There are many different ways for teams to build NHL rosters. While drafting and developing players is usually the best and cheapest option, the Vancouver Canucks are heading down a different path, electing to bring in players via free agency and trade. This is not only at the NHL level but also at the AHL level, as Vancouver continues to stockpile young players who were either passed on in the draft or did not work out with their original franchise.
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With only a few weeks to go before the start of the regular season, it appears the Canucks will have just a handful of drafted players on their roster. The six players consist of four skaters, Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Nils Höglander, while both Thatcher Demko and Artūrs Šilovs are original franchise selections. They did have a seventh player in Vasily Podkozlin but elected to move the Russian winger to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2025 fourth-round pick. This means only 8.3% of the 72 picks Vancouver has made since the 2014 draft are projected to be on this year’s roster, showing just how problematic the Canucks drafting was over the past decade.
Related: BREAKING: Canucks Trade Vasily Podkolzin To Rival Oilers
While there is nothing wrong with having a roster built primarily of free agents and trade pieces (look at the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights), building through the draft is still one of the most consistent ways to ensure year-after-year success. This is easier said than done, as getting picks right is complicated unless there is a guaranteed superstar available. Vancouver has hit some home runs with Boeser, Pettersson and Hughes, but outside of Šilovs, they haven’t been able to draft and develop players drafted later in the draft. Even on the rare exception when they have drafted late-round gems like Gustav Forsling, the organization has dealt those players away, with the majority of their success coming away after leaving the Canucks.
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Only time will tell if this strategy will work for Vancouver or not, but the team needs to start hitting more consistently on their prospects. The good news is that under Patrik Allvin, the Canucks have made some solid selections in Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Tom Willander, while players like defenceman Elias Pettersson, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Sawyer Mynio and Aiden Celebrini are developing into promising prospects. With the price of free agents and trade packages continuing to increase, being able to integrate younger players that the organization has drafted will be essential to Vancouver’s success in the future.
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