Key questions facing 6 Canucks players heading into this season
Terrific article by Harman Dayal at The Athletic, looking at key questions for every Canucks player heading into training camp.
We liked it so much we had Harman on our show, and decided to build off his idea with our own thoughts.
So the Welcome Matt will feature the three players and questions Iâm most interested in, and the Price Is Right will do likewise. And just for the record, weâll ask our own questions, not copy Dayalâs.
1. Who does Boeser play with?
For me, it starts with Brock Boeser and this doozy: who will be his centreman?
Whomever gets Boeser on his right wing will be considered the No. 1 centre by fans, even if coach Bruce Boudreau and the Canucks wonât use those labels.
Boeser is their purest goal-scorer, even with an upgrade on the wing this summer. If Boeser plays with J.T. Miller, thatâs a clear indication that Miller, coming off a 99-point season, is the top pivot and Elias Pettersson is No. 2.
There are egos and feelings and competitive natures involved here, and financial stakes for both. More readily Miller as he enters his last year before unrestricted free agency.
2. How good will Kuzmenko be?
My second player is rookie winger Andrei Kuzmenko. And the question, simply put: what is he?
Is he a play-driving top-six winger who will help Miller and/or Pettersson up their production? Or is he simply a middle-six winger with some offensive acumen?
There seems too much in his bio to be bust, so letâs not go there until he gives us reason to think him Fabian Brunnstrom.
3. Can Schenn do it again?
My third player is defenceman Luke Schenn. Can he be Quinn Hughesâ partner for another full season?
Granted, that is not simply a training camp question but a season-long query. But it starts next month when we get a look at who Boudreau plans to deploy with his No. 1 defenceman.
The Canucks have gotten so much out of Schenn. Heâs resurrected his career here, while becoming a dressing-room and fan favourite.
But he is masquerading as a top-four defenceman and Hughes partner. A contending team would have him on the third pair.
You can argue the Canucks are deficient on the right side of defence with Schenn, but any slippage in his play would spell catastrophe for this defence corps.
If weâre ranking the Canucks in terms of most important swirling questions before training camp, we need to have at least one moving star.
Iâve taken a player from three different tiers, because they affect each tier dramatically and therefore the depth of the team, but you need one guy from the elite core. That guy for me is Elias Pettersson.
4. What will we see from Pettersson?
Similar questions are being asked of J.T. Miller, but because we know Elias is back for sure, Iâm going there.
What is ânormalâ for Pettersson? Truly. Whatâs a baseline for the young swede, and what is the top line? We have seen a few iterations of the player in the short amount of time heâs been here, but one thing we clearly know is that when heâs going, so go the Vancouver Canucks.
Itâs no surprise that the second half was great for the Canucks, cause EP40 was great!
But the very definition of an NHL season is 82 games. And thatâs the approximate sample size of high performance we need to know he can do it. And do it with expectation, as opposed to the low pressure of an entry-level contract.
One can be confident in their belief that he can do it. But until we see it, we donât know.
5. Where will Höglander play?
We stay with Swedes for choice number 2. Is Nils Höglander an everyday NHLer?
Itâs really hard to believe Iâm asking that question, and we might not be with an another coach, but the early signs showed that Boudreau wasnât an early fan of Höglander’s work. And itâs not that heâs wrong. Höglander’s rookie campaign has a very real asterisk on it — it was a seven-team tournament.
Can he do it for 82 games, against 31 teams, with all that travel and grinding?
Weâll find out. And probably early on.
6. Can Martin rack up wins as an NHL backup?
And Finally, one of the least tenured players on the team, if not the least.
Is Spencer Martin an NHL backup? And the stat that may be the most indicative of his success may be the games played column. He needs to give Bruce Boudreau reason to play him. And the players need to trust him enough that they play their normal games in front of him, not worrying about protecting him.
If Martin holds his ground, or heavens, maybe even excels, the Canucks get a lot of bonus points over the previous year, where any start not belonging to Thatcher Demko was an adventure.