Was everyone sleeping on Vancouver Canucks centre Filip Chytil?
Vancouver Canucks fans and the local media spent the entire offseason speculating about the team acquiring a second-line centre.
That’s for good reason. After trading J.T. Miller in January, the Canucks were looking thin up the middle. So thin, in fact, that president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford appeared to show his cards back in April.
“It’ll be expensive [to acquire a second-line centre], but it will also be very expensive not to get one,” Rutherford said in a now-famous quote. “So we’re going to be open to doing whatever it takes, and probably on the trade market, to get that player.”
The offseason came and went without the Canucks acquiring the centre they desired, though not for a lack of trying.
It made the position the biggest question mark coming into training camp.
But have we all just been sleeping on Filip Chytil?
Talk around Chytil usually includes a mention of his concussion history, and that’s obviously still a concern.
But he’s healthy now, and the 26-year-old Czech centre looked great on opening night.
He scored two third-period goals, including a beautiful breakaway marker, to help power Vancouver to an impressive 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames on opening night. And he came inches away from potting a third to complete the hat trick.
It was a statement game, even if Chytil is too humble to agree.
“No, I don’t care about it, honestly,” the 6-foot-2 centre said when asked about making a statement. “I just want to enjoy my game and what people are saying outside, I’m not paying attention to that. I let people [say] what they want. I will just do my things on the ice, and I will try to do my best to be best version of myself and helping the team as much as I can.”
It’s just one game, but Chytil should get every opportunity to improve on his career-high in goals (22), assists (23), and points (45) this season. Playing on a line with Conor Garland and Arshdeep Bains, Chytil certainly looked like a second-line centre. His speed was noticeable, and so was his skill.
He tallied a team-high five shots on goal in 16:25 of ice time, which included 3:06 on the power play.
Chytil said this summer that he wanted to become a better goal scorer. He worked with a skills coach in Czechia, trying to improve his shot and his touch around the net.
“I want to be the best version of myself, coming to the rink every day, work on the details on the ice, and making myself a better player. This was the first game, and there is still room to work on so many things,” Chytil said post-game.
What can he improve on? Chytil brought up the missed chance on what would have been his hat-trick goal. He says he needs to focus more on some things in the defensive zone.
“There is still so much room for improvement in every aspect of the game,” Chytil said. “That’s why I love it, coming to the rink every game.”