9 Canucks draft picks that took forever to score their first NHL goal

Guillaume Brisebois set a new Vancouver Canucks record on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old defenceman, who was drafted by the Canucks on June 27, 2015, finally scored his first NHL goal.

And what a goal it was. Streaking down the ice on a two-on-one, Brisebois fired home a one-timer after a pass from Nils Aman.

It was a great moment for Brisebois, who is in his sixth year of pro hockey. After appearing in eight games for the Canucks in 2018-19, Brisebois played just two NHL games in the next three seasons. It was unclear if he’d ever play another NHL game.

Yet Brisebois has appeared in a career-high 12 NHL games for the Canucks this season, and impressed management enough to earn a contract extension last week.

Here’s a look at nine Canucks draft picks who took longer than anyone else to score their first NHL goal, with Vancouver.

9. Mario Bliznak: 1,929 days

Year drafted: 2005
First NHL goal: Nov. 11, 2010

A seventh-round pick by the Canucks out of Slovakia in 2005, Mario Bliznak played three seasons with the Vancouver Giants before turning pro in 2008.

Bliznak spent most of his pro career in North America with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, but appeared in six games over two seasons in 2009-10 and 2010-11. He scored his first and only NHL goal on November 11, 2010 late in a 6-2 romp of the Ottawa Senators, converting a pass from Tanner Glass.

8. Kevin Bieksa: 1,937 days

Year drafted: 2001
First NHL goal: Oct. 13, 2006

Kevin Bieksa ranks seventh all-time in goals by Canucks defencemen with 56, but it took a while for him to score his first.

After four seasons at Bowling Green University, Bieksa turned pro in 2004 — three years after he was picked in the fifth round of the 2001 draft. Bieksa’s first full season of pro hockey came with the Manitoba Moose in 2004-05, during the NHL lockout cancelled season.

Bieksa didn’t score a single goal in 39 games during his NHL rookie season in 2005-06, but he tallied 12 goals in his sophomore season.

Bieksa scored his first NHL goal on October 13, 2006, converting on a pass from Jan Bulis. “Do you know what that is Shorty?” Canucks broadcaster Tom Larscheid asked John Shorthouse after witnessing the goal. “Bieksallent!”

7. Robert Kron: 1,939 days

Year drafted: 1985
First NHL goal: Oct. 6, 1990

Robert Kron played 741 NHL games but he didn’t make his NHL debut until 1990, more than five years after he was drafted in the fifth round. The speedy Czech winger scored 12 goals in his rookie NHL season, including his first on October 6, 1990, which was scored shorthanded against the LA Kings.

6. Dane Jackson: 2,015 days

Year drafted: 1988
First NHL goal: Dec. 17, 1993

Dane Jackson played the majority of his pro career in the AHL, beginning with the Hamilton Canucks in 1992. The Castlegar native also played four years at the University of North Dakota after the Canucks picked him in the third round of the 1988 draft.

He scored his first NHL goal during the second period of a December 17, 1993 game against the Winnipeg Jets. Then in the third period, he scored again. It was the start of a streak that saw Jackson score five goals in five games. He only scored 12 in his career.

5. John Hughes: 2,066 days

Year drafted: 1974
First NHL goal: Jan. 23, 1980

Defenceman John Hughes was a third-round draft pick of the Canucks in 1974, but opted to play in the WHA rather than the NHL, suiting up for teams like the Phoenix Roadrunners, Cincinnati Stingers, Houston Aeros, Edmonton Oilers, and Indianapolis Racers.

But when the WHA ceased operations in 1979, Hughes joined the team that picked him in the NHL Draft five years earlier. Hughes scored two goals for the Canucks in 1979-80, including his first NHL goal against the New York Rangers on January 23, 1980.

4. Neil Eisenhut: 2,371 days

Year drafted: 1987
First NHL goal: Dec. 9, 1993

Osoyoos native Neil Eisenhut scored precisely one goal in his NHL career, more than six years after he was drafted by the Canucks in the 12th round.

A BCJHL product that went on to play four years at the University of North Dakota, Eisenhut played two full seasons in the minors before getting a Canucks call up. His first NHL goal was assisted by Pavel Bure.

3. Leif Rohlin: 2,701 days

Year drafted: 1988
First NHL goal: Nov. 3, 1995

Leif Rohlin won an Olympic gold medal with Sweden in 1994 before ever suiting up in an NHL game. He was 27 years old when he made his NHL debut in 1995 — seven years after the Canucks drafted him in 1988.

Rohlin scored the first of eight career NHL goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs in his fifth game with the Canucks. He assisted on an Alex Mogilny goal earlier in the game as well.

2. Jay Mazur: 2,750 days

Year drafted: 1983
First NHL goal: Dec. 18, 1990

A 12th round pick by the Canucks in 1983, Jay Mazur didn’t make his NHL debut until 1989, following four years at the University of Maine, plus a year and a half in the minors.

He got a couple of brief looks by the Canucks in 1988-89 and 1989-90, but didn’t score until 1990-91. Mazur scored 11 times that season, including his first NHL goal — a game-winner in Calgary assisted by Igor Larionov.

1. Guillaume Brisebois: 2,817 days

Year drafted: 2015
First NHL goal: Mar. 14, 2023

Guillaume Brisebois had played for three different Canucks coaches without scoring an NHL goal, prior to March 14, 2023.

Drafted by the Canucks in the third round of the 2015 draft, with the pick acquired from Carolina in the Eddie Lack trade, Brisebois is technically the longest-tenured player in the organization. He was drafted the same year as Brock Boeser, but Brisebois signed his first contract with the Canucks in 2015 — well before Boeser turned pro in 2017.

Honourable mentions

No Canucks draft pick took longer to score for Vancouver than Ken Berry, who was drafted in 1980. He scored his first goal in Canucks colours in 1987-88, but it wasn’t his first NHL goal. Berry was traded to the Edmonton Oilers before making his NHL debut, and had four career goals before the Canucks reacquired him in 1988.

Bryan Allen

• Drafted: 1998, first NHL goal: Oct. 10, 2003

Olli Juolevi

• Drafted: 2016, first NHL goal: Jan. 25, 2021

Bert Robertsson

• Drafted: 1993, first NHL goal: Jan 24, 1998

Sergei Shirokov

• Drafted: 2006, first NHL goal: Jan. 18, 2011

Mark Wotton

• Drafted: 1992, first NHL goal: Dec. 31, 1996

Bill Muckalt

• Drafted: 1994, first NHL goal: Oct. 20, 1998

Jannik Hansen

• Drafted: 2004, first NHL goal: Oct. 16, 2008

Dixon Ward

• Drafted: 1988, first NHL goal: Oct. 16, 1992

Igor Larionov

• Drafted: 1985, first NHL goal: Oct. 11, 1989

You might also like:
• 11 best 'one-hit wonders' in Vancouver Canucks history