Vancouver Canucks
3 Reasons the Canucks Are Good Now and Will be in the Future?
The Vancouver Canucks got eliminated during Round Two of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That was a successful season. Why is this team so good?
Not surprisingly, the Vancouver Canucks are out of the playoffs for the 2019-20 season. No one thought they would come as far as they did, and the surprise is not that they are out of the playoffs but that the team got there. Admit it: even die-hard optimistic Canucks fans were surprised.
Perhaps even more of a surprise, the Canucks emerged from the season as perhaps the best Canadian-based team – better than the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers, the Winnipeg Jets – everyone. Honestly, by the time the ice chips had settled for Canada’s teams, it would be hard to rank any of the Canadian-based teams ahead of the Canucks.
What makes the Canucks such a good team? And, more important, why will they continue to be a good team going into the 2020–21 season? In this post, I’ll try to outline three key reasons why they’re such a good team.
Related: Tyler Toffoli Open to Discussing Contract With Canucks
Reason #1: The Canucks Have Good Leadership
When I think of the Canucks leadership, I want to focus on two specific formal leaders. First, head coach Travis Green seems to have his head screwed on straight. I have no idea what he’s like in the locker room or on the bench, but he seems to be able to pull his troops together, create successful game plans that build upon the team’s unique skills and mediate their weaknesses, he seems able to motivate and build good team chemistry.
The second person in formal a leadership positionis this season’s new captain Bo Horvat. Most Canucks fans have known for many seasons Horvat was being groomed for leadership. This season, he took over the captaincy; and, he led both by inspiration and example. He was the team’s spokesperson; he supported his colleagues on the ice; and, he encouraged and motivated. If all goes normally for his career, but the time he retires he’ll be remembered as one of the best Canucks’ leaders of all time.
Reason #2: The Canucks Have a Great Young Core
There are many fine young players on the Vancouver Canucks; however, it’s hard not to look at Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Boeser without envisioning a bright future. Now we can add a fourth – Thatcher Demko.
First, Elias Peterson is a second-year player who last season developed and showed a great deal of skill. In fact, he was the winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie. It was deserved. This season, especially during the playoffs, Pettersson took his game to a new level.
He was constantly beaten on by the opposition, but he never fought back – with his fists anyway. However, he thought back on the scoreboard. He never seemed frustrated; he never showed fear; he didn’t allow what was done to him impact his game. And it worked: he was one of the leaders in point totals for the playoffs throughout the NHL.
Second, Quinn Hughes is simply amazing when the puck. He’s cool as a cucumber, and he’s skillful. He seems to be able to skate anywhere on the ice, always seeing the entire ice surface at one time. Although he makes mistakes, as rookies will – particularly in a difficult and high-pressure position like defense. However, you can just see Hughes’ mind working when he’s on the ice.
Patient and skillful, he’s willing to wait for a play to develop rather than panic and push. Like Peterson, he was also beaten on by the opposition. However, he too pushed back where it counted the most – on the score sheet. You could see him growing each game during the playoffs. He’s going to be one of the fine defensemen in the NHL, regardless of size.
Third, and who would have probably guessed this at the beginning of the playoffs, Thatcher Demko proved that he too – one day, or maybe even now, is going to be one of the best young goalies in the NHL. Rumor even has it that he’s supplanted Jacob Markstrom as the Vancouver Canucks goalie of the near future. I’m not sure that’s entirely correct, but he certainly has really looked good – even on this small sample size.
In short, the Canucks best defenseman is Hughes – a 20-year-old rookie. Their franchise center is Pettersson – who’s only 21. Their first-line winger is Brock Boeser – only 23. The team’s captain is Bo Horvat – only 25. That’s a young Canucks’ team and they’ve now had their first taste of the playoffs. They’ll want more.
Related: Insider Suggests Demko Stole Job, Canucks To Move On From Markstrom
Reason #3: The Canucks Have Great Leadership on the Rest of the Team
The Canucks have a fine young core, but they also have a quiet and efficient group of other players. The stars led the team, but certainly it was a full-team effort. Tyler Motte emerged from the shadows as a leader in the penalty kill and a hustling disruptor. He now has to be considered one of the most valuable bottom-six players on the team. The team certainly wouldn’t have gone as far as they did without his blue nosed tendencies and hard work.
As part of this second line group, the Canucks certainly are one of the best shot blocking teams I’ve seen recently. J.T. Miller constantly puts his body in harm’s way and still has plenty of energy left to lead the team in scoring. That was true during the regular season, and it didn’t stop in postseason play. As well, the defense was fearless in shot blocking. As shot blockers, that group is totally underrated.
Specifically, veteran defenseman Alexander Edler totaled 13 more shot blocks than anyone else in the playoffs (with 67). Interestingly, his teammate Chris Tanev (with 54 shot blocks) came in second. By the way, these veteran defensemen (both Edler and Tanev) averaged more than 22 minutes TOI per game. Tanev also showed himself to be the perfect partner for young Hughes.
There are other reasons I want to mention quickly. First, the Canucks’ top-six of J.T. Miller, Pettersson, and Brock Boeser is as good as any in the NHL. Their second line of Tanner Pearson and center Horvat and whomever (maybe Jake Virtanen or on a long shot Tyler Tofolli) is also solid and can match up against any of the NHL’s best lines. The second line also adds offence.
The team also has an ability to draw penalties. That makes the power play – at least during the regular season – potent. It’s a simple logic: take lots of penalties and score when you have the man advantage. Those two things make the Canucks special-teams powerful.
Specifically, Elias Pettersson is a penalty-drawing machine. On the other side of the coin, he only took a single minor penalty himself in the playoffs. That gave him an NHL-leading 12 power plays generated. That’s a huge impact. But, Peterson’s not alone. Young Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher also drew 13 penalties, but he was penalized five times himself. Still, that’s a net gain of eight power plays created.
Why the Canucks Lost to the Golden Knights?
Thomas Drance, in reviewing the Canucks season, called it simply. It was the Golden Knights time, and the “Canucks’ time is still to come.”
This Canucks team is young, exciting, and tightly-knit. If Jim Benning does as good a job in the future as he did prior to this season, the team will continue to build something special.
The team has problems to fix – for example, it gives up too many good scoring attempts. The team is not “quite” ready to contend – close but not yet. But that day might come much sooner than people expect. (from “Where do the Canucks go from here after season of promise and progress?, Thomas Drance, The Athletic, 05/09/20).
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