Instead of possibly drafting Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Nico Hischier or Nolan Patrick, the Vancouver Canucks had to settle on Olli Juolevi and Elias Pettersson.
Such is life with the NHL draft lottery system, which saw the Canucks fall down to fifth in 2016 and 2017 despite finishing 28th and 29th in the league standings in those years, respectively. It was frustrating for the Canucks and their long-suffering fans, to say the least.
There is hope for redemption, however. The 2018 draft offers two can’t-miss prospects in Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin and big Russian scorer Andrei Svechnikov.