Nationality won't influence Canucks' draft choices, GM says

VANCOUVER — In a week when another American star on a Canadian team orchestrated his trade back to the United States, Vancouver Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said Thursday he won’t be influenced by nationality when he picks third in the National Hockey League draft.

“You’d be crazy to not think everybody in the league is not thinking or talking about it,” Johnson told reporters in a pre-draft press conference, three days after Brady Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers by the Ottawa Senators. “Is that a trend that ... in the last year or so has caught fire? Is it coincidence ... that certain players are involved in? As an organization, you talk about it. (But) at this point, is it something that I would say we are going to shy away from drafting a player because he's from a certain nationality? Not at this point. But it is a situation that has put some teams in a pretty tough spot, and that's unfortunate.”

As with Canucks captain Quinn Hughes this past season, Tkachuk approved his trade to an American team after informing his Canadian club that he didn’t intend to re-sign when his current contract expires.

Hughes was traded in December to the Minnesota Wild, which steered the Canucks sharply into a rebuild.

For several years, the Canucks have had one of the most American-heavy rosters in the NHL. Among regulars, only four Vancouver skaters this past season were from Canada.

Historically, the team has always been proudly multinational. It has a particularly rich history with Swedish players, but in its early decades also helped pioneer the migration to the NHL of players from Russia and the former Czechoslovakia.

Retired jerseys at Rogers Arena include those worn by Swedes (Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and Markus Naslund), Canadians (Trevor Linden and Stan Smyl) and a Russian (Pavel Bure).

But it’s fair to wonder, as we see star players starting to flex their rights in a league whose labour landscape has always favoured the employers, whether Canadian franchises need to be asking themselves if the eager players they draft at age 18 will still want to play for them when they’re 24.

Will the unyielding spotlight or taxes be too much for them? Or might they simply prefer, when given the chance, to play closer to home or with siblings or friends elsewhere?

With the third pick of the first round on Friday night, Johnson and the Canucks are expected to choose between a Canadian centre (Caleb Malhotra), American defenceman (Chase Reid) and Swedish winger (Ivar Stenberg), any of whom could instead go second to the San Jose Sharks, assuming the Toronto Maple Leafs select Gavin McKenna first overall.

Vancouver has long been mentioned in connection with Malhotra, whose dad, ex-Canuck Manny, was hired by Johnson on June 1 to be the team’s head coach.

Johnson was emphatic on Thursday that he has not discussed the Canucks’ draft intentions with the senior Malhotra.

“I can say this with complete honesty: he and I have never discussed it,” Johnson said. “He knows the process that I've been going through (and) we talk daily, but we've never discussed (our draft) list. We had one conversation when I was about to hire him that if that would be an issue, then maybe we should both go our separate ways. We agreed that it wouldn't be, and heading into this weekend, like I said, he's focused on being a dad and supporting his son and we've got to make a decision as a hockey team.”

There were other newsy tidbits from Johnson’s 18-minute media availability.

“Yes, we are in a rebuild,” Johnson said. “But it's not a selloff, get as young as you can, get your teeth kicked in, and think that things are just going to naturally (improve). You want to insulate (young) players not just with good players, but with great people. I've been very clear that the people that will walk into these doors are great people — that have the engine, that have the professionalism and the room-awareness that we're looking for. It's not just about stripping it down as fast as you can and it'll automatically grow on its own. That's not the approach here.”

Johnson did not offer an update on the timeline for recovery from major hip surgery of goalie Thatcher Demko, who has stayed in Vancouver to rehab and train and this week returned to the ice.

But the GM said this about his American netminder: “He and I have had plenty of conversations, plenty of sit-downs here in the arena and just small talk. I've known Thatcher for a long time; he and I were in Utica together (in the American Hockey League) when he first started, so we've got a long relationship and understanding of who each other are and what's important to each other. So it's been really refreshing to see the work that he's put in.

“His head space, he looks refreshed, excited. When Manny was in here, they had a chance to sit down and there's a lot of really good, positive energy, not just from Thatcher but from the group. I know the players I'm talking (with), they're already discussing getting back here. ‘Should we be back earlier? When can we get on the ice? We’ve got to get this going.’ So the overall feeling that I'm getting from all our players is a lot of excitement and they're ready to go, which, if you're sitting here in June and they're talking about that, that's pretty exciting for us as a group.”

Although Johnson is not pressuring veteran Canucks on long-term contracts to consider trades, he said the team can’t just bring back the roster it had when last season ended.

“I do want to slowly chip away; I don't want to just sit with the same group,” he said. “I think by even small changes, you add a different energy and an excitement. Do I want to keep just rolling it back with the same? Preferably not, but you can't rush the process, again. But I do want to add. . . whether it's via trade or via free agency, even if it's a small piece, to start the rollover of people that I think are going to help us short and long term.”

The Canucks have two first-round picks for the first time since 2014, and their four selections in the top 41 are their highest concentration of picks near the top of the draft since 1973.