Biggest strengths

“If you’re going to start going all in on a rebuild, nabbing as many centers as possible is an excellent way to start. At worst, you can convert a few to wingers. At best, you’ve filled one of the most important positions in hockey. Malhotra is the team’s biggest star in that regard, but Braeden Cootes already has NHL experience and will push to make the team out of camp yet again this year. Brooks Rogowski is a massive 6-foot-7 forward, and I think he’ll be a perfect 3C at some point. The big wild card in the top 10 is Riley Patterson, and I think he’s most likely going to move to the wing at some point. Regardless, that’s one heck of a start down the middle, and they’ll definitely continue to address it over time.”

Biggest weaknesses

“While part of the reason for it is positive, Vancouver’s defensive depth is a little scary bad right now. Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio both made the top 10, but I’m not too high on either of them in particular. I’m not sure a single other blueliner in their system ends up making the NHL, though. Tom Willander and Zeev Buium both made the NHL full-time last year, so that definitely weakened the pipeline in that regard. But it’s something Vancouver is going to need to really address over the next couple of years. Landing DuPont would be an absolutely incredible way of making that happen.”