Canucks GM Patrik Allvin says he’s looking at ways to move up in the NHL Draft

One of the interesting topics that arose after Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin spoke to the media on Wednesday was his mention of trading up in the draft.

“Our scouting staff has prepared really well for the whole year and they’re really excited about number 11,” said Allvin. “I tried to be part of the discussions if we’re going to do anything that makes our team better. I’m not looking to just do a trade for the purpose of doing a trade. There are a lot of calls regarding pick number 11 and I’m looking at options if we’re going to trade up. If that’s something we have a chance to do to get a player that our scouting staff has identified to be a more intriguing player than the one we are going to get at eleven.”

We were surprised a bit by Allvin talking about moving up in the draft. He was asked about the quality of players you can find in the 5-10 range compared to the 11-15 range.

“I would think that percentage-wise it is probably higher,” said Allvin when asked about moving up to get a player in the top-10 that can be a much more effective NHLer. “[In terms of] how much significantly higher, I think the drop-down is probably not as much as after 15. But I was told by former GM Brian Burke that you can always move up in the draft.”

Some players that come to mind in this spot include the undersized but ultra-skilled Zach Benson, the right-shot defenceman David Reinbacher, and Matvei Michkov.

Michkov is the most interesting case in the 2023 draft and there have been recent rumblings around the league that there may be too much risk with Michkov and he may end up sliding outside of the top-five or even top-seven. The Russian winger is arguably the second-most talented player in the draft but his three years remaining on his KHL contract make the situation a sticky one for GMs in the position to draft Michkov.

Allvin was asked about the Russian factor and if it’s going to affect how he views this year’s draft in the first round as well as later rounds.

“It’s been a challenge for our scouting staff to get live viewings of those players playing in Russia, so it definitely makes it a little bit more of a challenge,” said Allvin. “I think our scouting staff has done what’s needed to be done in this particular case and then watch a lot of videos and I think they have a comfort level to put the players where they should belong on the list. So we’ll see if any of them would be available or not where we are going to pick.”

With the talk of trading up as well as there not being too much of a worry about the Russian players, maybe the Canucks are high on Michkov and could be in a position to strike with the 11th overall pick and move up in the draft. There are so many heavy hitters in this draft’s top 10 that we don’t hate the idea of moving up — we just hate the idea of what you have to give up to get into those spots.

This team has extra picks in the third and fourth rounds but is missing its second-round pick in the 2023 draft and is also without their second-round pick in the 2024 draft. Without a second-round pick, moving up from 11 is going to be very difficult unless you are including some young players with potential like Nils Höglander, Vasily Podkolzin, Aatu Räty or Arturs Silovs.

It’s going to depend on who slides out of the top-five and how much the Canucks even have to give up to move up. Their first round pick in 2024 has to be off the table, you’d assume but this team continues to surprise us this offseason, perhaps they do it one more time on draft day with a big move to move up and select Michkov, Reinbacher, or even Leo Carlsson.

There’s a lot of risk but the reward is certainly higher with a top-10 pick compared to what you are going to get at 11.

The big question on the situation… is it worth it?

We likely won’t know until the first few picks are taken at day one of the draft but Allvin says that teams are calling and that the Canucks are looking at options to trade up.

This should be a wild week ahead of us, buckle up!