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Vancouver Canucks Blogger •
Continuing the odyssey that is the Canucks beleaguered draft history we enter the 80's. At this time the Canucks were certainly not know for much in the NHL but it was in 1982 where they became known by going to the Stanley Cup final and met an Islanders dynasty in the making. By sneaking into the finals with towels flying the ineptitude of the franchise's history became fodder for all to see.
The early 80's were good years for the Canucks and probably produced their best draft results, even if many of those players had success elsewhere. The 1980 draft saw Crawford, Lanz, Sundstrom and Lidster total almost 2300 career games and 1250 points between them. I even had a friend who still to this day questions his sanity when he remembers trading his autographed Patrick Sundstrom stick for a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller!
1981 was another good draft year with Butcher, Lemay, Skriko and Caprice. Garth Butcher was a perennial fan favourite and it was hard to seem him traded to the Blues in 1991. Skriko would be another player that seems to define the Canucks, never quite good enough to be a name known by fans around the league but good enough to make the Canucks better with him than without.
The year the Canucks went to the final also seems to portray the future of the franchise in terms of drafting with only two players seeing any NHL ice time and only Michel Petit having a career of significance. The same can almost be said for 1983 but the first overall pick of Cam Neely really was the first chance that the Canucks had to get a true superstar, although the short sightedness of the team never really saw that. In what became a trade that took almost 20 years to become redeemed in terms of reward back to the club, Neely and a draft pick, Glen Wesley, were traded to the Bruins Barry Pederson. No Vancouver Canucks fan can ever let that go. Also in that draft and far deeper was Dave Lowry, a player who amassed over 1000 NHL games in his career, certainly no easy feat.
1984 saw the first pick of JJ Daigneault and far deeper Jim Agnew only see siginificant NHL game time. Something that would become all to familiar with the Canucks for many years. In 1985 the beginning of the end was coming to the cold war and it saw the Canucks draft a little known to the public player called Igor Larionov. A player who amassed 921 NHL games, after a career in Russia, and 644 points. Although his playing time with Vancouver was cut short due to his disagreement of the transfer fee arrangement, it can be argued that there has never been a smarter player to play for the Canucks. Unfortunately it can also be said that there as never been a hungrier player to play for the Canucks than Larionov's Russian line mate, Vladimir Krutov. Also in that draft were Troy Gamble, Jim 'house' Sandlak and Robert Kron.
1986 saw a draft with yet another high position and Vancouver took Dan Woodley. They could have had Joe Murphy, Zalapski, Jimmy Carson (before he was useless), Brian Leetch or Vinny Damphousse, another trend of totally misreading players was in it's infancy or was it already a developing curse? 1987 as worse as they could have taken Wesley but instead it was Gary Valk who was the only player to show any significant NHL time, certainly not enough to warrant his appearance on Sportsnet Pacific as a "hockey analyst".
In that second round the Canucks could have taken, LeClair, Matteau, or Desjardins with their pick but it was Rob Murphy instead.
1988 saw the pick that would become the captain of the Canucks, and probably the franchise's most endearing player. Trevor Linden may not have lived up to the expectations some had of his 2nd overall pick, especially when compared to Mike Modano, the first overall pick. Trevor Linden served his team well and no one who watched the 1994 SCF series can ever question Linden's heart, but there were always enough fans who had questions about him. The day he was traded by Mike Keenan in 1998 before the Olympics was a day that tore the fan base. The trade set the team up for future success but at the same time it ripped apart it's identity and maybe part of it's soul. Many would agree and argue that it was easy for Keenan to do as he never had a soul to begin with, but he certainly made a hell of a deal.
Only Dixon Ward, the other Canucks draft pick, saw significant NHL games. However there were general managers who were all a bit perplexed years later when no one seemed to notice players such as Rob Blake, Tony Amonte, Keith Carney, and Mark Recchi long before the 4th round when they were taken.
1989 saw the late round choice of Pavel Bure, the greatest star the Canucks have ever had. Simply put Bure was one the most electrifying skaters to ever play the game. With speed and stick skill not seen on a Canucks roster ever, Bure's reputation preceded his arrival and for the fans it was instant infatuation. Bure had the kind of game that made non-hockey fans want to see him play. In Vancouver he transcended the sport and was an icon to all. For some he was more a sex symbol than hockey player, and at that point no one knew if he had a girlfriend, let alone if he was even into girls- that is how strong the his appeal was. When Bure finally grew tired of Vancouver and held out it was a sad day for the Canucks and their fans. There were so many stories and rumours why and to this day I have never really heard a plausible explanation. However I do have a favourite albeit unlikely explanation.... he grew tired of Messier staring him down in the locker room and needed out.
The Canucks took Jason Herter first over all in 1989 missing guys like Holik, Foote, Brisebois, Lidstrom, Draper, Federov and Dallas Drake. It's not so much that they should have picked any of them, rather why could other teams consistently find diamonds in the rough and Vancouver couldn't?
It's easy to see that the two best picks Vancouver ever made came in back to back years but when looking at what they did for the franchise versus what they did for their entire career changes the parameters of 'great'. As we get into the 90's and finally the new millennium picks right up to this draft, I will explain how I see the fortunes of the Canucks are as much to do with who they draft and what they do with draft picks.
This is basically the one year anniversary of the major culture change within the organization and it should provide perspective for fans to see that where this team is going is far from what's been done in the past.
Finally I want to offer up a hearty congratulations to the Manitoba Moose. They tried and worked hard to get to a game 7 but couldn't quite do it. It was a fun ride and let's hope the experience gained by the players is enough to help them with their careers.
The early 80's were good years for the Canucks and probably produced their best draft results, even if many of those players had success elsewhere. The 1980 draft saw Crawford, Lanz, Sundstrom and Lidster total almost 2300 career games and 1250 points between them. I even had a friend who still to this day questions his sanity when he remembers trading his autographed Patrick Sundstrom stick for a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller!
1981 was another good draft year with Butcher, Lemay, Skriko and Caprice. Garth Butcher was a perennial fan favourite and it was hard to seem him traded to the Blues in 1991. Skriko would be another player that seems to define the Canucks, never quite good enough to be a name known by fans around the league but good enough to make the Canucks better with him than without.
The year the Canucks went to the final also seems to portray the future of the franchise in terms of drafting with only two players seeing any NHL ice time and only Michel Petit having a career of significance. The same can almost be said for 1983 but the first overall pick of Cam Neely really was the first chance that the Canucks had to get a true superstar, although the short sightedness of the team never really saw that. In what became a trade that took almost 20 years to become redeemed in terms of reward back to the club, Neely and a draft pick, Glen Wesley, were traded to the Bruins Barry Pederson. No Vancouver Canucks fan can ever let that go. Also in that draft and far deeper was Dave Lowry, a player who amassed over 1000 NHL games in his career, certainly no easy feat.
1984 saw the first pick of JJ Daigneault and far deeper Jim Agnew only see siginificant NHL game time. Something that would become all to familiar with the Canucks for many years. In 1985 the beginning of the end was coming to the cold war and it saw the Canucks draft a little known to the public player called Igor Larionov. A player who amassed 921 NHL games, after a career in Russia, and 644 points. Although his playing time with Vancouver was cut short due to his disagreement of the transfer fee arrangement, it can be argued that there has never been a smarter player to play for the Canucks. Unfortunately it can also be said that there as never been a hungrier player to play for the Canucks than Larionov's Russian line mate, Vladimir Krutov. Also in that draft were Troy Gamble, Jim 'house' Sandlak and Robert Kron.
1986 saw a draft with yet another high position and Vancouver took Dan Woodley. They could have had Joe Murphy, Zalapski, Jimmy Carson (before he was useless), Brian Leetch or Vinny Damphousse, another trend of totally misreading players was in it's infancy or was it already a developing curse? 1987 as worse as they could have taken Wesley but instead it was Gary Valk who was the only player to show any significant NHL time, certainly not enough to warrant his appearance on Sportsnet Pacific as a "hockey analyst".
In that second round the Canucks could have taken, LeClair, Matteau, or Desjardins with their pick but it was Rob Murphy instead.
1988 saw the pick that would become the captain of the Canucks, and probably the franchise's most endearing player. Trevor Linden may not have lived up to the expectations some had of his 2nd overall pick, especially when compared to Mike Modano, the first overall pick. Trevor Linden served his team well and no one who watched the 1994 SCF series can ever question Linden's heart, but there were always enough fans who had questions about him. The day he was traded by Mike Keenan in 1998 before the Olympics was a day that tore the fan base. The trade set the team up for future success but at the same time it ripped apart it's identity and maybe part of it's soul. Many would agree and argue that it was easy for Keenan to do as he never had a soul to begin with, but he certainly made a hell of a deal.
Only Dixon Ward, the other Canucks draft pick, saw significant NHL games. However there were general managers who were all a bit perplexed years later when no one seemed to notice players such as Rob Blake, Tony Amonte, Keith Carney, and Mark Recchi long before the 4th round when they were taken.
1989 saw the late round choice of Pavel Bure, the greatest star the Canucks have ever had. Simply put Bure was one the most electrifying skaters to ever play the game. With speed and stick skill not seen on a Canucks roster ever, Bure's reputation preceded his arrival and for the fans it was instant infatuation. Bure had the kind of game that made non-hockey fans want to see him play. In Vancouver he transcended the sport and was an icon to all. For some he was more a sex symbol than hockey player, and at that point no one knew if he had a girlfriend, let alone if he was even into girls- that is how strong the his appeal was. When Bure finally grew tired of Vancouver and held out it was a sad day for the Canucks and their fans. There were so many stories and rumours why and to this day I have never really heard a plausible explanation. However I do have a favourite albeit unlikely explanation.... he grew tired of Messier staring him down in the locker room and needed out.
The Canucks took Jason Herter first over all in 1989 missing guys like Holik, Foote, Brisebois, Lidstrom, Draper, Federov and Dallas Drake. It's not so much that they should have picked any of them, rather why could other teams consistently find diamonds in the rough and Vancouver couldn't?
It's easy to see that the two best picks Vancouver ever made came in back to back years but when looking at what they did for the franchise versus what they did for their entire career changes the parameters of 'great'. As we get into the 90's and finally the new millennium picks right up to this draft, I will explain how I see the fortunes of the Canucks are as much to do with who they draft and what they do with draft picks.
This is basically the one year anniversary of the major culture change within the organization and it should provide perspective for fans to see that where this team is going is far from what's been done in the past.
Finally I want to offer up a hearty congratulations to the Manitoba Moose. They tried and worked hard to get to a game 7 but couldn't quite do it. It was a fun ride and let's hope the experience gained by the players is enough to help them with their careers.
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