Vancouver Canucks Stun Fans by Officially Refusing to Attend NHL Draft Events Entirely

Throughout this week, some of the top eligible prospects have been in Buffalo, New York for the National Hockey League's Draft Combine where they'll meet with teams, give interviews and undergo fitness testing.

It's a great opportunity for teams to speak with these prospects that they've spent all year scouting, with a decision on who they'll end up selecting coming in a matter of weeks, but for the Vancouver Canucks, who hold the 15th overall pick, none of their big name executives were in attendance.

As we saw on Wednesday, Patrik Allvin, Jim Rutherford, along with a couple other executives toured a potential practice facility in Burnaby, which many were pleased with as it's something the team desperately needs, but it also made some fans question who was representing the organization at the Draft Combine.

Cody Severtson of Canucks Army pointed out in a post on social media that Patrik Allvin, Jim Rutherford and Adam Foote have not been in attendance at the NHL Draft Combine this week.

The interesting thing about this year's NHL Draft Combine is that it's going to be the last opportunity for General Managers and executives to be in one building together as the league has decentralized the draft for 2025, with only some top prospects in attendance at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27th & 28th.

Because of this, many were expecting General Managers to be discussing potential trades and planting the seeds for deals that could be announced closer to and on draft day, something mentioned by Elliotte Friedman on several occasions.

Now, the Canucks do have some representation at the Draft Combine, including scouts and very likely an Assistant GM too, either Emilie Castonguay or Cammie Granato, who will be taking a look at potential prospects the team could be eyeing with the 15th overall pick, if they decide to keep it.

Rumors have been swirling recently that suggest the Vancouver Canucks will be moving their 15th overall pick in order to land a second line center or top-six winger and if that happens to be true, then maybe that's why Allvin and Rutherford opted to stay at home, but it still would've been nice to see them in Buffalo and speaking face-to-face about a possible trade and as mentioned, plant the seeds for a deal later this month.