Advertisement 1

NHL Draft Recap: Canucks make trade early on day two

Rogers Arena will likely feature plenty of intrigue on day two of the NHL Entry Draft.

Get the latest from Patrick Johnston straight to your inbox

Article content

The Canucks have six five picks on day two of the NHL draft. Follow along here for instant analysis.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

The Canucks picked Nils Hoglaner 40th overall but then traded their third-round pick, along with either their 2020 first-round pick or their 2021 first-round pick, and Marek Mazanec, for JT Miller.

Harrison Mooney covered Day 1; click to catch up on all the action.

Article content

3:14 p.m.

The last pick for the Canucks was Swedish forward Arvid Costmar, a toolsy forward who skated for most of the season with Linköping’s U-20 team.

Also appeared in four SHL games. Has a good motor but not great puck skills. Still, he’s a guy that Judd Brackett said he really liked.

And that’s it. Lots coming from myself, Ben Kuzma and Steve Ewen. Thanks for reading!

2:10 p.m.

In the seventh round, the Canucks went back to the USHL well, grabbing Cedar Rapids’ Aidan McDonaugh. A big kid who can skate, he’s headed to Northeastern, where Canucks prospect Tyler Madden will be a teammate.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

1:47 p.m.

Pick three of round six for the Canucks is John “Jack” Malone. (Never understood why “John” needs a nickname.)

He’s headed to Cornell. Played for Youngstown. This screams Judd Brackett pick.

1:34 p.m.

Canucks go to Czechia to grab their second of three picks in the sixth round, nabbing Karel Plasek.

Another over-ager, played at world juniors. Played four games in his draft year for Brno in the Czech league, then 29 this past season.

Article content
Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

1:15 p.m.

Sportsnet 650’s Andrew Walker called his shot as the Canucks grab a big Latvian goalie.

Advertisement 5
Story continues below
Article content

A great save percentage at the U18s in May; impressive given the Latvians got dominated in the shot count.

12:47 p.m.

Carson Focht  — over-age centre out of Calgary of the WHL — is the Canucks’ next pick at 133. Talked to a few scouts, this pick is less popular.

“I did not expect him to get picked,” one said. “He exists.”

12:35 p.m.

Ethan Keppen is the newest Canucks kid, as the Canucks draft him at 122.

“Big body, shoot-first,” Cam Robinson tells me. “Big role on a terrible team in Flint.”

His profile for NextGenHockey:

Advertisement 6
Story continues below
Article content

12:13 p.m.

Another Canucks trade: they were set to select in the fourth round at 102, but traded the pick to Buffalo for picks 122 and 175. There’s little pick-value difference at this point, so this is just a chance to add another prospect. In the shade of the price for JT Miller, this is a sharp move.

12:05 p.m.

Spotted former Canucks coach Alain Vigneault and assistant general manager Laurence Gilman catching up on the draft floor.

View this post on Instagram

Old friends #nhldraft

A post shared by Patrick Johnston (@paddyjontheroad) on

Advertisement 7
Story continues below
Article content

Also, the Canucks have made a minor trade.

Advertisement 8
Story continues below
Article content

Pyatt’s contract was expiring. Perron, 23, can play a little, scored 47 points in the AHL last season. He busted through 100-point barrier his last season in the Q, when he was also captain of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

They’ve dropped in the sixth round to add a guy who might have some offensive upside but will certainly be a key player in Utica.

And here’s video on Nils Höglander, the newest Canucks prospect.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Advertisement 9
Story continues below
Article content

11:39 a.m.

One note about the Miller contract. He’s a solid player, his hit is all right, but it’s got five years to run.

Advertisement 10
Story continues below
Article content

Boeser of course needs a new deal, and two years from now the Canucks will have to deal with Pettersson and Hughes. That cap room is swiftly disappearing.

11:05 a.m.

Hearing the Canucks have another deal in the works for a defenceman. How will this frame vs. the Miller trade?

Here’s Kuzma’s take on the Miller trade. He likes it.

11 a.m.

Advertisement 11
Story continues below
Article content

There’s our trade. The Canucks get a good player in JT Miller but they pay a price where they probably didn’t have to. They’ve given up a conditional first-round pick, either 2020’s or 2021’s. That’s a stiff price given the Lightning were in a bind.

The Canucks are better next year, but this is shipping out a prospect who they might have used in the future, plus they’ve given out the pick that was used needlessly on Marek Mazanec midseason.

Advertisement 12
Story continues below
Article content

Drafter Jim has lost out to Trader Jim.

Advertisement 13
Story continues below
Article content

10:33 a.m.

Canucks have picked Nils Höglander 40th overall.

“Skilled winger, good acceleration, nice release,” Dobber Prospects’ Cam Robinson, sitting next to me on press row, tells me. “He’s 5’9″ but tries to play a bigger game. A small kid who I think will do well on the smaller ice.”

Advertisement 14
Story continues below
Article content

10:20 a.m.

Philadelphia traded up to 34, sending a couple picks to the Predators to take the spot.

Trades! Trades! Trades!

JT Miller
JT Miller Photo by Claus Andersen /Getty Images

Miller was a player The Athletic’s Harman Dayal had suggested as someone who would immediately make the Canucks better. We’re still waiting to hear what’s coming the other way.

Miller’s not a big shooter but still has scored 20 goals in the past. He’s a good transition player, getting the puck up the ice. That’s something the Canucks struggled with last year and is an obvious priority for improvement.

Advertisement 15
Story continues below
Article content

Manny Malhotra spoke at the NHL Coaches’ Association conference on Thursday; one takeaway for me was how focused the Canucks are on improving their breakout play (not a big surprise). Miller clearly a player who will help with that.

10:10 a.m.

Bob McKenzie reports the Canucks are after the Lightning’s JT Miller.

Advertisement 16
Story continues below
Article content

He’s a durable, versatile forward who has scored a good number of goals for the Lightning.

Sounds like picks are going the other way.

10 a.m.

Here we go.

There have already been a pair of trades.

Patrick Marleau’s big contract is on its way to Carolina along with a first-round pick. The Hurricanes are going to buy out his contract. Leafs get a sixth-round pick in 2020.

And PK Subban is off to New Jersey for a pair of very minor prospects and a pair of second-round picks, one this year and one next.

Meanwhile, a Canucks staffer was spotted talking to the San Jose Sharks … so is there one coming there?


LISTEN: Patrick Johnston explains why Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning made a home run pick in taking big Russian forward Vasili Podkolzin. 

Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device:

via Apple podcasts | via TuneIn | via Spotify | via Stitcher

Is the player not working? Click here.


Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers