Fan In Van

Getting to Know - Jordan Schroeder

My own personal goal for the Vancouver Canucks heading into the draft was to secure a blueliner who could play at both ends of the ice. Apparently Mike Gillis had other ideas — draft the best player available — and size was not a factor at all in his selection process.

Nonetheless, I woke up with a big grin on my face this morning, still in shock that the Canucks had somehow landed a prize in Jordan Schroeder, who had been ranked 9th by TSN, 11th by Red Line Report, 13th by McKeen’s, 14th by the ISS, and 15th by Bob McKenzie. Yet somehow still, the Canucks were able to steal the Minnesota Golden Gopher at 22nd overall.

Schroeder is certainly undersized at 5′8”, but he is also extremely stocky and has a very strong core. At the NHL Draft Combine it was Schroeder who impressed, doing 17 bench presses at 150 pounds, one of the best showings among two groups which included virtually all of his fellow first round counterparts. There is no questioning that the dynamic forward possesses the tools, despite his small stature, to still succeed in the NHL. Players like Paul Kariya, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brian Gionta have all been mainstays in the NHL despite their stature and Schroeder will be no different.

There are far too many things to like about Schroeder. He has outstanding hockey sense and intelligence, poise, puck skills and blazing speed while also adding a creative dimension to his game. Many scouts argue he has tremendous leadership qualities to go along with the fact he doesn’t shy away from physical play. Some believe that Schroeder will develop into a playmaking centre, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe that he may also develop into a sniping winger with the Vancouver Canucks instead.

At this point, the best part about having Schroeder is the fact that both Bob McKenzie and Pierre McGuire, the two respected faces of draft prospects at the Draft, both agree the Canucks had the steal of the first round. Both are of the opinion that Schroeder will carve his way into the NHL and find himself in the spotlight as a star real soon.

And for those of you who weren’t on the Mike Gillis bandwagon earlier, he’s a tidbit of info: This year’s first round prize, Schroeder, attends the University of Minnesota. So too does ex-GM Dave Nonis’ 2007 first round selection, Patrick White, now a third-year player with the Golden Gophers. Schroeder’s numbers this year saw him finish second in team scoring with 13 goals and 45 points in 35 games, whereas White played 36 games and had less than half of those numbers with 7 goals and 16 points. At this point you’re probably both praising Schroeder and wondering if Pat White will ever get there.

Mark this Canuck fan’s words — Three years from now, regardless of who is on the roster at that point in time, it will be Cody Hodgson and Jordan Schroeder being offensive threats every time they touch the puck.

A closer look in video with Schroeder: