186th Overall - Mackenze Stewart

[DL44]

Not just disparaging the kid. If the only reason Benning drafted him is because he's big, he tries hard, and he can skate...well you literally could find someone like that to come in off the street.

It is just disparaging. And you're being ridiculous.




His backstory holds value to some for the inspirational story of perseverance..
The Great Scout Benning was likely very aware of what all the other 'shocked' scouts were already aware of.... Stewart is an extreme long shot.
I personally think he 'sacrificed' the pick for the human story of it. The effect his story could have in whatever community he plays in... i.e. beyond hockey.
It definitely hammered home the Statement of what the Canucks brass values in its players more than anything else... and that message has remained consistent since day 1.

But yes... it looks like a wasted pick for the future on-ice NHL Canucks.

 

[GJB]

I just wish this team cared about drafting skill. I want guys like palat or holmstrom in the 7th round, not scrum hero's

Basically this, why not pick a player that has shown some actual offensive contributions at their level? Sure 7th round picks are long shots to begin with but your chances become a lot worse when you draft a kid out of junior that couldn't even put together 10 pts in their draft year.

Just one example: Francis Perron http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=160390
He went 4 spots after Stewart, had 55 pts in his draft year and is trending upward.

Sure Perron may never do anything at the NHL level and may become even just an average AHL player or so but at least you can look back at it and say it was a sensible pick at the time.

If you go back and look at the 7th round of drafts from 2008 on, you will notice that ANY player that actually made the NHL for any amount of time, picked out of the CHL, was producing at a much better clip when drafted than Stewart. List would include Jason Demers, Jordan Nolan and Ondrej Palat.

Jordan Nolan is probably the high level of what Stewart could hope to become but Nolan was actually producing at junior and had 43 pts season he was drafted, there was reason for optimism.

 

[vancityluongo]

Remind me to bump this thread when Mac Stew becomes captain of the NHL All-Star team in 2025.

All you pedantic curmudgeons polluting this thread better be prepared for a truck load of crow

Drafting Stewart and signing him is actually similar to inviting John Scott to the 50-man camp for Team Canada over guys like Scott Hartnell or Derrick Brassard.

Sure, none of those three have a legitmate shot at making the final roster, but why the **** would someone do that anyways?

 

[WhoseLainesItAnyway]

Drafting Stewart and signing him is actually similar to inviting John Scott to the 50-man camp for Team Canada over guys like Scott Hartnell or Derrick Brassard.

Sure, none of those three have a legitmate shot at making the final roster, but why the **** would someone do that anyways?

No it's not, international teams have no use for enforcers. Stop being such a hater VCL it's bad for the soul.

 

[geebaan]

It is just disparaging. And you're being ridiculous.




His backstory holds value to some for the inspirational story of perseverance..
The Great Scout Benning was likely very aware of what all the other 'shocked' scouts were already aware of.... Stewart is an extreme long shot.
I personally think he 'sacrificed' the pick for the human story of it. The effect his story could have in whatever community he plays in... i.e. beyond hockey.
It definitely hammered home the Statement of what the Canucks brass values in its players more than anything else... and that message has remained consistent since day 1.

But yes... it looks like a wasted pick for the future on-ice NHL Canucks.

Yea aquiring guys like Prust really hammered this message home

 

[y2kcanucks]

It is just disparaging. And you're being ridiculous.




His backstory holds value to some for the inspirational story of perseverance..
The Great Scout Benning was likely very aware of what all the other 'shocked' scouts were already aware of.... Stewart is an extreme long shot.
I personally think he 'sacrificed' the pick for the human story of it. The effect his story could have in whatever community he plays in... i.e. beyond hockey.
It definitely hammered home the Statement of what the Canucks brass values in its players more than anything else... and that message has remained consistent since day 1.

But yes... it looks like a wasted pick for the future on-ice NHL Canucks.

So why waste a contract spot on the kid? Drafting is one thing, and can easily be forgotten about (like Morgan Clark), but giving him a contract spot? We're committed to carrying this guy for 3 years.

Feel good stories aren't what you need to win a Stanley Cup.

 

[coldsteel79]

So why waste a contract spot on the kid? Drafting is one thing, and can easily be forgotten about (like Morgan Clark), but giving him a contract spot? We're committed to carrying this guy for 3 years.

Feel good stories aren't what you need to win a Stanley Cup.

Maybe they like the kid and want to give him some help.

 

[Gaunce4gm]

He's heating up Boys. 2 goals in 2 games. If he keeps up his current pace, and his scoring translates perfectly to the NHL we could have a 82 goal scorer on our 4th line wing. Now that's an upgrade on Prust if you ask me.

 

[y2kcanucks]

Maybe they like the kid and want to give him some help.

Then donate money to him or help him outside the realm of the game. Wasting a contract spot on a nothing prospect isn't the way to manage a hockey team. It's a cold business.

There is room for charity cases, but that shouldn't cross over into hockey ops.

 

[VanJack]

Ah yes, Mackenze Stewart....the most talked-about seventh rounder in Canucks's drafting history...can anyone name one other seventh-rounder in recent years?.....I know..I know. it's the contract...but for a team that handed out entry level deals to the likes of Taylor Ellington, Kellan Tochkin, Yann Sauve, Stefan Schneider and Dane Fox, how much worse can it be?

 

[arttk]

Ah yes, Mackenze Stewart....the most talked-about seventh rounder in Canucks's drafting history...can anyone name one other seventh-rounder in recent years?.....I know..I know. it's the contract...but for a team that handed out entry level deals to the likes of Taylor Ellington, Kellan Tochkin, Yann Sauve, Stefan Schneider and Dane Fox, how much worse can it be?

Well, all of the players you listed aren't bad enough to be not wanted by a junior team, so that is what sets Stewart apart.

 

[RobertKron]

Ah yes, Mackenze Stewart....the most talked-about seventh rounder in Canucks's drafting history...can anyone name one other seventh-rounder in recent years?.....I know..I know. it's the contract...but for a team that handed out entry level deals to the likes of Taylor Ellington, Kellan Tochkin, Yann Sauve, Stefan Schneider and Dane Fox, how much worse can it be

Giving a contract to Stewart.

 

[Tiranis]

Ah yes, Mackenze Stewart....the most talked-about seventh rounder in Canucks's drafting history...can anyone name one other seventh-rounder in recent years?.....I know..I know. it's the contract...but for a team that handed out entry level deals to the likes of Taylor Ellington, Kellan Tochkin, Yann Sauve, Stefan Schneider and Dane Fox, how much worse can it be?

How the **** did you even put Sauve and Fox on that list? Good god.

The other three are still miles better than Stewart. That's how bad he is. Tochkin & Schneider also weren't drafted.

 

[boringasheck]

It is just disparaging. And you're being ridiculous.




His backstory holds value to some for the inspirational story of perseverance..
The Great Scout Benning was likely very aware of what all the other 'shocked' scouts were already aware of.... Stewart is an extreme long shot.
I personally think he 'sacrificed' the pick for the human story of it. The effect his story could have in whatever community he plays in... i.e. beyond hockey.
It definitely hammered home the Statement of what the Canucks brass values in its players more than anything else... and that message has remained consistent since day 1.

Uh... this is a bad thing.

 

[RandV]

Ah yes, Mackenze Stewart....the most talked-about seventh rounder in Canucks's drafting history...can anyone name one other seventh-rounder in recent years?.....I know..I know. it's the contract...but for a team that handed out entry level deals to the likes of Taylor Ellington, Kellan Tochkin, Yann Sauve, Stefan Schneider and Dane Fox, how much worse can it be?

Morgan Clark.

 

[RobertKron]

How the **** did you even put Sauve and Fox on that list? Good god.

The other three are still miles better than Stewart. That's how bad he is. Tochkin & Schneider also weren't drafted.

Yeah, Tochkin didn't turn out, but when they signed him he'd just led the WHL in rookie scoring with over a point per game, and was the top scorer on his team.

He just never really got better, which he had to do to overcome his size, but at least he'd shown the ability to be a decent player at some level.

 

[me2]

Giving a contract to Stewart.

They didn't even need to since they just drafted him a year earlier. It was just bizarre thinking, straight up bizarre.

 

[Tiranis]

They didn't even need to since they just drafted him a year earlier. It was just bizarre thinking, straight up bizarre.

And they let Miles Liberati go... a much better prospect who's now going to be one of the more sought after CHL free agents.

 

[IntangiBo]

Not just disparaging the kid. If the only reason Benning drafted him is because he's big, he tries hard, and he can skate...well you literally could find someone like that to come in off the street.

This should be in your cover letter when you apply for GM.

 

[Hit the post]

Morgan Clark.

At least there was some logic in that (eg., keeping their goalie coach happy) - not that I particularly agreed with the decision.

 

[arttk]

This should be in your cover letter when you apply for GM.

Having a big gut doesn't count.

 

[Pip]

Ah yes, Mackenze Stewart....the most talked-about seventh rounder in Canucks's drafting history...can anyone name one other seventh-rounder in recent years?.....I know..I know. it's the contract...but for a team that handed out entry level deals to the likes of Taylor Ellington, Kellan Tochkin, Yann Sauve, Stefan Schneider and Dane Fox, how much worse can it be?

Stewart is a lot worse than every player you listed.

 

[Jyrki21]

The pick was bizarre, I think that's clear but sure, you can make a case for it and if you're going to take a chance the 7th round is when you do it.

Well, no, since he could be signed for free the moment he's eligible. No one else was going to draft him. May as well use a 7th on a player who might be on some other team's radar to reserve his rights.

 

[tantalum]

You really need to wrap your head around the massive gap between a pretty bad WHL player and a pretty bad NHL player.

No kidding. Where I play has a former career AHL goon who got a dozen or so games in the NHL during his career. He's well into his 40s now and can just toy with even the best current and former college players in the area. It's quite hilarious to watch actually....and this is a no skill goon.

 

[MarkMM]

Maybe they like the kid and want to give him some help.

Are you trolling? This is no reason to use a draft pick and contract spot. Billionaires and massive corporations have lots of ways to help someone that doesn't limit their flexibility to perform their actual function of building a winning hockey team. Think about the fact that this is the extent you have to go to justify Jim Benning's decision-making.

Ah yes, Mackenze Stewart....the most talked-about seventh rounder in Canucks's drafting history...can anyone name one other seventh-rounder in recent years?.....I know..I know. it's the contract...but for a team that handed out entry level deals to the likes of Taylor Ellington, Kellan Tochkin, Yann Sauve, Stefan Schneider and Dane Fox, how much worse can it be?

First of all, are you in actually trying to argue that Stewart is as good as those guys who are, you know, bad?

Second, if you're acknowledging those are bad decisions, then why do you think that makes it okay to continue to make bad decisions? Shouldn't the goal be to stop?

Third, the contract is not something you can dismiss, it doubles down on an already bad decision and reflects on the intelligence (or lack thereof) of management.

Well, no, since he could be signed for free the moment he's eligible. No one else was going to draft him. May as well use a 7th on a player who might be on some other team's radar to reserve his rights.

Don't get me wrong, I think it was an idiotic pick, my point is that if you buy the argument that his unique situation made him a late-bloomer with intangible potential that you saw hope in, fine, don't agree but you can give management the benefit of the doubt. The cardinal sin was in giving away a contract spot.