Another one down.
The Vancouver Canucks completed another item on their to-do list when they signed Brendan Gaunce to a new contract on Wednesday.
Gaunce, now 23, was drafted 26th overall by the Canucks back in 2012. With 77 NHL games under his belt, he is 1-5-6.
Click here for the full list of players chosen in the 2012 draft class. If you sort by points, Alex Galchenyuk (3rd overall, 204 pts) and Filip Forsberg (11th overall, 191 points) lead the list.
Overall, it was a not-so-great draft, but there were a few gems available—mostly defensemen. Players chosen after Gaunce in the draft who have had more offensive success include Tanner Pearson (30th, 103 pts), Shayne Gostisbehere (78th, 85 pts), Damon Severson (60th, 69 pts), Colton Parayko (86th, 68 pts) and Ben Hutton (147th, 44 pts).
Funnily enough, one of the other 2012 draftees with six points is goaltender Frederik Andersen, who was chosen 87th by Anaheim. He has produced as much offense as Gaunce, and that's not even his primary task!
In 57 NHL games last season, Gaunce tallied five assists, mostly as a fourth-line winger. He averaged 9:29 of ice time but couldn't score a goal.
He was sent down to Utica for a week in February, where he went 2-1-3 in four games, so he can find the net.
To prove it, here's a look at his one NHL goal. It came against Anders Lindback in Arizona, when a Chris Tanev shot deflected off his skate in a 4-3 road win over the Coyotes in Gaunce's second-ever NHL game on October 30, 2015.
Gaunce's season ended on March 9 last year, when he suffered a labrum tear in his shoulder that would result in season-ending surgery.
This is the second shoulder issue for Gaunce in his career. He also had a second-degree sprain while he was in junior, according to
Ben Kuzma of
The Province.
Gaunce has recently started skating in preparation for the new season.
Gaunce's offseason rehab could put him a step behind some of the other forwards that he'll be competing with for a job this year. At a $750,000 cap hit, his salary wouldn't be burdensome in the minors. He would need to clear waivers to be sent down to Utica this year—but if his health is still an issue at the beginning of the season, he could be sent down on a short-term rehab assignment for a couple of weeks that wouldn't require waivers.
Gaunce's health and his lack of offensive production work against him. On the plus side, he has a good pre-existing relationship with Travis Green from the two seasons they spent together with the Comets. He also has a reputation for playing the game 'the right way,' as they say—a hard worker who's willing to play physically and who shows good defensive responsibility.
Nothing will be guaranteed for Gaunce this season, but don't count him out, either.
To wrap up today, let's take a look at some sick goals from Canucks past, present and future.
Starting with past—hey there, Mason Raymond!
Raymond, now 31, is set to suit up for SC Bern of the Swiss League this season. Right now, he's competing for a spot on Canada's Olympic Roster at the Sochi Hockey Open.
As for the present—another day, another sweet show from Brock Boeser in Minnesota's Da Beauty League:
And for the future—yeah, it's a skills competition, but Elias Pettersson's looking Bure-esque here, isn't he?
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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