Canucks History of Selecting 33rd Overall in the NHL Draft

Unlike previous years, the Vancouver Canucks have a lot of draft capital heading into the 2026 NHL Draft. In addition to their two first-round picks (third and 24th overall), they also have the 33rd and 41st picks in the second round and another six spread across Rounds 3-6.

So, after taking a look at the history of the 24th pick, we turn to the trio of players the Canucks have selected with pick 33 over the last 38 years.

Leif Rohlin, 1988 Draft

The Canucks’ first opportunity to select 33rd overall was back in 1988, the year they grabbed future captain and legend Trevor Linden second overall. Their next pick, defenceman Leif Rohlin, unfortunately didn’t pan out – despite his talent and potential. Drafted out of Vasteras IK in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), it took him six seasons to come over to North America, and after a brief 96-game stint in 1995-96 and 1996-97, he jetted back overseas and never saw another NHL game.

Rohlin was a highly anticipated player for the Canucks heading into his rookie season after being labeled the best defender outside the NHL. He had just helped Sweden win their first gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics and was coming off a career-high 15 goals and 30 points in the SHL. At 27 years old, he made his debut on Oct. 9, 1995, against the Detroit Red Wings, at the newly constructed Rogers Arena, and finished with a solid six goals and 22 points in 56 games.

Unfortunately, Rohlin struggled in his sophomore season, clashing with new head coach Tom Renney, who wanted him to play a much more physical style. He ended up in his coach’s doghouse, seeing less and less ice time as the season went on, which led to a trade request. The Canucks refused to trade him, though, and he finished with only 10 points in 40 games.

After declining a league-minimum two-way contract in the offseason, Rohlin returned to Europe to play for HC Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss National League (NL). Similar to his days in the SHL, he became one of the league’s top defenders, leading his team to two Continental Cups in four seasons. He returned to his Swedish roots in 2001 with Djurgardens IF and later Sodertalje SK before being forced to retire due to bulging discs in his back. He has now stepped away from hockey, transitioning to sports retail as a salesman with Team Sportia after a successful three seasons as general manager of his former club, Vasteras IK.

Taylor Ellington, 2007 Draft

The Canucks’ next 33rd overall pick came nearly a decade later in 2007, when they selected another defenceman, this time Taylor Ellington from the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Unlike Rohlin, he was not known for his offence; he was drafted for his size and physicality, as his WHL career saw only 14 goals and 66 points in 287 games, along with 371 penalty minutes. Naturally, he was ranked among the top five toughest players in his draft class, praised by scouts for his open-ice hits, work ethic, and willingness to stand up for his teammates.

Ellington appeared to have the skills to develop into a reliable stay-at-home defender in the NHL, someone who could tip the scales in the playoffs, where the game shifts into the trenches and at the front of the net. But that never happened. While he turned pro in 2009 with the American Hockey League (AHL) Manitoba Moose, he never saw Vancouver, spending most of his time in the ECHL with the Victoria Salmon Kings. He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012 for Samuel Pahlsson, and continued to play in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings, Chicago Express, Florida Everblades and Cincinnati Cyclones before finishing his career overseas in Denmark.

Overall, the Canucks’ 2007 draft class is one of the worst in franchise history. In addition to the failure of Ellington at 33rd, they also whiffed on their first-round pick, Patrick White, at 25th overall. Neither ever saw an NHL game and were traded shortly after their draft years. In another universe, the Canucks could have had David Perron (26th to the St. Louis Blues) and PK Subban (43rd to the Montreal Canadiens), who have combined for over 2,000 games and over 1,000 points in the NHL. Instead, they were left with zeroes across the board; yes, you read that correctly, the 2007 Draft didn’t produce a single NHL game or point across the seven players they selected.

Kole Lind, 2017 Draft

The Canucks had to wait another 10 years to select 33rd, and again, couldn’t hit a homerun. While then-general manager (GM) Jim Benning thought they had connected, famously saying, “Why isn’t anyone taking Kole Lind?” at their draft table late in the first round, history has proven otherwise (from ‘Why did the Canucks take Kole Lind? It was a bet on his hockey IQ,’ The Athletic, 11/17/17). Benning was justified in being surprised, though, considering Lind was ranked by many to go in the first round (as high as 21st by The Hockey Writers draft expert Ryan Pike).

Projected by Pike to become a second or third-line scoring winger, thanks to his hockey sense and vision, Lind quickly caught the eyes of Canucks fans as he followed up his 30-goal, 87-point draft season with a career-high 39 goals and 95 points in 2017-18. He turned pro with the Utica Comets in 2018 and made his NHL debut in 2020-21, suiting up against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 29, 2021. While he was held off the scoresheet, he was impressive, logging a still career-high 17:12 in what was a 4-1 loss. He ended up playing seven games that season, but couldn’t get on the scoreboard.

In the 2021 offseason, the Canucks left Lind unprotected, and the Seattle Kraken selected him in the expansion draft. He had a decent run with the new franchise in 2021-22, playing 23 games and posting two goals and eight points. Since then, though, he has only seen one NHL game – Dec. 20, 2023, against the LA Kings – spending the majority of his time in the AHL. He had a career-high 30 goals and 62 points with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022-23 and now has 122 goals and 319 points in 454 AHL games.

Lind is stuck at 31 NHL games and is dangerously close to becoming a career minor-leaguer, having recently finished his second season with the Texas Stars. He is now 27 years old and an unrestricted free agent (UFA), but will likely sign another contract, given his AHL prowess in both the regular season and the playoffs, where he has 24 goals and 59 points in 63 games.

As with the 2007 Draft, hindsight makes this pick look really bad. Instead of Lind, they could have selected Jason Robertson, who has turned into a superstar with the Dallas Stars. He went 39th overall, six picks after Lind, and just recorded his third 40-goal season and fifth with at least 70 points. He is also closing in on 500 points in the NHL. Now that would have been not only a homerun, but a grand slam.

Canucks Hope 2026 Defies History

The Canucks’ history of selecting 33rd is not pretty: only 40 points (32 of which came from Rohlin) across 127 NHL games. All three never made an impact, and combined with the players they could have selected, Subban in 2007 and Robertson in 2017, the picture gets even worse. There’s lots of talent available with the first pick of the second round in 2026, but as time has taught us, that talent doesn’t always translate to the NHL. Here’s hoping history doesn’t repeat itself with their current 33rd pick, nearly 10 years later, again.