After making a safe pick in the first round with International Scouting Services top-ranked centre Brendan Gaunce, the Canucks went off the board with their second round pick, taking 20-year-old winger Alexandre Mallet from the Rimouski Océanic. Mallet wasn’t on anyone’s draft rankings because of his age and he had already passed through the draft twice.

The Canucks didn’t pick again until the fifth round and took 19-year-old defenceman Ben Hutton, who had passed through the draft once already and was ranked 200th among North American skaters by Central Scouting. Then, in the sixth round, they picked another 19-year-old, BCHL centre Wesley Myron, who was also in his second year of eligibility. Finally, in the seventh round, they picked one more 19-year-old, Matthew Beattie, who was actually ranked 108th among North American skaters by Central Scouting.

Picking older players in the draft is frequently frowned upon, as they usually passed through the draft for a reason, but such players might also be ready to contribute in the NHL sooner than a 17 or 18-year-old. The Canucks have picked several older players under Gillis, including Alexandre Grenier, Henrik Tommernes, and Alex Friesen. While there is plenty of risk in picking players who haven’t stood out until they are older than much of their competition, there is also the potential for finding a market inefficiency, as other teams tend to overlook such players.