7 fun facts about newest Canuck Jack Studnicka

Oct 28 2022, 6:56 pm

Jack Studnicka is the newest member of the Vancouver Canucks, and his arrival comes at a key time.

The Canucks are in the win column, although they got there in spite of mounting injuries. Earlier in the week. both Curtis Lazar and Brock Boeser were put on IR. That meant the Canucks had to recall AHL forwards Sheldon Dries and Will Lockwood.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin acquired further reinforcements on Thursday night when he traded goaltender Michael DiPietro and prospect Jonathan Myrenberg to the Boston Bruins for 23-year-old Studnicka.

Here are seven fun facts about the newest member of the Canucks.

1. He knows Michael DiPietro very well

How’s this for irony?

The two players under NHL contracts in this trade have reportedly known each other for a long time, according to an interview with Studnicka’s family back in 2018.

“I think the community is really excited, not only for Jack but for also Michael DiPietro,” Studnicka’s mother, Mary Beth Laing, said. “The two boys have played together for a long time.”

Studnicka’s hometown of Tecumseh, Ontario, is about a half-hour drive away from DiPietro’s birthplace of Amherstburg, Ontario.

According to Elite Prospects, Studnicka and DiPietro were only on two teams together: Canada’s U17 team back in 2015-16, and Canada’s World Junior squad back in 2018-19.

2. Studnicka had a Cameo account

Well, it looks like Studnicka and his new head coach have something in common. The former Bruin had a Cameo account, where people can pay to have celebrities and well-known personalities send birthday messages.

And, just like Boudreau, Studnicka’s Cameo account is temporarily unavailable.

3. He models his game after Tyler Bozak

After Studnicka was drafted by the Boston Bruins 53rd overall in 2017, he cited former Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues centre Tyler Bozak as someone he models his game after.

“What you can expect from me is someone who takes pride in the defensive zone, can be trusted in all three zones,” he said. “But at the same time can contribute to offence and put up some numbers.”

4. Torey Krug’s father coached Studnicka in the OHL

For a brief period of time, Studnicka was teammates with talented defenceman Torey Krug during his initial cup of coffee in the NHL in the 2019-20 season.

Funny enough, Studnicka was coached by Krug’s father, Kyle Krug, when he played for Belle Tire’s U16 Midget team back in 2014-15.

“Kyle really developed my defensive game,” Studnicka said in an interview with Hometown Life. “He was kind of telling me, ‘I won’t tell you how to play offence because it will take care of itself,’ but as long as I’m taking pride in the defensive zone that the offence will come. He really got it through my head that the defensive zone is important.”

5. Studnicka captained his OHL team for two seasons

Studnicka spent four seasons playing in the Ontario Hockey League for the Oshawa Generals. He captained the squad for his last two seasons with the franchise. During his last OHL season, he was traded to the Niagara Ice Dogs, where he was immediately named an assistant captain.

In all, Studnicka logged 252 games in the OHL, amassing 80 goals and 153 helpers.

6.  He was once considered the Bruins’ top prospect

Back in 2020, Boston Bruins blog Stanley Cup of Chowder touted Jack Studnicka as the organization’s No. 1 prospect.

Studnicka looked like a can’t-miss prospect back in 2020. He registered 23 goals and 49 points in 60 games during his rookie season in the AHL. That led to him being named both an AHL All-Star and part of the AHL All-Rookie Team.

He also played a handful of NHL games that season, which included five games in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

7. Progression flatlined prior to trade

That 2019-20 campaign as it stands was the peak in Studnicka’s development.

He wasn’t able to crack the Bruins roster full-time in either of the next two seasons. Then, prior to this season, he made the roster, but that was largely due to the fact that he would have to pass through waivers if the Bruins decided to return him to their AHL squad.

Studnicka has played in only one game this season and it didn’t go well. He played only 8:01, took two minor penalties, and was stripped of the puck on the Anaheim Ducks’ only goal of the game.

“His initial onboarding was really good,” general manager Don Sweeney told The Athletic. “Trajectory was really good. During the COVID year, which was disjointed for a lot of players, he just kind of stalled just a little bit. Then it was up and down. Opportunities in and out. No fault of Jack’s. Maybe more fault on ours in terms of not being able to get him fully acclimated to the level he had been playing at in the AHL and producing.”

Surely, the Canucks are hoping a change of scenery does Studnicka some good. He’s under contract for the next two seasons at a cap hit of $762,500.

Trevor BeggsTrevor Beggs

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