When a team is rebuilding but not really, like the Vancouver Canucks apparently are, the draft is extremely importnat. Well, it always is. But when you trade your draft picks to fill immediate needs and try to improve your prospect pool at the same time, landing diamonds in the rough becomes ever so important.
Losing the 33rd pick to the Florida Panthers in the trade that acquired defenseman Erik Gudbranson hurt. It really did. A lot. But once you look at the draft and realize that around the 25th pick, the entire thing becomes a coin toss, it hurts a little bit less.