LATEST | Jim Benning reportedly wanted to pass on Elias Pettersson and the results would've been catastrophic
In the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the Vancouver Canucks held the fifth overall pick and used it to selected star centerman Elias Pettersson.
According to Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie & Dhali, former Canucks general manager Jim Benning wanted to pass on Pettersson and select Cody Glass, who ended up going sixth overall to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Pettersson has gone on to solidify himself has one of the top centermen in the entire National Hockey League and is nearly a point-per-game player in his career so far, putting up 323 in 325 games.
As for Cody Glass, he was Vegas' first ever draft pick and went on to appear in 66 games with them during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons before being shipped to the Nashville Predators in a three-team deal that involved the Philadelphia Flyers. In 146 career games across parts of four seasons, Glass has 58 points.
It's safe to say that Jim Benning ultimately made the right choice by selecting Elias Pettersson fifth overall in 2017 because if the organization decided to go with Cody Glass, the majority of the fanbase would be extremely unhappy.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Pettersson should be the Canucks' next captain? | ||
| Yes | 269 | 47.1 % |
| No | 105 | 18.4 % |
| It'll be Quinn Hughes | 157 | 27.5 % |
| See Results | 40 | 7 % |
| List of polls | ||
