When the Vancouver Canucks drafted defenseman Nikita Tryamkin in 2014, there was not a lot of buzz around him. Sure, a 6-foot-7 D-man doesn’t go unnoticed, but third-round picks aren’t the ones that create hype. For Canucks management, however, there was more to it.
The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the first with Jim Benning as the club’s general manager. A former scout, Benning knows what he is doing when it comes to drafting. And with pick No. 66 in the draft, he decided a giant Russian defenseman was the right pick.
Prior to that day, the Canucks hadn’t drafted a Russian in seven years.