This year’s trade deadline was tough to swallow for Canucks fans, as Jim Benning and his management team failed to acquire any picks for the upcoming draft. It was disappointing and frustrating, especially as other teams sold high on pending UFAs and stockpiled picks like canned goods in a bomb shelter.
On Monday, however, the Canucks finally acquired a pick! It’s just that the pick was from 2013 and comes in the form of Yan-Pavel Laplante.
Laplante was a third-round pick of the Arizona née Phoenix Coyotes back in 2013. At the time, he was a highly-regarded prospect, who, according to the director of Central Scouting, had the potential to be a first-round pick. As it was, he ended up ranked 50th among North American skaters by Central Scouting and got picked 62nd overall.
McKeen’s Hockey noted in his draft year, “what he lacks in skill, he makes up for in heart and determination,” which is basically the exact phrase you would use in a magical ritual to summon Jim Benning.
It’s immediately clear what Benning sees in Laplante: a hard-working, speedy, scrappy player, potentially willing to do whatever it takes to reach the NHL. It’s the same thing he saw in Mackenze Stewart, who is the longest of long shots to play in the NHL, but Benning saw fit to select in the seventh round.
A pre-season shoulder injury limited Laplante to just 18 games in his draft year, preventing him from proving that he had first round potential. Or, alternatively, it prevented scouts from seeing some of the flaws that eventually led to the Coyotes passing on offering him an entry-level contract.
Corey Pronman had Laplante ranked 101st in 2013, but suggested he might have been ranked “much higher” if not for his injury. He described him as “a top-end skater who works hard, and he has offensive potential.”
McKeen’s described Laplante as a “brave, heat-seeking fireball” who “plays an energetic, scrappy two-way game.” That seems to be the consensus on Laplante: a good skater, who plays a physical, defensively-sound game. The question is his offensive upside.
Laplante made small progressions offensively after his draft year, putting up 42 points in 63 games in 2013-14, then another 42 points in just 50 games in 2014-15, finally cracking the point-per-game mark this past season with 34 goals and 65 points in 63 games. It’s troubling that it took him until his over-age season to score at that rate, but at least he got there.
At this point, the Canucks have to hope that Laplante can become a fourth-line forward in the future, adapting his hard-working, hard-skating style to professional hockey. In the near-future, he should be a fit in Utica, perhaps taking the place of Ronalds Kenins, who is a UFA this summer.
Finally, a smattering of highlight videos, to give you a picture of Laplante in action. First, a little finish, as he roofs a shot in tight.
Next, another goal, showcasing some decent hands as he picks up a deflected shot and guides it around the sprawling goaltender.
And, because you can’t be called a scrappy hockey player without a scrap or two, here’s a fight where he gamely took on a larger opponent.
