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In Our Own Backyard: 3 Draft Eligible Targets on the Vancouver Giants
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Jeremy Davis
Mar 20, 2016, 14:59 EDTUpdated:
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Photo source: Getty Images
Since the arrival of major-junior hockey in Vancouver in 2001, 296 players have suited up for the Giants. It has frequently been a source of frustration for Vancouver Canuck fans that the professional hockey team that shares a city with the Giants has drafted exactly zero of them in that time.
That could all change this summer, as the Canucks’ new regime has shown plenty of interest in the Giants. With that in mind, I’ve created a summary of the Giants’ three current draft eligible players, and the likelihood that the Canucks could take a flyer on one or more of them in June.
Admittedly it would be foolish to draft a local talent just for the sake of it, but the Giants have had their fair share of star players, including a few that have gone on to successful NHL careers. The sting felt by Vancouverites is particularly strong regarding Brendan Gallagher, Milan Lucic, and Cody Franson, three players that the Canucks had an opportunity to draft and passed on, only to see them flourish in other organizations.
Fans bemoaned the previous regime’s apparent reluctance to draft players right out of their own backyard. Ever the opposite of Mike Gillis, Jim Benning has been sighted frequently at the Pacific Coliseum since taking the GM job in Vancouver, and hasn’t been shy about admitting his interest in their eligible players.
This season, that group is comprised most notably of Tyler Benson, Ty Ronning, and Matt Barberis.

Tyler Benson

17 years old – LW – 6’0” – 201 lbs
Going back a year or two, Tyler Benson was seen as one of the best players in the 2016 draft class. Injuries have since derailed such expectations, and the sizable winger has slipped steadily down the draft rankings. It’s not unusual to see him name posted in the mid-20s now, and given that he won’t play another game this season after only getting into 30 games, it’s not unlikely that he falls out of the first round altogether.
Still, Benson is a very strong prospect, and his fall from grace may play into Benning’s hands. Organizations from more distant markets might not have the same connections that come with sharing a city, and the proximity should have allowed Vancouver scouts to see Benson more times than most other teams.
Whichever team ends up with him is likely going to get great value wherever they select him. His 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) put him in eighth on the Giants in points, but he still ranks second in points per game (0.93), trailing only 20-year old Trevor Cox in that regard. Better yet, he is fourth in primary points per game among first-time draft eligible WHL players.
Among a group of 108 statistically comparable WHL players, 36.1 per cent went on to become regular NHL players. Those successful NHL players averaged a little over half a point per game, and the list boasts a number of impressive names, including Jarome Iginla, Geoff Sanderson, Ron Sutter and Brendan Morrow.
Scouts have praised his pro-ready shot and his ability to create offense in small spaces. His strength forms the foundation of his skill set, contributing to above average acceleration, strong board play, excellent puck protection skills and ferocious body checks.
Jim Benning spoke about Benson a couple of weeks back while scouting the Giants.
“He’s physically strong, he’s got good hands from the tops of the circles down,” Benning reported. “He’s a real good player. I saw him a couple times earlier in the year and I thought this was gonna be the year he was gonna have a real good year, and getting injured, it hasn’t turned out like that for him.”
Benson’s slide may prove advantageous to the Canucks. Benning has already committed to using his first round selection on a defenceman (barring a lottery win), which would be well above Benson’s projected selection range anyways. Assuming the Canucks’ 2015-16 season finishes as expected, the Canucks should have a pick in the 35-40 range, an area in which Benson may find himself available. Getting the local star at that spot would be a steal.

Ty Ronning

18 years old – RW – 5’9” – 165 lbs
Ty Ronning may have flown under the radar of NHL scouts for his first couple of season in the WHL, but Vancouverites have kept a close eye on ever since he was drafted 15th overall by the Giants in the 2012 WHL Bantam draft. The reason? His father is none other than Cliff Ronning, former Vancouver Canucks centre and member of the fabled ‘94 squad.
Like his father, Ty Ronning is an undersized player, at just 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds. He shares more than just his stature with his father, as their playing styles have also been compared.
Benning had plenty to say regarding Ronning on the weekend, which isn’t surprising given that Ronning was the prospect he was there to see.
“He’s quick, he gets up and down the ice, he gets into the holes and he’s got a good shot. There’s a lot to like about his game.”
Ronning is third on the Giants in scoring this season, with 57 points in 65 games, and leads the team i goals, with 31. He is eighth in primary points per game among first-time draft eligible WHL players, and second among that group in goals per game.
Ronning’s 0.88 points per game are solid for an 18-year old, though he is a bit old for his draft class. With an October 20th birth date, just a month and five days after the cut off, he has an age advantage on much of his competition. Of course, his diminutive size evens out that advantage.
Using statistical comparisons that take these factors into account, 17.3 per cent of 52 statistically similar players successfully became NHL regulars, while scoring an average of 0.35 points per game. Mike Keane, Scott Nichol, and Marek Svatos account for some of his comparables.
His father’s draft season didn’t quite meet the similarity threshold, just by way of production. Cliff scored 136 points in 71 games in his draft year in 1984, which is still 1.25 points per game even after adjusting for era. Even then, Cliff didn’t go until the seventh round (134th overall).
“I knew Cliff and he was such a hard worker,” Benning recalled. “He wasn’t going to let size determine whether he was going to play in the NHL and have a successful career, and I would think his boy’s gonna be built out of the same cloth.”
Nevertheless, NHL scouts are becoming more and more open to smaller players, as the new NHL is more about speed and skill with each passing season. Even team is looking for the next Johnny Gaudreau, and Ty Ronning would like nothing better than to be that player. In fact, Gaudreau just happens to be one of Ronning’s idols.
Gaudreau is a star in the NHL, but size concerns kept him available until the fourth round when the Calgary selected him 104th overall. This wouldn’t be an unreasonable spot to take Ty Ronning either. It would be fair to expect him to go somewhere between Gaudreau’s 104 and his father’s 134. The Canucks don’t have a fifth round selection at this point, though they do have a third (65-70), a fourth (95-100), and a sixth (155-160).
Whether they use one of those picks on Ronning, or they try to trade for another middle round selection between now and the draft, it seems that the Canucks have an interest in Ronning and would be willing to take a chance on him if the circumstances are right.
“We have picks in those rounds,” Benning said. “I’m not gonna say which round we’d take him in, but he’s on our list and if it makes sense at a certain point, we’ll draft him.”

Matt Barberis

18 years old – D – 5’11” – 179 lbs
Matt Barberis is the last and least pedigreed player on this list, but he isn’t without merit.
With 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists) in 49 games, Barberis is having a breakout season for the Giants. With 0.327 primary points per game, he is fourth in the WHL among first-time draft eligible defencemen, and third in goals per game (0.143).
With 10.4 per cent of statistically comparable players going to establish themselves in the NHL, Barberis’ chances to succeed are in line with a late sixth or average seventh rounder. Comparable players include Lyle Odelein, Andrew Ference, and managing editor J.D. Burke’s favourite, David Schlemko.
Ryan Biech reached out to Aynsley Scott, producer for Hockey Prospect Radio on SiriusXM, for a scouting report on Barberis:
Barberis, at 5’10” tall, is undersized for the position but makes his calling as an offence first defender. He is a decent skater who has some pep on his shot, and he is able to run a PP through making quality passes to his team mates. Saying that, Barberis often has questionable decision making in all zones and is prone to forcing a play rather than taking the higher percentage option. Matt has the puck handling skills to carry a it up ice but frequently hangs onto the puck too long, and can run himself out of time and space to where his passes and shots are easily blocked or picked off. Barberis has yet to find a consistency in his offensive game that makes him a nightly threat in the WHL and frequently gets caught when he chooses the wrong time to pinch on a play.
Defensively, Barberis lacks the strength to contain attackers down low and can be prone to giving up position due to his inability to handle bigger forwards physically. He is able to transition the puck on retrieval but can be pressured by a quick forecheck into making poor decisions. He also can get caught cheating on a play attempting to transition to offence rather than focus on his angles. Barberis can frequently give up body position in front of the net and is still a work in progress in the defensive zone. His overall positioning is decent, when he isn’t trying to pinch at inopportune times, but he doesn’t have enough speed to compensate for poor decision making.
Last year, Benning took a couple of chances on defencemen with late round draft choices, taking Carl Neill in the fifth round and Tate Olson in the seventh. Both appear to be excellent selections at this point. It’s likely that the Canucks will be looking to expand their pool of defence prospects again this year, but it doesn’t particularly seem like Barberis would suit the style that Benning would be looking for. All the same, if he were able to gain strength and work on his positioning, his offensive upside could make him a decent gamble in the final round of the draft.
It seems as though there is a good chance that the Canucks could end their moratorium of drafting Vancouver Giants this summer, if they have their way. At the very least, we know that they hold some legitimate interest in a couple of them. For those who are sick of watching young stars in our own backyard slip by the Canucks at the draft table, this may be music to the ear.

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