Who Is Our #1 Prospect
Dating back to 2007 or 2008 NHL Draft, we are seeing some of the drafted players play a bigger role in their respective hockey clubs. For example, Josh Bailey quickly entered the NHL and now becomes the Islanders #1 C besides John Tavares who often play on the same line. Tyler Myers drafted in 2008 #12 overall becomes the Calder trophy winner this June. The 6'8'' tall defenseman was overlooked by Canucks scouting staff and the rest is history.
Most people know by know that Cody Hodgson, who was drafted 10th overall after a season where the Canucks missed the playoffs to finish 10th in the West. This team saw changes from Dave Nonis to Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison leaving the team. Hodgson quickly became the center of attention when the June draft occurred, and the fans are hopeful this pick will become a talented NHL player one day.
Last season, Cody Hodgson suffered a serious back injury from training in the weight room. He never quite recovered from it, and it costed him an fair opportunity to compete for an NHL job, as it did cost him most of the season in Brampton.
This summer, when the Canucks held the prospect camp in Vancouver, Cody decided to go by his own agenda and not join the team. Wonder what the management think about it deep inside, even though they say it's no big deal as long as he is prepared for training camp.
Cody Hodgson is a mystery right now, but we sure hope he is that solid two-way, all-round offensive star that people deemed him to be at the draft and a year after.
On the other hand, Jordan Schroeder, the 22nd overall pick in 2009, looks to be a gem. Many hockey scouts saw Schroeder go inside the top 10 or even top 5, but the smallish forward dropped to 22nd where the Canucks finally took him. The Minnesota native spent last season with the Golden Golphers and signed his entry level contract to leave college hockey this Spring. Schroeder joined the Manitoba Moose for some games. In 11 regular season games, he scored 9 points, and 6 points in 6 playoff outings. He didn't look out of place one bit. Schroeder and his American teammates also won the Gold Medal in World Junior Championships from Team Canada. In that tournament, Jordan repeatedly looked like man among boys. 8 points in 7 games was his results.
Could there be other surprising candidates in the Canucks system I overlooked? Kevin Cannauton, Yann Sauve on defense, Cory Schneider joining the Canucks as backup goaltender. All these players will try and advance their professional careers.
Who is #1 in your heart?
