PecaFan said:
Of course, because Bure is a superstar, one of the measly *two* we've drafted in *35 years*. Neely is the other one of course. And even then, Bure wasn't a drafting coup, he was an administrative coup, as Larionov tipped us off that he was eligible, and no one else in the league knew, otherwise he would have been long gone. It wasn't that our scouts saw hockey talent that no one else did. So really, our drafting total is one superstar in 35 years.
No other team even comes close to that ineptitude. Hell, even the most recent expansion teams have pretty much matched that record in just a few drafts.
Personally, I think that has more to do with inept coaching/player development than drafting. Ever notice that the young players the Canucks trade away almost always tend to pan out? Mike Peca, Dave Scatchard, Adrian Aucoin, Jassen Cullimore, Jay McKee, Scott Walker, Tyson Nash,
Cam Neely...all have had varying degrees of success since leaving Vancouver where they played, at best, unspectacularly.
How can we make good prospects into good NHLers when we've had three halfway decent coaches in the 35-year history of this franchise? It's no coincidence that the likes of Bure were hitting their stride (along with Trevor Linden) when Pat Quinn was in charge; just as it's no coincidence that right now we probably have the best Canuck-drafted defenceman in franchise history playing along with the likes of Cooke, Kesler, the Sedins, and Allen (and Naslund, who though we didn't draft, we basically developed).
That is to say
nothing of the revolving door of gomers we leave our farm system in the hands of. Stan Smyl is incompetent as a head coach, we've known this since 1995. Yet it wasn't until 2003 and Randy Carlyle that we put some intelligence behind the bench of Manitoba which led to three guys - Kesler, King, and Bieksa (and also Koltsov before he bolted) - suddenly being talked of as roster players who could step in
now, with even guys like Brandon Nolan creating buzz. When has *that* ever happened for Vancouver?
Where would Nathan Smith be with someone to bring him along since day 1? Think he might have had a shot at the #4 center spot with the big club? Who knows?