Thomas Drance is in Pittsburgh covering the NHL entry draft for Pass it to Bulis. We told him that if he doesn’t get us at least one sexy scoop, he will be whipped when he returns, so he’s doing it journal-style, touching on a bunch of topics really quickly in the hopes that something he files will appease our irrational demands and spare him a flogging.

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.

Thomas Drance is in Pittsburgh covering the NHL entry draft for Pass it to Bulis. We told him that if he doesn’t get us at least one sexy scoop, he will be whipped when he returns, so he’s doing it journal-style, touching on a bunch of topics really quickly in the hopes that something he files will appease our irrational demands and spare him a flogging.

With the 26th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, the Vancouver Canucks selected Belleville Bulls centre Brendan Gaunce, leading to a frenzy of googling, as Canucks fans tried to decide for themselves whether Mike Gillis should have a statue built in his honour or whether he should be fired. In a kiln.

The answer, of course, is somewhere in between, though preferably further away from the kiln option. Gaunce was a safe pick, a power forward type who was high on nearly every scout’s pre-draft rankings, but it’s impossible to say whether he’ll be a future Hall-of-Famer or an ECHL-bound bust or somewhere in-between. What we can do is try to figure out just who Brendan Gaunce is and why he was picked in the first round by the Canucks.

Tonight is the night when the past is forgotten and all that matters is the future. The NHL Draft is all about optimism and hope. Check your cynicism at the door and dream big, because picking well at the draft can completely change a team’s fortunes. The Vancouver Canucks will pick 26th overall in the first round, which isn’t quite as exciting as picking in the top-10, but still gives them an opportunity to pick up a future star.

Will they pick Tomas Hertl? Martin Frk? Phillip Di Giuseppe? Some other, less awesomely-named prospect? We don’t know. Maybe Mike Gillis will trade the pick. Or Luongo. Or Schneider! OR EVERYONE!

Whatever happens, PITB will be there. Join us at 4:00 pm to chat about all of the craziness (or boringness) that ensues this evening. If you’ve joined any of our other liveblogs, you’ll know that the chances of us staying on topic are slim to none, but we will have a lot of fun.

Crazy as it may seem, the 2012 NHL Draft is just one week away. On June 22nd in Pittsburgh, the league’s GMs will gather at the Consol Energy Center and attempt to shape the future of their franchises. For teams at the bottom of the standings, the excitement level is high, as names like Nail Yakupov, Mikhail Grigorenko, and Ryan Murray have been on everyone’s lips for months now.

For a team like the Canucks, it’s a little bit harder to get excited, as they won’t be picking until 26th overall in the first round, where the names and faces are little less familiar to the average hockey fan. In order to combat that insouciance, I want to introduce you to a few of the prospects that are expected to be available for the 26th pick by looking at the various rankings and mock drafts that have been produced by those in the know.