Canada. Sweden. The United States. Finland. Russia. You know the main “hockey countries” where the majority of NHL players are from. But every once in a while, there are players from less popular hockey countries.

With the 2026 NHL Draft less than a month away, here are seven obscure countries the Canucks have drafted players out of.

In 2021, the Canucks selected Belarusian winger Danila Klimovich with the 41st overall pick in the second round. At the time, most fans wanted the Canucks to select BC-born Logan Stankoven, who is currently ripping it up with the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup playoffs with nine goals in 13 games.

Klimovich isn’t the only player the Canucks have drafted out of Belarus, though. In 2002, the Canucks selected Belarusian defenceman Denis Grot with the 55th overall pick. Grot enjoyed over 10 seasons playing in Russia, but never played an NHL game.

In 2006, the Canucks selected Michael Grabner with the 14th overall pick. After putting up 11 points in his first 20 NHL games in 2009-10, the Canucsk dealt Grabner, Steve Bernier, and a first-round pick to the Florida Panthers for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich ahead of the 2010 NHL Draft. The pick the Canucks traded to Florida was used on Quinton Howden, who appeared in less than 100 NHL games. Grabner is the lone Austrian the Canucks have drafted, though they did acquire Austrian-born Marco Rossi in the Quinn Hughes trade last season.

In 2011, the Canucks selected Nicklas Jensen out of Denmark with the 29th overall pick. In 2004, they took Jannik Hansen at *checks notes* 287th overall. Remember the good old days of 12-round NHL drafts? Jensen appeared in 24 NHL games for the Canucks and was dealt along with a sixth-round pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for Emerson Etem. Hansen, on the other hand, became a fan favourite in Vancouver, and was an integral part of the Canucks team that went to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. In retirement, Hansen hasn’t been afraid to offer up his honest thoughts on the Canucks’ mismanagement over the last decade.

Arturs Irbe is one of the most well-known Latvian Canucks of all time, and current Canuck Teddy Blueger is also Latvian, but the Canucks didn’t draft either player. Only twice have the Canucks drafted players out of Latvia: Arturs Silovs in 2019 at 156th overall, and Rodrigo Abols at 184th overall back in 2016. After spending years overseas and in the AHL and ECHL, Abols finally made his NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2024-25 at the age of 29. This past season, he spent the entire season with the Flyers, though he appeared in just 42 games.

Just once have the Canucks selected a player out of Norway. The Canucks took centre Mats Froshaug in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Draft with the 161st overall pick. Froshaug spent the majority of his career playing in Sweden and Norway and was a well-regarded player with Frisk Asker, though he requested to have his contract terminated in the middle of the 2024-25 season to take a job offer in the water and sewage department for the municipality of Oslo.

In 2002, the Canucks selected 6’2 205-pound centre Thomas Nussli in the ninth round with the 277th overall pick. Nussli never played a game in North America, instead enjoying a long playing career in Switzerland from 1998 to 2018. Just recently in 2024, the Canucks selected their second Swiss player in their NHL history: defenceman Basile Sansonnens. Sansonnens came in at 13th in our most recent rankings of the Canucks’ top 15 prospects.