurricanes with 65 points in 68 regular season games, then added 19 points in 16 playoff games.

Despite his smaller size, Addison has a bomb of a slap shot, but his primary offensive weapon is his playmaking. Whether it’s a stretch pass from the defensive zone or quarterbacking the power play, Addison puts pucks on tape for his teammates.

The question is whether the Canucks want to draft another undersized offensive defenceman after taking Hughes in the first round. They might want to look another direction with the 37th pick.

Akil Thomas - C

Akil Thomas led all first-time draft-eligible forwards in the OHL with 81 points in 68 games. There’s simply no way he should still be on the board after the first round is over.

Sure, he was only first because Andrei Svechnikov got injured and played 24 fewer games and because I’m ignoring Evan Bouchard because he’s a defenceman. Even with that in mind, you can’t ignore Thomas’s production.

More than that, Thomas is a driven leader, a well-rounded playmaker, and an excellent skater with quick hands. He has the ability to create something out of nothing, beating a defender one-on-one with his speed and stickhandling, or setting up a teammate with a pass that no one sees coming. He also boasts a hard and accurate shot.

The issue right now for Thomas is consistency, with some scouts expressing frustration at seeming to always catch Thomas on an off day. When he’s on his game, he’s fun to watch, and with some added maturity and consistency, could be a second-round steal.

Jake Wise - C

Next year’s expected number one pick, Jack Hughes, led the USHL in points-per-game last season. Second behind him was Oliver Wahlstrom. Third? Jake Wise.

The Canucks have leaned towards the USHL in recent years, drafting Brock Boeser, Adam Gaudette, and Will Lockwood. They could go back again for Wise, who has an excellent name and also an excellent game.

Wise had 9 goals and 28 points in 18 USHL games, and was also solid with the US National Team Development Program, finishing fourth in points-per-game on the U-18 team with 43 points in 38 games.

Wise is short, but stocky, and is tough to knock off the puck with his low centre of gravity and strong skating. One of the reasons Wise fell in the draft is that he missed time with a broken collarbone, but his misfortune will be to the benefit of whatever team takes him on day two, as they’ll get a fantastic playmaking centre with a strong two-way game.

Ryan McLeod - C

If you want speed, Ryan McLeod has it in spades. Along with his excellent skating, however, he adds size at 6’2” and 200+ lbs. The question is whether he can match those excellent physical attributes with the hockey sense to best use them.

McLeod put up 70 points in 68 OHL games with Mississauga. He’s a two-way, playmaking centre with good vision and passing, but tends to stay too much on the perimeter and doesn’t use his very good shot often enough.

If he can iron out those issues as he matures, however, his speed and size could make him a dangerous NHL player. That is a significant “if” though, and it’s a big reason why draft rankings were split on McLeod, with some seeing him as a clear cut first round pick, while others suggested he would go later in the second round.

One thing to keep in mind is that he turns 19 on September 21st, making him one of the oldest first-time draft-eligible players this year.

When he hits top speed, he’s a lot of fun to watch, so you can see the appeal. With the speed of the modern NHL, he’d be an understandable pick at 37th overall.

Serron Noel - RW

If the Canucks want to add a power forward with size and speed, Serron Noel might be the best fit. Noel measured in at 6’5” and 203 lbs at the scouting combine, the second-biggest forward at the combine behind Curtis Douglas.

Noel doesn’t just skate well for his size. He skates well, period. Those two attributes together make him a nightmare for defenders when he comes through the neutral zone, as he can either skate around you or through you.

Scouts repeatedly mention Noel’s raw ability, because it’s clear that he hasn’t quite yet put it all together. He has surprisingly good hands, a strong shot, and plays well defensively, but his consistency was an issue. When everything comes together, however, he can dominate a game.

He finished his OHL season with 28 goals and 53 points in 62 games, which is good, but not great production, particularly for a player so much bigger than his peers. The team that picks him will do it on the basis of his raw talent and potential.

Jett Woo - D

The excellently-named Jett Woo would provide a physical counterpoint to the puck-moving style of Quinn Hughes. Woo was considered a first round talent by some draft rankings, but the hard-hitting defencemen didn’t have his name called on day one.

Defensively, Woo can shut down opposing forwards with his solid positioning and physical play. He’s strong along the boards and wins puck battles regularly, then transitions the puck up ice with a good first pass.

What he lacks, however, is offence. He put up 9 goals and 25 points in 44 games, so the offensive side of his game isn’t completely absent, but it’s not expected to be part of his game at the NHL level. Still, he can surprise you with a nice piece of stickhandling and there’s enough there to think that he won’t have issues handling the puck at a faster pace.

Woo would provide a different element to the Canucks’ prospect pool and could be worth the pick at 37th overall.

Bode Wilde - D

Bode Wilde’s defence partner with the US National Team Development Program, K’Andre Miller, was a first-round pick, but Wilde’s name was not called. He has the raw talent to be a top-pairing defenceman, but so far lacks the discipline and hockey sense to put it all together.

Wilde is aggressive at both ends of the ice — it can never be said that he doesn’t compete — and he combines good size with great skating, making him tough to handle both offensively and defensively. He has great hands and a powerful shot, and he’s a great passer as well.

The issue is that he lacks the vision to put his passing to best use, and his poor decision-making frequently led to head-scratching turnovers.

With Wilde’s skill set, he shouldn’t be a project player, but there’s a lot that needs to be ironed out in his game. If he can improve his ability to read the play, he’ll end up looking like a steal. If not, he’ll likely cause the fans of his team to pull their hair out in frustration.

Still, his raw tools are tantalizing. With his speed, size, and skill, he’ll surely get picked by someone in the second round. Should it be the Canucks?



Honourable mentions: David Gustafsson, Jared McIsaac, Jonny Tychonick, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Kirill Marchenko, Allan McShane, Cole Fonstad, Mattias Samuelsson, Jakub Lauko



