Photograph By VANCOUVER CANUCKS / TWITTER
Jim Benning came to Vancouver with a reputation for scouting and drafting. He was a scout for several years with Anaheim and Buffalo, the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Sabres for eight years, and focussed mainly on scouting, drafting and player development as an Assistant General Manager with the Boston Bruins.
Accordingly, fans have focussed on Benning’s drafting in Vancouver and there are a lot of positive signs. The prospect pool looks deeper than it has been for years, with blue chip prospects at every position.
There are just a couple problems: the first is that the Canucks have yet to truly reap the benefits of Benning’s scouting and drafting acumen, with the vast majority of his picks yet to make the NHL. The second is that two of his highest draft picks come with question marks and unkind comparisons to players picked directly after them.
There’s just one draft pick under the Benning regime that is a clear-cut home run, with no caveats needed: Brock Boeser.
The jury is still out on Benning’s first draft pick with the Canucks, Jake Virtanen, though his start to the 2017-18 NHL season is far more promising than his 19 points in the AHL last season. It’s hard to shake the comparisons to William Nylander and Nikolaj Ehlers, however, the two forwards taken immediately after Virtanen, both already established first-line NHLers. Virtanen could still reach his potential as a top-six power forward, but Nylander and Ehlers are already reaching that potential.
Olli Juolevi could become a top-pairing defenceman, but he’ll have to deal with comparisons to Matthew Tkachuk and Clayton Keller, as well as the next defenceman in the 2016 draft, Mikhail Sergachev, who is racking up points with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Outside of those top-ten picks, Jared McCann, Nikita Tryamkin, and Gustav Forsling all seem to be solid picks, but none of them are currently playing with the Canucks. McCann went to the Florida Panthers in the Erik Gudbranson trade, Nikita Tryamkin bolted back to the KHL, and Forsling is with the Chicago Blackhawks after he was traded for Adam Clendening.
Aside from them, none of Benning’s picks have made the NHL yet, mostly because they haven’t had enough time. Goaltenders Thatcher Demko and Michael DiPietro, centres Elias Pettersson and Adam Gaudette, and wingers Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich, and William Lockwood all have potential, and are performing very well in their respective leagues, but it’s a long way to go from potential to performance in the NHL. Within the next three years, more of these prospects should join Boeser, but they're not here yet.
Boeser is the biggest bright spot for Benning, delivering on all the promise he showed in the USHL and NCAA. Early in the 2017-18 season, he’s proven that his four goals in his nine-game debut last season were no fluke. Not only is he putting up points, but he’s fourth among Canucks forwards in corsi (shot attempt differential) behind only the Sedins and their linemate Virtanen, helping the team push the pace in puck possession rather than just benefitting from puck luck.
When it comes to Boeser, the biggest benefit to Benning’s reputation is that he was picked late in the first round. While fans expect a home run from a top-ten pick, getting a legitimate first-line forward from the 23rd overall pick is a fine feather in Benning’s drafting cap. Though Travis Konecny was taken with the next pick after Boeser, the odds seem good that Boeser will become the better player.
That makes Boeser the first, but hopefully not last, clear success for the Canucks at the draft under Benning.
