The Vancouver Canucks are hoping to add youth to their defense, like what they've done at forward with the additions of Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and
Elias Pettersson
, general manager Jim Benning said.
The Canucks have the No. 7 pick at the
2018 NHL Draft
, to be held at American Airlines Center in Dallas on June 22-23. Noah Dobson of Acadie-Bathurst of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Quintin Hughes of the University of Michigan and Evan Bouchard of London of the Ontario Hockey League are three of the high-end defensemen who could be available at that spot.
Canucks hope 'perfect world' will lead them to defenseman at 2018 Draft
GM Benning says team will select best player at No. 7, discusses Pettersson's NHL future
RELATED: [Full 2018 NHL Draft coverage]
In a recent wide-ranging sit-down with NHL.com, Benning discussed how the Canucks won't reach for a defenseman at No. 7 if the top prospects at that position are gone; how he's expecting Pettersson, the No. 5 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, to step right into the lineup in 2018-19; on life without retired forwards Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin; and how a potential Seattle expansion team would make a great rival for Vancouver.
What is your blueprint for the Draft?
"We want to take the best player. We would like, in a perfect world, if the best player is a defenseman at No. 7. We have a lot of depth at forward. We've drafted a lot of forwards the last few years. We feel like we have some real good forwards coming. In a perfect world, if the best player was a defenseman it would be the perfect scenario."
After the top-ranked prospect, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, the next group of players seem to be dominated by forwards. Do you see one of the other highly regarded defensemen being available at No. 7?
"This is going to be an interesting draft, I feel, because there are some teams that pick ahead of us that … it depends on whether they pick for need vs. best player. All the prognosticators have a certain group of players in the top five. But all of a sudden if some teams start picking for need and taking more defensemen even though it's not that group of five players everyone said it would be, then some players are going to fall. Picking at No. 7, I think we're in a good spot that way in that we're going to get a player we really like."
Are you flexible in terms of looking to trade up, trade down or staying put?
"We're going to look at all of our options. I think typically it's been hard to move up. You look at past drafts you hardly ever see anyone move up into the top five. I don't know if that changes this year or not. We'll talk to the teams above us but we'll talk to the teams behind us too. There's certain players in this draft we feel strong about that maybe if we can trade down and still get the player we really like and add a pick, we'd look at that too."
Do you see 2017 first-round pick Elias Pettersson stepping into your lineup next season?
"Oh yeah. I think given the retirement of the Sedins we need skill in our lineup. He had, quite frankly, an outstanding year this year, leading the Swedish Elite League in scoring in the regular season as a 19-year-old (56 points in 44 games), being named MVP during the regular season, leading playoff scoring (19 points in 13 games), being named MVP of the playoffs. We've never heard of that before. There's been some great Swedish players, the (Peter) Forsbergs, the Sedins, that have come through that through the years that haven't been able to accomplish that. I don't want to put too much pressure on Elias but we feel real strong about his ability to make plays and add skill to our team. A lot will be determined when he comes to training camp. We don't want to put the player into a position he's not ready for, but his accomplishments this year, like at the World Championships (with Sweden), where he didn't look out of place, we just feel he can come in and prove like Boeser did last year at training camp that he belongs and can contribute next year."
© Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images
You mentioned the retirements of the Sedins, longtime foundations of this franchise. Do you try to make a big splash in free agency or via trade to replace them as marquee players, even though their numbers had gone down the past few seasons? Or do you hope your young players develop and give them a chance with added ice time?
"With the Sedins retiring, for us it's going to be about that next group of core players we're going to win with. I think we started this process a few years ago with Horvat kind of being our first guy. He's played the last four years for us and we're developing him to be the next core piece for us. We took Boeser in my second draft here (2015, No. 23) and we think he's another piece to our puzzle we can win with. Pettersson is another. It's about finding that next group of core players we can win with in the next six, eight, 10 years. And developing them the right way. Let's face it, it's hard for 20-, 21-, 22-year-olds to lead an NHL team. Look at the playoffs. It's that age group, from 26-32, that you win with. Vegas had three players under 25 years old (play at least 10 playoff games), and two of them, (forward Alex) Tuch and (defenseman Shea) Theodore, were first-round picks. It's about adding pieces that will help push our young guys to develop. I don't know if that's necessarily making a splash, but surrounding them with pros in and out of the dressing room, guys they can talk to. When I look at the big picture, it's going to take time but it's what we're looking to do."
The NHL Board of Governors is scheduled to get an update on Seattle's expansion bid at the 2018 NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 20. Commissioner Gary Bettman said a vote could come in the fall. What would a potential team in Seattle mean to your franchise, which is less than a three-hour drive away?
"It would be our closest rival. Right now Edmonton and Calgary are our closest rivals. Look how many Vancouver people go to see the (Toronto) Blue Jays when they play in Seattle. Or the football games. I think I saw where 5,000 or 6,000 season-ticket holders for the (Seattle) Seahawks come from the Vancouver region. It would be our biggest rivalry. I played junior hockey in Portland and we used to play in Seattle. I think Seattle is a good hockey town. With the corporate sponsorships and stuff, I think hockey in Seattle could do very well."
