About a year ago, defenceman Matt Brassard started to generate some talk as the rare seventh-round draft pick who might be able to make it to the NHL.

He was in his draft year plus-one season when the Canucks drafted him out of the Oshawa Generals of the OHL, but his 51 points in 67 games definitely stood out as a late round pic in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. 

This year, as a 20-year-old, he’s split time between Oshawa and the Niagara IceDogs, scoring a total of 56 points in 65 games. Yes, he’s been one of the older players in the league this season, and yes, Niagara is stacked, but those are still impressive numbers.

Indeed, he finished ninth in scoring among OHL defencemen, one point ahead of another Canucks prospect, Mitch Eliot. Brassard is also (slightly) younger than Eliot.

Both rearguards shoot right-handed, and both project to play similar games. Brassard is taller and heavier though. Of course, Eliot is from Prince George, which may have endeared him to the Canucks.

In any case, it seems Eliot has beaten out Brassard on the Canucks' depth chart, with the team deciding not to sign Brassard to an entry level deal. He will thus re-enter the draft. 

The Canucks probably figured they weren’t going to sign Brassard when they inked Eliot to an entry level deal in December. So this was more or less a formality, especially given the fact the Canucks are currently at 48 of the 50 allowed contracts. Signing Brassard may have hampered their flexibility in the offseason.

Canucks fans can probably rest assured with the fact that seventh-round picks are obvious longshots to make the NHL. Though the decision to sign Eliot over Brassard is interesting. We will definitely be tracking those two, and we’ll also be keeping an eye on whether Brassard is picked (again) in the upcoming draft. We’re guessing a team will take a chance on the rookie.

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