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“What motivates them and how bad do they want to win? We look at all those things and factor them in with the skill-set.”

Photo by Mark van Manen / PNG

With the fifth overall draft selection this year, the Canucks will have a vested interest in highly-rated centres and puck-moving defenceman. That means those who should be available when they select — unless the Dallas Stars trade the third overall pick and the projected pecking order is altered — will receive extra scrutiny in Buffalo.

Centres Gabriel Vilardi, Cody Glass, Casey Mittelstadt, Michael Rasmussen and Elias Pettersson will be grilled by the Canucks as hard as defencemen Cale Makar, Timothy Liljegren and Cal Foote.

“When I look at our team, I see that playmaking centre point-producer as a hole to fill and the other is a pure power-play defenceman who can shoot the puck from the point,” said Benning. “I feel confident that we’re getting a real good player at No. 5. We’ll talk to teams ahead of us and see what it takes to move up, but we’re happy at No. 5 and we’re going to get a skilled player — a foundation piece.”

Which, of course, gets back to those interviews.

“I want kids to be honest and truthful,” Benning said of his interview staple.

“One question I like to ask is: ‘If we were to go and ask your teammates what type of teammate you are, what would they tell us?’ Then they’ve got to think for a second. They can’t say something that’s not true because we could go and actually ask their teammates and get the answer.