Draft weekend failed to provide the fireworks that many <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> fans had hoped for. Still, it offered up plenty to chew on with <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-2025-nhl-draft-letter-grades">six selections and an under the radar trade</a>. Now, while all teams around the National Hockey League turn their attention to the free agent window that opens at 9am on Tuesday, we offer up another Monday mailbag. Lots of you had questions about the draft, the players taken and the philosophy the team put on display. So let’s open up the mailbag and dig in:
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:qtfkf5io3fq3ydnihjadot4y/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsouyclwkk2g" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreieuejw5vl543bmwinscbocydce44uzl75wpkwzfvni7lm5llsnd6y">
A goalie in round two? Don’t we have a glut of goalies?
&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:qtfkf5io3fq3ydnihjadot4y?ref_src=embed"> (@superdave2687.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:qtfkf5io3fq3ydnihjadot4y/post/3lsouyclwkk2g?ref_src=embed">2025-06-28T19:23:59.083Z</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yes, SuperDave2687, a goalie in round two. The Canucks nabbed <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/why-vancouver-canucks-hit-home-run-aleksei-medvedev-pick">Aleksei Medvedev with the 47th pick in the second round on Saturday</a>. And while it may be accurate that the team has plenty of puckstoppers in its stable, this one is 17-years-old and doesn’t impact in any way what is above him on the depth chart. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/director-scouting-todd-harvey-discusses-vancouver-canucks-2025-nhl-draft-class">Ian Clark liked him and recommended him</a>. 
And, really, who are we to argue with Ian? Medvedev needs to grow and develop his game and he’ll have that chance over the next few years in junior. By the time he’s ready to turn pro – and beyond that by the time he’s ready to play in the NHL – who knows what the Canucks stockpile of netminders will look like. I have no issue with this pick. Using a second rounder on Thatcher Demko in 2014 seemed to work out just fine.
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Do you think Braeden Cootes gets signed to a contract ASAP due to him filling an organizational need as a right shot centre?
&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:izyxymmebwir2roc2axbacla?ref_src=embed">Key18 🇨🇦 (@key18.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:izyxymmebwir2roc2axbacla/post/3lsoxopzkhc2m?ref_src=embed">2025-06-28T20:12:18.841Z</a></blockquote>
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The Canucks <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/what-vancouver-canucks-getting-braeden-cootes">may sign Cootes sooner rather than later</a>. We’ve seen more and more teams in recent years signing their first round picks shortly after the draft. So Cootes may get a deal done. But it won’t be because he fills an organizational need at the big league level. He will spend next season – and likely the next two – in junior to continue to develop. 
A long shot possibility is that he comes to his first NHL training camp and blows everybody away and the Canucks give him a taste of the big leagues before burning a year of his entry level deal. But in that scenario, Cootes would need a roster spot meaning somebody else would likely be placed on waivers. I’m not sure the Canucks are prepared to lose a player for nothing just to give a raw rookie a look at life in the NHL for a few weeks.
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Feels like Canucks made a lot of “safe” (maybe?) picks/culture picks, and certainly didn’t go chasing high end skill… your thoughts on this approach? I know, given the locker room drama of last year, safe/culture/leadership matters…just felt like we missed out on some skill.
&mdash; Big Sven (@HeavySvenB) <a href="https://twitter.com/HeavySvenB/status/1939110184024186970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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On so many levels, the NHL Draft is a crapshoot. Obviously, all teams put in countless hours preparing for the annual cattle call but in the end there are no certainties a team’s top pick pans out better than a mid-round flyer. It’s going to be interesting to watch the career arcs of Braeden Cootes and Victor Eklund (who went one pick later) or Cole Reschny and Justin Charbonneau who were selected three and four picks after the Canucks nabbed Cootes. But clearly the Canucks liked what Cootes had to offer and how he projects. I saw a fair bit of consternation that the Canucks used their second rounder on a goalie when there was still plenty of skill on the board. 
I hear the argument, but as noted above, clearly the Canucks liked this goalie and felt they were getting value with that selection. Time will tell. I wanted to see if the Canucks would be tempted to take Vancouver Giants sniper Cameron Schmidt who fell to the end of the third round. His size is an obvious concern, but his 31 and 40 goal Western League campaigns certainly make him an intriguing prospect. The Dallas Stars scooped him up with the 94th pick late in round three. It’s going to be interesting to see how he climbs the hockey ladder from here. Will the Canucks and other teams regret overlooking Schmidt?
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Would you risk moving the ‘26 first unprotected given how valuable it would be in a trade?
&mdash; sing us a song, youre the hockey man (@Hockeywatch3) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hockeywatch3/status/1939034189799793069?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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No. That feels like a move the Canucks simply can not make. Without knowing what the team has up its sleeve in free agency or trades, it’s impossible to truly assess its outlook for next season. But right now there is reason to believe it’s going to be a stretch for this group to make the playoffs. If something truly catastrophic happened and this team found itself flailing, then it can’t afford to part with a pick that could turn into Gavin McKenna. So in no way should the Canucks put their 2026 first round pick on the table in a trade. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Why the Joshua trade chip talk? Canucks basically chose to extend Joshua over Zadorov last year. If they didn&#39;t love him, they could have kept Zadorov- think about how beautifully that would have worked out for us, in hindsight. Doing the math, Joshua cost us #12 overall
&mdash; Arty Morty (@ArtyMorty31) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtyMorty31/status/1939126033430786478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
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People want the Canucks to pull off significant trades, but somehow they don’t want to see the team part with players. That’s not how it works. So if the Canucks have their eye on a trade target or two, the other team is going to want quality in return. That’s likely how Dakota Joshua’s name enters the equation. He’s big, skates well, can kill penalties and showed a season ago that he has goal-scoring potential. But he’s also 29 and coming off a season in which he struggled to find his game after a cancer diagnosis. 
I’d like to see him have a full summer to train and hit the ground running in October. But with Kiefer Sherwood and now Evander Kane bringing the heat up front, does that make Joshua expendable? Could his spot be filled by Linus Karlsson from below? There is only one untouchable on the Canucks current roster so it makes perfect sense that a name like Dakota Joshua’s name is being bandied about in trade speculation. He’s a quality player and person and the kind of player other teams would covet. 
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Likelihood Canucks sign Jack Roslovic with centre positions very dry?
&mdash; Ricky 🇨🇦 (@Van_city_Nucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Van_city_Nucks/status/1939066175344038019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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I think Roslovic is the kind of player the Canucks have a reasonable opportunity to land in free agency. But he’ll likely have other suitors and other options. He’s a 28-year-old right shot centre coming off a 22-goal and 39 point season in Carolina. He’s not really a true second line centre, but in the absence of other obvious options, he fits the needs of the Canucks. His career high is 45 points with Columbus in 2021-22. 
But that’s one point shy of the 46 Pius Suter put up here last season and you’re looking at Roslovic filling the hole Suter leaves behind and at considerably more than Suter made last season and possibly more than Suter will get in the days ahead. That doesn’t make much sense. Still it seems like a path the Canucks are headed down. I’ll say there’s a 65% chance of the Canucks winding up with Roslovic in free agency.
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Where does Brock boeser land on Tuesday?
&mdash; Tina Poole (@tpoole00) <a href="https://twitter.com/tpoole00/status/1939065898058600546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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I’m fascinated to find out. He’s always been linked to Minnesota. Maybe it’s as simple as that. Boston and Los Angeles are both said to have significant interest. I think there will be a number of teams that believe Boeser can help them offensively. I guess what I’m most curious about is what role does winning and the possibility of winning as early as next season play in Boeser’s decision making. After years of spinning his wheels on Vancouver teams that didn’t do a lot of winning, I hope Boeser uses his free agent status to prioritize having a chance to go on deep playoff runs and getting his hands on the Stanley Cup. He’s going to get paid wherever he winds up, so I hope he puts himself in a place that will give him a chance to put his talents on display in the postseason for years to come.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:kiup57ivvsrfkkegjlqrmetn/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsoxyy6sik2d" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreicagbyuroauv33jm2djf22i4ambympjyb7obh7khrvvudnritbina">
How are fans expected to watch this terrible team next season? I&#39;m asking legitimately.
&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:kiup57ivvsrfkkegjlqrmetn?ref_src=embed"> (@bluejayofthesea.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:kiup57ivvsrfkkegjlqrmetn/post/3lsoxyy6sik2d?ref_src=embed">2025-06-28T20:18:02.947Z</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I can’t tell you how to be a fan. Everyone comes at it differently. I know watching Quinn Hughes on a nightly basis is an incredible experience. So that’s the easy answer. Beyond that, Kiefer Sherwood was fun to watch almost every night out. Conor Garland is a unique blend of hustle and puck skills. What can Evander Kane add to the mix? Is Tom Willander ready to make the jump to the NHL? D-Petey looks like he’s on the fast track to being a force on the back end. 
If <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/dreger-progress-been-made-multi-year-extension-between-demko-vancouver-canucks-silovs-could-play">Thatcher Demko is healthy</a>, he’s capable of putting on a show every night. I’m interested to see which guys in Abbotsford can use the Calder Cup as a springboard to regular NHL employment. I am interested to see how Adam Foote handles an NHL bench for the first time. Look, I understand the pessimism of those that want to see the Vancouver Canucks contend for a Stanley Cup anytime soon. That doesn’t seem like it&#8217;s in the cards at the moment. But if you break down the component parts, there are still reasons to be interested in this hockey club. But that’s about the best I can do for you at the moment.
<h2>PRESENTED BY WHISTLER GOLF CLUB</h2>
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<div>This article is a presentation of the Arnold Palmer designed Whistler Golf Club.  Spring preparations are underway with opening day on May 9th.  Whistler Golf Club is now accepting online bookings for the entire 2025 season, so no need to wait to get those times locked in.  If you have a group of 12 or more, get those times on hold now as prime times are filling up fast.  For more information, head to <a href="https://www.whistlergolf.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.whistlergolf.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1744132058749000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0ap1p40lH7OdVKoTc7zBpV">https://www.whistlergolf.com/</a></div>

Jeff Paterson's weekly Vancouver Canucks mailbag.

Draft weekend failed to provide the fireworks that many <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> fans had hoped for. Still, it offered up plenty to chew on with <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-2025-nhl-draft-letter-grades">six selections and an under the radar trade</a>. Now, while all teams around the National Hockey League turn their attention to the free agent window that opens at 9am on Tuesday, we offer up another Monday mailbag. Lots of you had questions about the draft, the players taken and the philosophy the team put on display. So let’s open up the mailbag and dig in:

https://bsky.app/profile/superdave2687.bsky.social/post/3lsouyclwkk2g

Yes, SuperDave2687, a goalie in round two. The Canucks nabbed <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/why-vancouver-canucks-hit-home-run-aleksei-medvedev-pick">Aleksei Medvedev with the 47th pick in the second round on Saturday</a>. And while it may be accurate that the team has plenty of puckstoppers in its stable, this one is 17-years-old and doesn’t impact in any way what is above him on the depth chart. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/director-scouting-todd-harvey-discusses-vancouver-canucks-2025-nhl-draft-class">Ian Clark liked him and recommended him</a>. 

And, really, who are we to argue with Ian? Medvedev needs to grow and develop his game and he’ll have that chance over the next few years in junior. By the time he’s ready to turn pro – and beyond that by the time he’s ready to play in the NHL – who knows what the Canucks stockpile of netminders will look like. I have no issue with this pick. Using a second rounder on Thatcher Demko in 2014 seemed to work out just fine.

https://bsky.app/profile/key18.bsky.social/post/3lsoxopzkhc2m

The Canucks <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/what-vancouver-canucks-getting-braeden-cootes">may sign Cootes sooner rather than later</a>. We’ve seen more and more teams in recent years signing their first round picks shortly after the draft. So Cootes may get a deal done. But it won’t be because he fills an organizational need at the big league level. He will spend next season – and likely the next two – in junior to continue to develop. 

A long shot possibility is that he comes to his first NHL training camp and blows everybody away and the Canucks give him a taste of the big leagues before burning a year of his entry level deal. But in that scenario, Cootes would need a roster spot meaning somebody else would likely be placed on waivers. I’m not sure the Canucks are prepared to lose a player for nothing just to give a raw rookie a look at life in the NHL for a few weeks.

https://twitter.com/HeavySvenB/status/1939110184024186970

On so many levels, the NHL Draft is a crapshoot. Obviously, all teams put in countless hours preparing for the annual cattle call but in the end there are no certainties a team’s top pick pans out better than a mid-round flyer. It’s going to be interesting to watch the career arcs of Braeden Cootes and Victor Eklund (who went one pick later) or Cole Reschny and Justin Charbonneau who were selected three and four picks after the Canucks nabbed Cootes. But clearly the Canucks liked what Cootes had to offer and how he projects. I saw a fair bit of consternation that the Canucks used their second rounder on a goalie when there was still plenty of skill on the board. 

I hear the argument, but as noted above, clearly the Canucks liked this goalie and felt they were getting value with that selection. Time will tell. I wanted to see if the Canucks would be tempted to take Vancouver Giants sniper Cameron Schmidt who fell to the end of the third round. His size is an obvious concern, but his 31 and 40 goal Western League campaigns certainly make him an intriguing prospect. The Dallas Stars scooped him up with the 94th pick late in round three. It’s going to be interesting to see how he climbs the hockey ladder from here. Will the Canucks and other teams regret overlooking Schmidt?

https://twitter.com/Hockeywatch3/status/1939034189799793069

No. That feels like a move the Canucks simply can not make. Without knowing what the team has up its sleeve in free agency or trades, it’s impossible to truly assess its outlook for next season. But right now there is reason to believe it’s going to be a stretch for this group to make the playoffs. If something truly catastrophic happened and this team found itself flailing, then it can’t afford to part with a pick that could turn into Gavin McKenna. So in no way should the Canucks put their 2026 first round pick on the table in a trade. 

https://twitter.com/ArtyMorty31/status/1939126033430786478

People want the Canucks to pull off significant trades, but somehow they don’t want to see the team part with players. That’s not how it works. So if the Canucks have their eye on a trade target or two, the other team is going to want quality in return. That’s likely how Dakota Joshua’s name enters the equation. He’s big, skates well, can kill penalties and showed a season ago that he has goal-scoring potential. But he’s also 29 and coming off a season in which he struggled to find his game after a cancer diagnosis. 

I’d like to see him have a full summer to train and hit the ground running in October. But with Kiefer Sherwood and now Evander Kane bringing the heat up front, does that make Joshua expendable? Could his spot be filled by Linus Karlsson from below? There is only one untouchable on the Canucks current roster so it makes perfect sense that a name like Dakota Joshua’s name is being bandied about in trade speculation. He’s a quality player and person and the kind of player other teams would covet. 

https://twitter.com/Van_city_Nucks/status/1939066175344038019

I think Roslovic is the kind of player the Canucks have a reasonable opportunity to land in free agency. But he’ll likely have other suitors and other options. He’s a 28-year-old right shot centre coming off a 22-goal and 39 point season in Carolina. He’s not really a true second line centre, but in the absence of other obvious options, he fits the needs of the Canucks. His career high is 45 points with Columbus in 2021-22. 

But that’s one point shy of the 46 Pius Suter put up here last season and you’re looking at Roslovic filling the hole Suter leaves behind and at considerably more than Suter made last season and possibly more than Suter will get in the days ahead. That doesn’t make much sense. Still it seems like a path the Canucks are headed down. I’ll say there’s a 65% chance of the Canucks winding up with Roslovic in free agency.

https://twitter.com/tpoole00/status/1939065898058600546

I’m fascinated to find out. He’s always been linked to Minnesota. Maybe it’s as simple as that. Boston and Los Angeles are both said to have significant interest. I think there will be a number of teams that believe Boeser can help them offensively. I guess what I’m most curious about is what role does winning and the possibility of winning as early as next season play in Boeser’s decision making. After years of spinning his wheels on Vancouver teams that didn’t do a lot of winning, I hope Boeser uses his free agent status to prioritize having a chance to go on deep playoff runs and getting his hands on the Stanley Cup. He’s going to get paid wherever he winds up, so I hope he puts himself in a place that will give him a chance to put his talents on display in the postseason for years to come.

&nbsp;

https://bsky.app/profile/bluejayofthesea.bsky.social/post/3lsoxyy6sik2d

I can’t tell you how to be a fan. Everyone comes at it differently. I know watching Quinn Hughes on a nightly basis is an incredible experience. So that’s the easy answer. Beyond that, Kiefer Sherwood was fun to watch almost every night out. Conor Garland is a unique blend of hustle and puck skills. What can Evander Kane add to the mix? Is Tom Willander ready to make the jump to the NHL? D-Petey looks like he’s on the fast track to being a force on the back end. 

If <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/dreger-progress-been-made-multi-year-extension-between-demko-vancouver-canucks-silovs-could-play">Thatcher Demko is healthy</a>, he’s capable of putting on a show every night. I’m interested to see which guys in Abbotsford can use the Calder Cup as a springboard to regular NHL employment. I am interested to see how Adam Foote handles an NHL bench for the first time. Look, I understand the pessimism of those that want to see the Vancouver Canucks contend for a Stanley Cup anytime soon. That doesn’t seem like it's in the cards at the moment. But if you break down the component parts, there are still reasons to be interested in this hockey club. But that’s about the best I can do for you at the moment.
<h2>PRESENTED BY WHISTLER GOLF CLUB</h2>
<a href="https://www.whistlergolf.com/"><img class="alignnone wp-image-142422 size-large" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/WG_logo_black-1024x564.png" alt="" width="1024" height="564" /></a>
<div>This article is a presentation of the Arnold Palmer designed Whistler Golf Club.  Spring preparations are underway with opening day on May 9th.  Whistler Golf Club is now accepting online bookings for the entire 2025 season, so no need to wait to get those times locked in.  If you have a group of 12 or more, get those times on hold now as prime times are filling up fast.  For more information, head to <a href="https://www.whistlergolf.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.whistlergolf.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1744132058749000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0ap1p40lH7OdVKoTc7zBpV">https://www.whistlergolf.com/</a></div>

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