The big, scoring centre is hockey’s version of the Holy Grail. By which I mean you spend your life searching for it, only to notice that your arch-rival already has one.
Vancouver has seldom had a true number one pivot. Recently Henrik Sedin has brought fans endless joy. It’s no surprise that the 2011 squad made it to the Stanley Cup Finals during Hank’s tenure.
Henrik’s emergence fundamentally improved the team; he’s skilled, he’s consistent, he’s durable, and sadly he’s going to retire pretty soon.
That’s why you may have heard a few plaintive PITB cries for Vancouver to seek their next number one guy.
Bo Horvat looks really good, but it doesn’t seem fair or prudent to load him with the lion’s share of the offensive responsibilities. I believe the team’s best chances lie in selecting another centre to shoulder that burden as a duo.
So might Cody Glass be that player?
He made some headlines earlier this year when his coach (and former Pittsburgh bench boss) Mike Johnston suggested that Glass closely resembled another Portland Winterhawk: Ryan Johansen.
That’ll turn some heads. Indeed Glass put up better numbers than Johansen at a similar age. His 94 points in 69 games led the ‘Hawks in scoring, and placed him seventh in WHL scoring. (It’s worth noting that Glass was by far the youngest player in that top seven.)
Numbers can pretty easily be inflated in the CHL, but Glass is notable because the majority of his points were scored at even strength; he notched just 28 points on the power play. Further, a whopping 36 of his assists were primary.
He plays a strong transition game, he’s defensively responsible, and he frequently capitalizes on the rush. Most intriguingly, many scouts have noted his exceptional hockey IQ, meaning he gets to the right place at the right time. You have my attention.
So why isn’t he anticipated to be selected in the top three? Well, he might, actually.
Glass is a fast riser, and general managers have been known to value that attribute over scout favourites. Just last season Columbus opted to select Pierre-Luc Dubois over consensus pick Jesse Puljujarvi. That choice may yet bite them, but Jarmo Kekalainen felt Dubois’ fast ascent projected well for the Blue Jackets. Will that happen again this year with Glass? Hard to say, but many suspect the Stars will lean towards taking a defenceman, possibly Miro Heiskanen, at third overall.
The centre is not without his knocks. He’s reasonably fast, but critics have noted a clumsy skating stride and awkward first few steps. He’s also not an overtly physical player, likely because of a late growth spurt: he was 5'9", 140 lbs when he was drafted into the WHL in 2014. Now he stands 6’2, but he’s still a bit of a beanpole, and he’s still got room to improve his initial quickness and overall assertiveness.
The other question mark is if he'll be a true number one centre. While reliable, smart, and reasonably creative, he lacks the dynamic quality that you might hope for from a true number one pivot.
Still, the red flags are absent. No reports of attitude issues, no evidence of lazy play, no glaring skating deficiencies. By all rights he seems like the kind of forward coaches love. And there's something to be said for having two responsible two-way centres in your top-six: if Glass develops as expected, he and Horvat would make a good one-two punch.
If he’s available at fifth overall, the question isn’t really what Glass lacks, it’s whether a different centre has more to offer for the Canucks.
Regardless of who Vancouver picks, with this prospect I’d have to say that the Glass… is half full. Ohhh yeaaaaah.
