The Vancouver Canucks started out the 2025-26 campaign, in the eyes of some, just a 2C away from putting together a competitive roster.

That was, of course, never even slightly true, and by the time a 2C rolled into town in the form of Marco Rossi, it was far too late for anyone to still hold out hope of it making a major difference.

Which is not to say that Rossi has been any sort of letdown. Quite the opposite, in fact. In finding chemistry with Liam Öhgren and Brock Boeser, and in posting 18 points in 27 games post-trade, Rossi has been one of the few bright spots on the roster of late.

But Rossi absolutely tops out as a good 2C at best. Which, at one point, was exactly what the Canucks were looking for. The issue is that their designated 1C, Elias Pettersson, has not bounced back to that 1C quality of play in the way that many hoped he would. At this point, Pettersson’s points-per-game on the year (0.71) is only barely ahead of Rossi’s (0.70).

Based on past performance, overall skill, and defensive presence, one might get away with calling Pettersson a low-end 1C at this point. But that still leaves the Canucks without a true 1C, especially in the longer term, and that’s a bad thing for any prospective rebuild. In most cases, a rebuild that does not yield a high-quality 1C somewhere along the way will be an unsuccessful rebuild, and so getting their hands on one becomes an immediate top priority.

The Canucks’ top prospect, Braeden Cootes, is a centre and has had the kind of Draft+1 season that has made the estimation of him climb around the hockey world. But most would still say that Cootes tops out as a really good 2C at the end of the day. The Canucks don’t have anyone projected to be a 1C when they aim to become more competitive in a few years, and they’re going to need somebody. Trading for a 1C is difficult, and other options, such as offer sheets, are extremely unlikely.

That somebody is probably not going to come from the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, either. The top two prospects in the draft are wingers Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg, and it’s tough to imagine the Canucks selecting anyone other than one of them if they are fortunate enough to win a draft lottery. Should the Canucks lose both draft lotteries, they’ll be left with the third overall pick and a choice between several elite defenders like Keaton Verhoeff, Chase Reid, and Carson Carels. To select a centre, like perhaps Caleb Malhotra, that early in this draft would constitute going off the board, and that’s not a decision the talent-poor Canucks can make at this stage in their build.

By the time the Canucks get to their second first-round pick, somewhere in the 20s, there will be other centres available, but none with that definitive future 1C shine.

Enter: the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. It’s still a little early in the prognostication game to be sure, but the 2027 draft class looks to be both a very strong one and one that happens to be just loaded with centres.

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic named 15 centres in his list of 25 prospects ranked for the 2027 Draft, led by 6’5” phenom Alexis Joseph of the QMJHL and Milan Sundstrom of Sweden.

Craig Button of TSN has a number of centres in his early top-10 for 2027, including Joseph, Sundstrom, and USNTDP centre Carter Me, who is as high as second on the list.

Other notable centre names that have been mentioned in various advanced previews include the Brandon Wheat Kings’ Jaxon Jacobson, who has been playing in the WHL since 14 thanks to being granted Exceptional Status, and Cootes’ former teammate with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Brock England.

Now, it is a good 14 months until the 2027 Entry Draft, and a lot can and will change in that time. Many of these centres will move up and down the various rankings, and given the nature of the position, some of them will inevitably transfer to the wing – if not now, then at some point before they reach the big leagues.

But make no mistake: the 2027 draft class is still loaded up with far more high-quality centres than is the average NHL draft class. And that should be music to the Canucks’ ears, as they are almost certainly going to exit this upcoming 2026 offseason still short a future 1C.

In terms of actually getting their hands on one of these centres, the most direct path is through using the Canucks’ own 2027 first-rounder. Assuming there’s no miraculous 2026-27 turnaround in the making, that pick is expected to be in the running for the lottery again. And looking at the shape of this draft so far, it seems fair to say that even a top-five draft pick should be all the Canucks need to stand a very good chance of drafting a very good centre prospect.

Heck, as deep as the centre bench stands right now, the same could be true of even a top-10 pick.

Of course, when one is talking draft picks, one is really talking about lottery tickets, and there are never any real guarantees of success. The best way for the Canucks to ensure they skate out of the 2027 Entry Draft with a future 1C in their hands is to make multiple selections. Ideally, the Canucks would find their way into at least one more 2027 first-round draft pick between now and June 2027, and in doing so drastically increase their odds of ending up with the right future centrepiece.

That is easier said than done. One might hope for a 2027 first to come as a result of any trade of the aforementioned Pettersson. There’s the possibility of a potential rental like Drew O’Connor having a really great season and returning that closer to the deadline, but if Kiefer Sherwood didn’t, the odds seem low. Maybe the Canucks get lucky and sign or trade for the right kind of short-term veteran, and then cash them into a first. Or maybe, and this is really out there, the Canucks explore the possibility of exchanging their extra 2026 first, from Minnesota, for a 2027 first based on the understanding that the 2027 draft better suits their purposes.

However, they might do it, coming into possession of more 2027 picks, and the higher the better, has to be high on the 2026-27 wishlist for the Canucks. From where we’re sitting right now, it seems to be by far the likeliest source of the team’s next 1C. And whatever one might think about the long-term odds of success for this rebuild, the hopes of something better pretty much need to start with the acquisition of said 1C.