Canucks target more defenders on Day 2 of NHL Draft

There were no fireworks. No trades. No moves up or down. 

The Vancouver Canucks simply used their picks in the order they were stacked and made six selections on the second day of the NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Upon reflection, it's clear the Canucks identified a need to upgrade a remarkably thin defensive prospect pool. After nabbing Tom Willander with the 11th overall selection on Wednesday night, the Canucks continued to draft defensemen early on Thursday.

They used the 75th pick on right-hander Hunter Brzustewicz out of Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League. Fourteen picks later, they added Kamloops native Sawyer Mynio of the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Canucks went away from the blueline with each of the club's three fourth round selections taking Ty Mueller, a centre, from the University of Nebraska-Omaha 105th overall. They followed by reaching for enormous Swedish winger Vilmer Alriksson who stands 6'6" and spent last season with Djurgardens junior team. Alriksson was taken 107th overall. The Canucks also drafted centre Matthew Perkins from USHL Youngstown with the 119th selection. At 156 pounds, Perkins was one of the slightest players listed in this year's crop of prospects.

With their final pick in this year's draft, the Canucks opted for Aiden Celebrini, a right shot defenseman who played for Brooks in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Celebrini, whose younger brother Macklin is the presumptive first overall pick in next year's NHL Draft, will head to Boston University along with Canucks top pick Willander next season.

While it will be years before anyone can accurately assess the Canucks haul at the 2023 Draft, the initial reviews are that the team played it relatively straight prioritizing organizational need with four defensemen -- three of whom shoot right.

Brzustewicz is intriguing with 57 points from the back end in 68 OHL games last season. He's a late 2004 birthdate making him among the older first-time eligible prospects in this draft.

The selection of Alriksson is tantalizing simply because of his size at the age of 18. But with that frame, it should be pointed out that his production in the Swedish junior league was pedestrian at best with 12 goals and 21 points in 43 games.

Mueller is already 20-years-old and has never been a high scorer at any level. He registered 12 goals and 25 points in 34 college games as a sophomore last season. While Perkins, who will turn 20 next January, produced 44 points in his first season in the USHL after a point-a-game year with Humboldt in the Saskatchewan Junior League.

Overall, the Canucks class of 2023 includes four defensemen, two centres and a towering winger. Now we all wait to see how many make it to the NHL.