First-round picks: No. 16
200001 record: 36-28-11-7, 90 points (tied for 14th overall)
What they need
The Canucks still seem to have a need in goal, where their 2.85 team GAA was second-worst among playoff teams to Pittsburgh's 3.09. Increased depth on the forward line also appears to be a need after the team nearly fell out of playoff contention after captain Markus Naslund broke his leg.
In the system
The 2000-01 season saw the much-antcipated debuts of the Sedin twins -- Daniel (2nd overall
in '99) and Henrik (3rd overall in '99). Daniel had 20 goals and 34 points in 75 games, finishing third in goals and
eighth in points among rookie. Henrik, meanwhile, played in all 82 games and had nine goals and 29 points. His
20 assists tied him for eighth among rookies in that category.
Elsewhere in the Vancouver system, center Josh Holden (12th overall in '96) was unable to stick with Vancouver yet again. While he did see action in 10 games
for Vancouver, Holden spent the majority of the season with the IHL's Kansas City Blades, leading them in goals with 26 in 57 games.
Vancouver's top pick of a year ago, center Nathan Smith (23rd overall in '00) had a fine season in the Western League with Swift Current, scoring 90 points (28 G, 62 A) in 67 games. Ninety was also the season point total (31 goals, 59 assists) for another WHL prospect, Spokane center Tim Smith (272nd overall in '00). A third Western League prospect, Lethbridge center Nathan Barrett (241st overall in '00) narrowly missed the 100-point plateau (46-53-99 in 70 games).
In the Quebec League, center Thatcher Bell (71st overall in '00) had 27 goals and 59 points in just 46 games for Rimouski, the team that produced Tampa Bay's young scoring sensations Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards. Between the pipes, goalie Kevin Swanson (169th overall in '99) posted a 27-16-5 mark with a 3.11 GAA in 49 games at Kelowna (WHL).
Northeastern University (Hockey East) center Graig Mischler (204th overall in '98), a native of Long Island, had 10 goals and
42 points in 36 games.
Recent draft history
While the Canucks have selected more defensemen (12) in the first round than any other position in their history, four out of their last six opening-round choices have been forwards (three centers in Holden, Henrik Sedin and Smith; and left winger Daniel Sedin).
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