If there’s one consolation prize for the Vancouver Canucks after Saturday’s dismal draft lottery results, it’s that none of their picks in rounds two-through-seven were affected spinning ping pong balls. That means the Canucks are still making the second pick of the second round at thirty-third overall.

With scout by trade Jim Benning as the Canucks’ general manager, that’s bound to count for something. The last time the Canucks had a second round selection was in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and Benning put that to good use by snagging Thatcher Demko. The rangy goaltender figures as the goaltender of the future now for the rebuilding Canucks.

Assuming the Canucks keep their second round selection, let’s handicap a list of three players they’re likely to consider with the thirty-third overall selection.

The Canucks weren’t just scouting Cody Glass when they followed the Portland Winterhawks. Though he wasn’t the main draw, Finnish defenceman Henri Jokiharju surely caught the Canucks’ attention on more than one occasion.

A six-feet tall, transitional right-shooting defenceman, Jokiharju offers many of the skills Benning covets from the back end. Jokiharju is an excellent skater that can facilitate a breakout from the defensive zone with his feet or a strong first pass. Scouts laud Jokiharju as having a well-rounded game without any one one glaring weakness.

Jokiharju isn’t going to overwhelm you with his play in the offensive zone. He doesn’t possess the strongest shot and isn’t beaming with creativity. All the same, he was productive last season with 48 points (9 goals and 39 assists) in 71 games for Portland.

Speaking of residual scouting, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Canucks couldn’t help but pay attention to Jesper Boqvist when they scouted Jonathan Dahlen. The Swedish forward who can play either wing or centre was on loan from Brynas to Timra of the Allsvenskan for much of the season before rejoining Brynas in the Swedish Hockey League to finish the year.

Boqvist also put on a strong performance at the Under-18 World Hockey Championship with Team Sweden, scoring eight points (four goals and assists alike) en route to a silver medal. The Canucks draft picks tend to suggest they place a fair amount of stock in player’s performance at that tournament so that counts for a lot when considering where they might go with their picks.

There isn’t much missing from Boqvist’s offensive toolkit. He’s a fearless puck carrier, who isn’t shy about using his speed to drive the net in the offensive zone. Boqvist’s game is built to produce in the modern NHL. In 16 games with Brynas in the SHL, Boqvist chipped in with six assists.

The Canucks haven’t been shy about spending entry-level capital on players from the QMJHL, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that trend continues if Maxime Comtois is available to them in the second round.

Though Comtois started the season as a presumptive top-five pick, plummeting production and often indifferent play have caused his draft stock to plummet to the point where he could feasibly be available to the Canucks with the thirty-third overall pick. The Victoriaville Tigres winger didn’t do his draft stock any favours at the U18 WHC either, only contributing two goals in five games for Team Canada playing primarily on their top line and first unit power play.

Offensive production aside, Comtois has a full tool-kit and plays a mature, responsible game for an 18-year-old. He’s a relentless forechecker with footspeed and anticipation that can often force the opposition into turnovers. Comtois’ offensive toolkit is such that it should lend itself to capitalizing on those turnovers more often than he probably does, too.

Comtois contributed 51 points (22 goals and 29 assists) in 64 games for the Tigres this season, after scoring 60 points (26 goals and 34 assists) in 62 games last season.