Vancouver Canucks 2024 NHL Draft live blog
2 days ago
Welcome to the 2024 CanucksArmy Draft Live blog!
The Canucks’ front office have been extremely busy this week, re-signing pending unrestricted free agents like Teddy Blueger and Dakota Joshua, as well as making moves to free up cap space ahead of free agency starting on July 1. But that doesn’t mean Patrik Allvin and his staff are treating the draft like an after thought. Even though they’re not scheduled to draft until the third round, the Canucks could be pretty active during this second day of wheeling and dealing at the Vegas Sphere.
The Canucks will likely be looking for centre and defensive depth at this year’s draft. Beyond Aatu Raty, the team’s prospect pool is particularly devoid of serious NHL potential options down the middle, and they have just two right-handed defensive prospects currently under contract (though Jett Woo will likely make that three soon).
Here are the five picks the Canucks currently hold:
- Round 3, 93rd Overall
- Round 4, 125th Overall
- Round 6, 162nd Overall
- Round 6, 189th Overall
- Round 7, 221st Overall
Throughout today’s proceedings, I’ll be updating this page with draft pick information, rumours across the NHL, and giving you the lowdown on all the most important moves on the draft floor. Make sure to bookmark this page and hit the refresh button regularly, because there’ll be plenty of stories to talk about!
12:40 – Draft over!
The buzzer sounds, and the 2024 NHL Draft is officially over! But not before the Toronto Maple Leafs got one last trade in at the very end.
The Leafs will now get priority to signing Chris Tanev before the UFA market opens on Monday, but Tanev also has the chance to do the funniest thing ever.
With that being said, this closes my live coverage of the NHL Draft. Thanks so much for following along through every last pick, and I’ll be seeing you again on Monday during our free agency coverage! Enjoy your long weekend!
12:32 – Canucks select Basile Sansonnens 221st overall
With their final pick of the day, the Canucks get a second defender out of Switzerland in Basile Sansonnens. Sansonnens captained the Swiss U18 team in 28 games this year, and scored 3 points in 40 games with Gotteron U20 of the U20-Elit league.
12:11 – Important shoutout
As we wait for the Canucks last pick of the day, let’s give a quick shoutout to all the scouting departments who’ve put in countless hours to bring us comprehensive info on each and every pick today. The biggest shoutout of all goes to the fine folks at Elite Prospects, who’ve kindly allowed us to use their incredible draft guide for our coverage today. Without their exceptional work, all my analysis today would’ve started and ended with the sentence, “it just goes to show you, you just never know”.
12:01 – Canucks select Parker Alcos 189th overall
We finally have a defenceman on the board!
Parker Alcos is a right shot, shutdown defenseman from the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL. His 15 points in 67 are nothing to write home about, but his work in his own end is why Elite Prospects ranked him 93rd overall.
Alcos’ strong skating and physicality as a 6-foot-3 defender makes him the type of blue liner the Canucks are sorely lacking; one that can anticipate the play as it develops and has the force to skate across and knock a guy off the puck. If he can find a way to improve his playmaking abilities, he could be a sneaky big weapon in the Canucks’ system.
11:34 – Canucks select Anthony Romani 162nd overall
Three picks down, three right wingers in the prospect cupboard.
Anthony Romani is an 18 year old overager who led the OHL in goals with 58 for the North Bay Battalion. Romani’s numbers in junior this season wowed Elite Prospects, who believe his passing skills and scoring knack off the rush sets him apart. He fell off the draft board last year due to weaknesses in the skating and physicality departments, but even there he made improvements in the last year.
With Romani turning 19 in July, there’s a good chance the Canucks are planning to bring him to Abbotsford in the AHL sooner rather than later.
11:30 – Holtzy cow
The Devils have made a total head scratcher of a move, while the Golden Knights bring in a new goalie.
Holtz was the 7th overall pick in the 2020 draft, and the Devils decision to move on from him so early for such an underwhelming package doesn’t make a lot of sense. Meanwhile Vegas continues to win in the trade market.
11:27 – A new frontrunner appears
It looks like the Lightning’s moves today haven’t been to try and bring back Steven Stamkos. They’re looking at making a game changing move.
If you’re the Canucks, you’re sweating over your pitch to Guentzel and his agent for the rest of the weekend.
10:54 – Canucks select Riley Patterson 125th overall
Sigh, just a few letters off.
Riley Paterson is a another 6-foot right winger, coming off a 62-point campaign in his first OHL season with the Barrie Colts. Elite Prospects notes that Patterson’s strongest skills come in transition, where he “uses blazing crossovers and smooth puckhandling to attack the inside and catch the defence off-guard.” Still, it’s worth noting that Pattersson had just as many points as his linemate Cole Beaudoin, who went 24th overall to the Utah Hockey Club.
EP feels that in order for him to reach NHL level he’ll need to put the time into improving his details, particularly under pressure in the defensive end of the ice. Once again, the Canucks appear to be playing the long game and taking a swing on a player making big strides over the next couple years.
10:43 – Some reading material for you
While we wait for the Canucks next pick at 125, you can go check out our more in-depth profile on Melvin Fernström here, featuring key intel from our resident Daves: Quadrelli and Hall.
10:12 – Canucks select Melvin Fernström 93rd overall
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Canucks drafting a Swedish kid with their first pick.
Melvin Fernström is a 6-foot right winger who scored 63 points in 45 appearences with Orebro HK of the J20 Nationell league in Sweden. Elite Prospects scored Fernström high in off-puck play, consistently putting himself in the right places for scoring chances and his ability to finish. But he also didn’t make EP’s final draft board due to concerns about his skating speed and struggles winning 1-on-1 battles.
The pick is a bit of a reach, but not one that’s out of the ordinary for the Canucks.
10:10 – The Canucks are officially on the clock!
Carolina made us wait some extra time by trading the pick immediately preceding it, but it’s finally time for the Canucks to make their first selection of the draft! Where will they go with it?
9:54 – A crumb of Canucks news
Rick Dhaliwal has a small update on the Canucks’ potential free agency plans for us.
Is it the juiciest news? No, but it does tell you just how barren the pool of options is right now, unless you’re capable of creating a better option yourself.
9:36 – Knights make a trade challenge (easy mode)
The Golden Knights are solving their glut of goalies by moving Logan Thompson to the Capitals.
The Caps were suddenly in need of a new goalie after dealing Darcy Kuemper to the Kings for P-L Dubois, and Logan Thompson has youth on his side. Thompson lost his starting role to Adin Hill in the last couple seasons, but now he’ll get all the runway he needs in Washington.
Let’s just hope Thompson didn’t have any plans toda- oh no.
9:25 – All quiet on the Canucks front after two rounds
We’re still about 30 picks away from the Canucks’ first selection, and there’s no rumours floating around their their table right now.
But as the second round wraps up, we do finally have the details of the Kevin Hayes deal.
9:10 – MORE TRADES!
Another one!
The Kings are in a tough spot after mortgaging so much of the future on P-L Dubois, which went just as well as everyone expected. So now they find themselves taking on Tanner Jeannot from Tampa as the Lightning jettison as much cap as possible, and get to draft goalie Carter George for their troubles.
Beyond Utah and Tampa Bay carrying this blog so far, Kevin Hayes is also supposedly on the move from St. Louis to Pittsburgh, but that trade has yet to be finalized.
9:00 – One less defenceman on the market
Utah has suddenly bolstered their entire blue line in just 15 minutes, adding John Marino and a fifth rounder from the Devils in exchange for a pair of second round picks. That leaves one less option for the Canucks’ front office to improve their own blue line, but the package price for Marino was just too high to pay right now. Unless they can get creative, the free agent class of defenders is where the Canucks’ attention will be.
8:47 – We have a REAL trade to announce
Utah has arrived on the NHL scene with a SPLASH.
The Co-yeeted team need a lot of defensive help, and Mikhail Sergachev is all that and more. They also have a new audience in Salt Lake City to make a good first impression on, so the status quo from Arizona wasn’t going to cut it. Tampa is feeling the squeeze of being competitive for so long, and the only way out is by making cap room and taking in some younger pieces like Conor Geekie. Maybe that additional cap space will go towards re-signing Steven Stamkos.
8:42 – The one that got away
At least the Canucks cornered the market on Elias Petterssons.
8:37 – Let the games begin!
The clock has officially started for the San Jose Sharks and the 32nd pick, meaning our day has officially begun! The Canucks aren’t slated to pick in the second round, but you never know what’s going to happen on the draft floor.
Speaking of which, the rumour mill is already churning for the new guys on the block:
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