Season’s done, “Garbage Bag Day” is finished, media meetings have happened. Now we can look back at the year and give the Canucks players their report cards. Management and coaching staff will hear from us all off-season long, so they aren’t off the hook.
The season ended fittingly. Vancouver scored first and looked decent, if cautious, but don’t get a second one. One player agitates an opponent enough for them to get angry, score, and seal the deal. And Vancouver’s starting goaltender was unable to complete the game. So good microcosm, everyone!
Canucks Player Report Cards
That Canucks player was was, for the record, Kiefer Sherwood irritating Jack Eichel. With the game at 2-1 for Vegas in the third and the Golden Knights in lockdown mode, Sherwood got some hits going. Eichel was having none of it, and shortly controlled the puck in Vancouver’s end, popped it out, and went to the front himself. Against Sherwood, and Eichel let him know.
That’s the sort of thing that star players can do, and despite all his injury history, Jack Eichel is a star player. Somehow, he’s had the quietest 94-point career season of any player in the league. The Canucks own star player has had a somewhat worse time of it this season. But that is still the best place to start.
The Regulars
Yes, injuries played their part on the effectiveness of the defence. But so did overhauling the blueline mid-season. We’re only going to do the Canucks player report cards for ones who were on the team at season’s end. And no, a handful of games doesn’t count.
Quinn Hughes – A+
Last year’s James Norris Memorial Trophy winner was not only back, but had elevated his game once again. Quinn Hughes eight goals and 42 points through the first 34 games was a 100-point pace. Ridiculous for most defencemen, ludicrous for one on a team this disjointed.
It came at a price, with Hughes playing over 26 minutes per game seventeen times – and once under six minutes after being ejected. He collected half of this season’s penalty minutes in that game. That aside, injuries started to pile up, and he tried to play through them. And when he couldn’t, he tried to return too soon.
A wrist injury reduced his shot. An oblique injury slowed his stick handling. A knee injury – likely sustained because he came back too soon from the oblique injury – took his speed. And through all that, plus everything happening off the ice, plus never shirking his captain’s duties? He still led the team with 16 goals and 76 points. That’s 50% more than any Canucks forward.
Filip Hronek – B
When things go wrong at the top, the Canucks are lucky enough to have the very talented Filip Hronek to take his spot. They’d be luckier if Hronek also didn’t miss a quarter of the season due to injury. At least his lost games all came at once, missing 21 games from late November to mid-January.
Reporters may hate it when Hronek is taking his turn talking to them, but he does his job on the ice. He still plays a bit more cautiously when paired with Hughes at 5-on-5, but this year the team has seen him elsewhere. When Marcus Pettersson arrived, the coach put him with Hronek, and that immediately improved the team’s depth.
Hronek is perfectly capable of playing with Pettersson and Derek Forbort, but he’s at his best with Hughes. The team would like him to carry his own pairing, leaving a Hughes-Hronek duo in case of emergencies. He’s not “letter” material, but he’s proven his worth on the ice. That didn’t change this year.
Tyler Myers – C+
If any player on the Vancouver Canucks benefited from the 2023-24 coaching change, it was Tyler Myers. He was freed up to go on the attack more frequently, and that hasn’t changed. It’s led to some adventurous moments, but so long as he stayed on the third pair, that could be managed.
That’s the story every year, and every year, he works his way to the middle pairing or up with Quinn Hughes. This season was no different, as he was supposed to play with Carson Soucy, ended up with Marcus Pettersson, and still had the most ice time with Hughes.
Myers does his job, even if it’s sometimes hard to believe. He’s a big guy who loves to take chances. Those chances work more often than not, but when they don’t, there is no one more visible on the ice. Still, his six goals and 24 points over 71 games are a nice addition to his game rather than a description of it.
Marcus Pettersson – B
Just because new Canucks defenceman Marcus Pettersson has an equal score on his report card than Hronek doesn’t mean he’s an equivalent player. It does mean he played his role very well, and his role is one the team has been looking for. At the beginning of the season, questions abounded regarding their middle pair, just like all of last season. It took until February to find an answer.
That answer cost a lot, giving next year’s New York Rangers first-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Well, there’s a very, very faint chance they take this season’s pick, but that would require various miracles to happen first. This far before the draft lottery, it’s safe to assume the Rangers are keeping their pick.
Pettersson played just 31 games with Vancouver, but has been exactly what was needed. Splitting his time with either Hronek or Myers, he was stability with skill the team has been looking for. Don’t look to him for points, but he’s a fine match with Hronek.
The Part-Timers
Derek Forbort – C+
Like a lot of the team, Derek Forbort started the year rough. Injuries plagued him early, costing him two- and three-week stretches. It was hard to see how the big journeyman could contribute. It was subtle, but a glance at the team’s short-handed record since his return speaks volumes. The free agent is not likely to return, but he might be harder to replace than you think.
Victor Mancini – C
Don’t get us wrong – Victor Mancini did fine in his run with Vancouver. But he is a rookie defenceman, and he made plenty of mistakes while he was up, too. Still, he’s got great size, some offence, and he plays on the right side. He might not start 2025-26 in Vancouver, but they know he’s available in an emergency.
Elias Pettersson – A
Speaking of rookies… Elias Pettersson is much more than anyone expected when he was drafted in 2022. His confidence is through the roof for a 21-year-old in his first pro season in North America. He played half the year in the AHL before making the jump, and everyone wants to keep him.
He played very sheltered minutes at first, but coach Rick Tocchet eventually stopped trying to protect him. He’s physical and fearless, even getting into the first fight of his life against Logan O’Connor. He didn’t get papered down, so won’t be playing in Abbotsford for their playoff run. But he might never play in Abbotsford again.
Noah Juulsen – C-
Noah Juulsen is in that “good foot soldier” category of player. He’ll do whatever’s needed whenever he has the chance and brings a physical element often missing from the team. Injuries limited his season to just 35 games. He’s an unrestricted free agent and has a two-way deal with a high-end AHL cost and cap minimum in Vancouver. He might get the same again.
The Missing Canucks Report Cards
We realize those grades look quite good for a team that did so poorly, but there are a lot of players we haven’t listed. Carson Soucy, Erik Brännstrom, and Vincent Desharnais all played sizable roles, and Juulsen probably shouldn’t have had one. That’s just how the year shook out.
There is certainly potential in the AHL, but two games from Kirill Kudryavtsev and three from Guillaume Brisebois aren’t moving any needles just yet. And individual players doing well doesn’t mean the entire team will. Vancouver finished 18th in the league, and it shows.
Main Photo: Bod Frid- Imagn Images
The post Vancouver Canucks Player Report Cards: Defence appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.