Looking Back on Recent Canucks Draft Picks
The Canucks bad luck seems to be relentless this season, unlike many other seasons before this one. The 2025 Draft Lottery took place on May 5th, and Vancouver came out with the 15th pick. While this isn’t ideal for the team that faced many struggles both on and off the ice in the 2024-2025 season, not all hope is lost. Let’s take a look at the success of some of the most recent Vancouver Canucks draft picks.
2022 NHL Draft
The Vancouver Canucks selected six players during the 2022 NHL Draft and several of them have joined the team on the ice since then. In round seven, the Canucks drafted Kirill Kudryavtsev as the 208th pick overall. Kudryavtsev has gone on to play two games in Vancouver. As the 80th pick overall, the Canucks picked Elias Pettersson, defenseman, in the third round of the draft. Pettersson joined the Canucks on the ice for the first time in the 2024-2025 season for 28 games, one goal, and one assist. Finally, with the 15th pick in the first round, the Canucks selected Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Lekkerimaki played 24 games in the NHL this season, earning six points for the team and securing a shootout win during their game against the New Jersey Devils in March of this year.
2023 NHL Draft
With the 203rd pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Vancouver Canucks selected Aiden Celebrini. While Celebrini has not hit the ice in Vancouver yet and is choosing to pursue another year of college hockey at Boston University, experts expect to see him sign an entry-level contract shortly after. In the fourth round, the Canucks picked Ty Mueller as the 105th pick overall. Mueller has played two games with the team since being drafted. Finally, in the first round, the Canucks picked Tom Willander as the 11th pick overall. Willander, like Celebrini, has not yet played with the Canucks, but his contract negotiations have been at the center of Canucks news for months following the end of his college season, so you can expect to see him sit the ice in Vancouver soon.
2024 and Beyond
While none of the Canucks 2024 draft picks have joined the NHL team on the ice just yet, they have continued to build up their stats with their respective teams. The 2025 NHL Draft will see a lot of talent, so don’t be immediately discouraged by the Canucks losing the draft lottery again. The Canucks have managed to do a lot with later round picks in the past, and with the draft class this year, I doubt it will be any different. Stay tuned to see who the Vancouver Canucks end up selecting.
