Welcome Matt: 5 potential breakout players for the Canucks this season

Even if the stars are stars for the Vancouver Canucks, they need help.

As we’ve seen in previous seasons, Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, and Thatcher Demko are not enough. The bottom-six forwards and bottom-two defensive pairs have to do their part.

Bottom line: they need breakout players.

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Here are my picks to step up and help the Core 4 this season.

1. Nils Höglander

Now or never for Nils Höglander.

The 22-year-old winger can’t be demoted to Abbotsford without passing through waivers, so he needs to be an NHL player out the gate. That means better defensive detail, and continuing to do the work in the corners and along the walls that made him the darling of the Canucks’ Canadian Division season.

He’s capable.

2. Conor Garland

Conor Garland is a better player than he’s shown in two years with the Canucks. But he’s also proven difficult to play with because of his unorthodox style.

Enter Pius Suter. The free-agent centre is known for a high hockey IQ, and will likely spend some time with Garland on the wing. Time for some chemistry.

3. Akito Hirose

Like Chris Tanev and Jack Rathbone before him, Akito Hirose showed poise and comfort in an NHL cameo last year. Now it’s time to follow Tanev’s development path.

Hirose looked good at Young Stars, and was among the few Canucks who played well in the 10-0 preseason opener in Calgary. There are minutes available on the third pair, Hirose could well snatch them from the other contenders.

4. Vasily Podkolzin

Granted, Vasily Podkolzin is a longer shot right now. But if he gets his head right and his confidence back, he’s a big-bodied effort player with some skill, and the Canucks could use that profile of player forechecking in the bottom-six. It’s a profile that could endear him to head coach Rick Tocchet.

5. Arturs Silovs

Coming off an MVP performance at the World Championships, Arturs Silovs will get more time to marinate in the minors while Casey DeSmith backs up Demko.

But it’s not without question that he leapfrogs DeSmith at some point this year, or is called upon because of an injury. He did well in five NHL games last year.