Who was more responsible for the 2014 Draft?

Who was responsible for the 2014 Draft?


  • Total voters
    23

F A N

Registered User
Aug 12, 2005
18,630
5,893
I mean, Benning himself said something like outside of the first pick he just sat back and observed letting the scouts make the picks, so why would this even be a question? The biggest discrepancy is it appears that every scout/region was allowed to make a pick, so under Gillis it's highly questionable if we would have drafted Tryamkin, and Mackenzie Stewart falls into this category as well being a Delorme-backed goon pick. There would have been an extra shuffle had ownership not interfered in that we could have had different draft picks, but given the picks we did have I don't see why we wouldn't still have McCann, Demko, Forsling, and Pettit regardless of who was GM.

The best way to sum it up that I've posted several times over the years is:

2000(?)-2009: Ron Delorme era
2010: Gillis transition year
2011-2014: Eric Crawford era
2015/2106: Benning/Weisbrod transition years
2017-present: Judd Brackett era

Gillis put together the Crawford team so if you have to put credit towards a GM I'd tilt it in his favour.

I think Benning heavily influenced the Demko pick. Not so much picking him over other goalies but the decision to use such a high pick on a goalie. Demko was the consensus top goalie in the draft. Would the Canucks have picked McDonald instead if Demko wasn't available? I'm not too sure about that. Teams don't use the 36th overall pick on a goalie unless they feel strongly he's a bluechip future #1 goalie prospect and even then whether to draft a goalie high is often something that a GM makes a decision on. Brian Burke had a rule of not drafting goalies in the first round and was shocked when Nonis drafted Schneider.
 

PecaFan

Registered User
Nov 16, 2002
9,243
520
Ottawa (Go 'Nucks)
Draft Num. Round Player Pos Drafted From GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Entry 6 1 Jake Virtanen R Calgary Hitmen [WHL] 270 48 43 91 176
2014 Entry 24 1 Jared McCann C Soo Greyhounds [OHL] 301 52 68 120 114
2014 Entry 36 2 Thatcher Demko G Boston College [H-East] 29 0 1 1 0
2014 Entry 66 3 Nikita Tryamkin D Yekaterinburg Automobilist [KHL] 79 3 8 11 74
2014 Entry 126 5 Gustav Forsling D Linkoping (Sweden Jrs.) 122 8 19 27 42
2014 Entry 156 6 Kyle Pettit C Erie Otters [OHL]
2014 Entry 186 7 Mackenze Stewart D Prince Albert Raiders [WHL]

To have 5 NHL caliber players in a draft is quite an achievement.

Yes, it would be a truly amazing achievement. But that list only has three NHL calibre players on it. Unless you used invisible pixels for the other 2.
 

Hammer79

Registered User
Jan 9, 2009
7,223
1,033
Kelowna
Gillis put the infrastructure in place, but Benning had to make the final call. JB wouldn't have had time to overhaul scouting in two weeks. It probably would have been a mish-mash of JB's notes from Boston and the Canucks drafting philosophy up until that point.

I feel like he took Virtanen because he was higher reward as a potential power forward, while the other two were 'soft, skilled guys'.
 

timw33

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Nov 18, 2007
25,709
19,426
Victoria
Gillis put the infrastructure in place, but Benning had to make the final call. JB wouldn't have had time to overhaul scouting in two weeks. It probably would have been a mish-mash of JB's notes from Boston and the Canucks drafting philosophy up until that point.

I feel like he took Virtanen because he was higher reward as a potential power forward, while the other two were 'soft, skilled guys'.

Just feel like they didn't properly factor in the reconstructive shoulder surgery for JV.
 

RussianRacket

He/Him/His Pronouns
Dec 29, 2019
3,910
3,594
Coast Salish Unceded Territory
Gillis put the infrastructure in place, but Benning had to make the final call. JB wouldn't have had time to overhaul scouting in two weeks. It probably would have been a mish-mash of JB's notes from Boston and the Canucks drafting philosophy up until that point.

I feel like he took Virtanen because he was higher reward as a potential power forward, while the other two were 'soft, skilled guys'.
Would rather have Virtanen than Nylander honestly. 15 points difference on the season, but Virtanen is a tough SOB who goes into the dirty areas. While Nylander is the banner carrier for soft Maple Leafs team. Set a bad precedent.
 
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I am toxic

. . . even in small doses
Oct 24, 2014
9,352
14,635
Vancouver
Would rather have Virtanen than Nylander honestly. 15 points difference on the season, but Virtanen is a tough SOB who goes into the dirty areas. While Nylander is the banner carrier for soft Maple Leafs team. Set a bad precedent.
This. Especially if we are talking playoffs.

Well, I mean if Toronto can improve to the point where they can beat a 42 yo zamboni driver
 

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