WDYTT: If you could bring in a former Canuck to mentor a current Canuck

Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet best read on a seaworthy vessel.

Speaking of ships, if there’s one ship that’s been talked about a lot in Vancouver Canucks circles, it’s the mentorship. Under previous regimes, mentorship was almost a dirty word, often used as an excuse for bringing in older, overpaid veterans. But in the era of the rebuild, mentorship is not just more palatable; it’s a downright necessity for player development.

The Canucks have had a decent amount of success thus far in building their new front office and coaching staff around former fan favourites like Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Manny Malhotra, Ryan Johnson, and more. But what if, hypothetically, we were talking about a less general approach, and a more specific, one-on-one form of mentorship?

In saying this, we have to acknowledge that the concept of mentorship is a complex one, and it’s not just as simple as bringing in an old player to teach a new player how to be like them. But what if it was? Imagine, for a moment, that you had the ability to bring in a former Canuck to teach all the tools and tricks of their trade to a current Canuck. If that were true, then who would make for the optimum mentorship pairing?

Today, we’re asking you to put on your hypothetical hats and asking you:

Let it be known in the comment section.

You answered below!

I will have some fun with my answer and say Brock Boeser.

The reason for saying Boeser should be obvious, he has managed to stick with this team through many opportunities to move on, but yet he continues to have staying power. He is kryptonite to management when it comes to trades and instead of letting him be a UFA, he always manages to sign again and even get a raise. Boeser is like that ex that you thought you broke up with a long time ago, but yet always still wants to come and hang out and be friends.

He will remain a player on this team well into his 40s, setting a new team record for most games played as a Canuck, and will have the slowest ever clocked skating speed for an NHL player when he hits 45 years old.

BTW… my serious answer is Willander, he is RHD and a good player, you hang on to those guys.

Obviously Zeev with his contract that kicks in next year.

They leaned into him for eight more years after this one and he is only 20 years old, so I will go with Zeev Buium.

It has to be Boeser. Foot speed is one thing, but age is another. His production will drop, meaning he will no longer be a top-six option, and that contract is almost unmovable. That would bring his total to 17 seasons.

I suspect it will be DPetey. He has recovered nicely from last year’s regression in the Foote system, and is showing signs of becoming a quality top-four defenceman. In particular, his assertiveness with the puck is shining through and his offence is coming along nicely. Of course, he won’t become a power play quarterback nor will he rush from end-to-end a la a certain player who shall not be named, but I can certainly see him being a long-term piece around whom our blueline is built.

I’m sure RJ is seeing the same thing from him and will move to lock up him long-term this offseason.

Tom Willander is currently the youngest player on the 23-man roster not signed to a long-term extension. Given the scarcity of good RD leaguewide and his continued development, I will go with him. It seems inevitable that Hronek gets moved at some point and the only heir apparent in the system is TW. Willander should start either a bridge or long-term deal in 2028-29, which will take him ten years down the road at least. Couple that with the Canucks longstanding Swedish connection and it seems like an obvious choice to me.

Any of the three young D-men are reasonable guesses. Boeser’s trade protection moves to a 15-team no trade list in a couple years. Moving on will be way overdue by then.

While I hope he gets moved in a couple years it is not unreasonable to think Management might decide to keep their veteran RHD long-term. Wouldn’t be shocking if Hronek plays out his career with the Canucks.

Personally, I think it’s Cootes who will be around the longest. Canucks haven’t had a RHC since Brandon Sutter. They need to hang on to this one. He still has all three years of his ELC left. A six- or seven-year contract after that could keep him with the Canucks for at least ten years.

Given Buium just signed an eight-year contract, I will bet on him being with the team longest.

Francesco Aquilini.

Teflon Ron Delorme?

Willander.

Dpetey and Willander long term. These young D will continue to get better and be part of the core for years to come. All other current D will be traded long before they go.

Seeking out a unique answer here and going for a real longshot at the same time with Brooks Rogowski. He was just drafted and hasn’t even signed his ELC yet, so we’re definitely getting ahead of ourselves here. But a 6’7” right-handed centre is such a unique commodity that, if he actually pans out, you’d never, ever want to let him go.

He might not even really get started until 2030, but then he might stay well into the 2040s if all goes well. And, yes, that feels very strange to type out.