Photo Credit: Candice Ward/USA TODAY Sports

As we predicted yesterday, Saturday`s later rounds of the NHL draft were much busier for the Canucks than Friday was. Also, Saturday may have officially been the end of the Linden and Benning honeymoon period, as fan favourite Eddie Lack was dealt before most fans had even woke up and had their morning coffee.

For a look back at the day that was, join us after the jump.

Lack Let Go

The day started on a low note, as the Canucks dealt Eddie Lack to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 3rd round pick (66th overall) and a 7th round pick in 2016. A 3rd round pick doesn`t have a whole ton of expected future value, but it`s also roughly the return you can expect for a prime-aged unproven goalie.

The return for their best goalie is far from encouraging. You can read our initial breakdown of the Lack deal here.

Canucks Draft Guillaume Brisebois 66th Overall

With the pick they acquired from the Eddie Lack deal, Vancouver selected young QMJHL defensive D Guillaume Brisebois 66th overall. Brisebois` resume is much more impressive according to his international play and scouts, as he is one of the more highly regarded D in his age group.

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He has played in the CHL Top Prospects game and represented Canada internationally, and was also voted the captain of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan by his teammates. On the other hand, similar players in previous years didn`t have a fantastic success rate, and his QMJHL team was one of the worst in the entire CHL.

Read our first impressions of the Brisebois selection here.

McNally Traded for Late Pick

In a minor move, Vancouver dealt the rights to prospect Patrick McNally to the San Jose Sharks for the 210th pick in the 2015 draft. McNally was set to become a free agent after he was denied another year of NCAA eligibility in the wake of the Harvard cheating scandal.

Benning and the Canucks made the determination not to sign McNally with Jordan Subban and Ben Hutton already in the organization, so recouping an asset is not surprising.

Dmitry Zhukenov drafted in round 4

With the 114th overall pick, the Canucks went a bit off the board by taking diminutive Russian centre Dmitry Zhukenov. The shifty pivot is feisty and has good hands and performed well in international play, but really didn`t produce well in MHL play.

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You can read up on what we know so far on Zhukenov here.

Canucks finish drafting with 4 more players

Vancouver ended the day by drafting Carl Neill and Adam Gaudette in round 5, Lukas Jasek in round 6, and Tate Olson in round 7.

Neill is a big-bodied two-way D from the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Gaudette is a thin and tenacious centre out of Cedar Rapids in the USHL. Jasek is a speedy offensive player and a great statistical sleeper who played in the Czech pro league, and Olson is a toolsy but unrefined defender from the Prince George Cougars.

We take a more detailed look at each of these guys here.

The draft may now be behind us, but free agency is just around the corner. In the Virtual League of Hockey thousands of teams draft new players every two weeks. With over 40,000 matches each day, the Virtual League of Hockey lets you create your own team, develop players and challenge a community of hockey fans from around the world. Each season is only two weeks long giving you a ton of chances to lead your team to glory. Show the world that Canucks fans know best. Join for free now!





