Jim Benning appeared on TSN 1040 on Thursday to talk about Thatcher Demko, the draft, and a few other off-season topics.
The comment that got a lot of attention was when Benning admitted to spending hours with the NHL Draft Lottery Simulator and was disappointed that the Canucks never ended up in the top three. But ten attempts the next morning saw the Canucks get the top pick three times, which 鈥済ave him more hope.鈥�
For some Canucks fans, this made Benning more relatable: he鈥檚 just like us, obsessively clicking the random number generator. For others, this was terrifying: the GM of an NHL team 蝉丑辞耻濒诲苍鈥檛 be 鈥渏ust like us鈥� and should simply recognize the odds of selecting in whatever position in the draft and plan accordingly.
But when you actually listen to the interview, it鈥檚 immediately clear that Benning is joking around. The hosts are laughing uproariously at his comments and Benning himself even lets out a rare chuckle later on.
What I found more interesting was his comments about their draft list. Benning is asked about the possibility of trading if they win the lottery and he made it clear that he would listen to offers, but wouldn鈥檛 move easily.
鈥淚f we get the number one,鈥� he said, 鈥渆ven if we鈥檙e in the top three, if we get the second or third picks, those are going to be really exciting players for us. It would have to take a real good offer for us to even think of moving one of those picks.鈥�
Those top three picks have had fans salivating for months. At the top, Auston Matthews is the consensus first overall pick, a potential superstar centre with high-end offensive talent matched by steady two-way play. Then there鈥檚 the two Finns, Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi. Both combine size, speed, and skill and have some scouts making Mario Lemieux comparisons for Laine and Teemu Selanne for Puljujarvi.
So yes, it would take a 鈥渞eal good鈥� offer, to say the least, to pry away the next potential Jonathan Toews, Lemieux, or Selanne.
But as Benning and most Canucks fans know from their dalliances with the Draft Lottery Simulator, there鈥檚 no guarantee the Canucks pick in the top three. Worst case scenario, they鈥檒l pick sixth, where there isn鈥檛 as much consensus.
Benning and his scouts will further refine their list leading up to the draft, but one through six are probably set: 鈥淚f we pick in the top six players, we鈥檙e going to get a real good player. I鈥檓 comfortable with the way the list looks right now.鈥�
The biggest area of need for the Canucks is on defence, though they still lack enough future first liners to eventually replace the Sedins. They鈥檙e not going to worry about that too much if they end up in the first few picks.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to take the best player available,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we pick in the top three, for instance, or the top four, we鈥檙e taking the best player available. If all things are equal, if we think the forward on the board and the defence are equal, then we鈥檒l choose the defenceman over the forward. But if we pick, I鈥檇 say in the top three or four, we鈥檒l take the best player available.鈥�
Instead of 鈥渂est player available,鈥� Benning may as well have just said 鈥渇orward,鈥� as it seemed pretty clear from the context that's what he meant. It was interesting to hear him twice correct himself from saying 鈥渢op three鈥� to 鈥渢op four.鈥� You have to think the top three, all forwards, are pretty much set on every draft board, but Benning has one more forward that he would pick before selecting a defenceman.
Who could it be? It could be Matthew Tkachuk, who had 107 points in 57 OHL games and 13 goals and 26 points (and counting) in 11 playoff games, albeit alongside the dominant Mitch Marner.
Or it could be Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was fifth in the QMJHL in goals and third in points with a 42-goal, 99-point campaign for Cape Breton. Or maybe Alexander Nylander, brother of William Nylander, or his teammate Michael McLeod, who ?
Whatever the case, it seems clear that Benning and co. have four forwards on their draft list ahead of any defenceman. That means we 蝉丑辞耻濒诲苍鈥檛 expect to see the Canucks pick a defenceman with their first pick, whether Jakob Chychrun, Olli Juolevi, or someone else, unless they have the fifth or sixth pick.
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