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Canucks get more defencemen in single draft than they have in 10 years

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Jun 29 2023, 8:38 pm
Canucks get more defencemen in single draft than they have in 10 years
Vancouver Canucks/Twitter

After picking a defenceman in the first round of the NHL Draft on Wednesday for just the third time since 2005, the Vancouver Canucks appeared to prioritize blueliners again today.

The Canucks added seven players to their prospect pool at the draft in Nashville, using their first three picks all on defencemen.

In total, Vancouver picked up four blueliners: Tom Willander (11th overall, first round), Hunter Brzustewicz (75th overall, third round), Sawyer Mynio (89th overall, third round), and Aiden Celebrini (171st overall, sixth round).

That’s the most defencemen the Canucks have added in a single draft since they picked four of them in 2013, although they were all taken in rounds 4-7 that year. The only other time in franchise history that the Canucks took three defencemen in the first three rounds of the draft was 2002, although Vancouver didn’t have a first-round pick that year.

The Canucks had three picks in the fourth round, and elected to use all of them on forwards: Ty Mueller (105th overall), Vilmer Alriksson (107th overall), and Matthew Perkins (119th overall).

Here’s a look at the six players the Canucks added to their prospect pipeline today.

Hunter Brzustewicz (Kitchener Rangers, OHL)

  • Drafted: Third round, 75th overall
  • Position: Defenceman
  • Age: 18
  • Nationality: American
  • Size: 6 feet, 190 pounds
  • 2022-23 stats: 68 GP, 6 G, 51 A, 57 PTS

Ranked 52nd by TSN’s Bob McKenzie coming into the draft, Brzustewicz is a puck-moving defenceman that finished eighth in scoring among OHL blueliners last season.

The Michigan-born right-shot defenceman is a “force in transition,” according to Elite Prospects, and can “make forecheckers miss with fake changes of direction, timely spins, and by moving the puck before they can get to it.”

Sawyer Mynio (Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL)

  • Drafted: Third round, 89th overall
  • Position: Defenceman
  • Age: 18
  • Nationality: Canadian
  • Size: 6-foot-1, 172 pounds
  • 2022-23 stats: 68 GP, 5 G, 26 A, 31 PTS

Kamloops-born defenceman Sawyer Mynio was Vancouver’s second selection of the third round. The left-shot defenceman wasn’t ranked by Elite Prospects, so he qualifies as an off-the-board pick.

Prospects expert Daniel Gee describes the Seattle Thunderbirds defenceman as a “solid rush defender,” that has to improve his stride and puck skills.

Ty Mueller (University of Nebraska, NCAA)

  • Drafted: Fourth round, 105th overall
  • Position: Centre
  • Age: 20
  • Nationality: Canadian
  • Size: 5-foot-11, 185 pounds
  • 2022-23 stats: 34 GP, 12 G, 13 A, 25 PTS

The Canucks chose an over-age player with their first pick of the fourth round, selecting Ty Mueller out of the University of Nebraska. This was the third NHL Draft the Cochrane, Alberta native had been eligible to be picked. Gee describes him as a two-way forward with “average physical tools.”

Vilmer Alriksson ( Djurgårdens IF, J20 Nationell)

  • Drafted: Fourth round, 107th overall
  • Position: Left wing
  • Age: 18
  • Nationality: Swedish
  • Size: 6-foot-6, 214 pounds
  • 2022-23 stats: 43 GP, 12 G, 9 A, 21 PTS

The Canucks looked to Sweden for their second pick of the fourth round, grabbing 6-foot-6 winger Vilmer Alriksson. Gee describes the big Swedish winger as a “capable skater,” but that he needs to get stronger.

Matthew Perkins (Youngstown, USHL)

  • Drafted: Fourth round, 119th overall
  • Position: Centre
  • Age: 19
  • Nationality: Canadian
  • Size: 5-foot-11, 174 pounds
  • 2022-23 stats: 60 GP, 15 G, 29 A, 44 PTS

At 19 years old, Matthew Perkins was the second over-age player the Canucks picked today. The Saskatchewan-born centre has good hockey sense and playmaking, according to Gee, but his skating is a concern. He’ll play at the University of Minnesota-Duluth next season.

Aiden Celebrini (Brooks, AJHL)

  • Drafted: Sixth round, 171st overall
  • Position: Defenceman
  • Age: 18
  • Nationality: Canadian
  • Size: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds
  • 2022-23 stats: 47 GP, 5 G, 16 A, 21 PTS

Vancouver-born Aiden Celebrini has a name that Canucks fans will recognize. His father Rick Celebrini is widely known as one of the top sport and orthopedic physiotherapists in North America, and was a former member of the Canucks organization. He left the Canucks in 2018 to work for the Golden State Warriors.

Aiden’s younger brother, Macklin Celebrini, is expected to be the first-overall draft pick in 2024.

Gee describes Aiden Celebrini as a physical and consistent defenceman that could play on a third pairing one day.

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