Canucks quietly have the deepest forward group in the league

[iCanada]

Well the Oilers do have this guy named McDavid...weird to even compare the two, really.

Well, I've been told Elias Petterson is the best player in Canada.

Elias Pettersson is the best player in the NHL’s all-Canadian North Division

One thing sets Pettersson apart from the other stars for Canadian teams.

www.vancouverisawesome.com

 

[Rob Brown]

Well, I've been told Elias Petterson is the best player in Canada.

Elias Pettersson is the best player in the NHL’s all-Canadian North Division

One thing sets Pettersson apart from the other stars for Canadian teams.

www.vancouverisawesome.com

 

[Duodenum]

Meh, we've got some depth but our top end talent is lacking.
Pettersson and Boeser need to take the next step otherwise we'll be a middle of the pack offensive team. I don't really have much belief in Boeser but Pettersson should have another gear, just hasn't sustained it yet for a full season.
Kuzmenko is a wildcard - could just as easily be a bust or a contributor
Miller is also a wildcard as to whether he'll repeat his career year

 

[BouchBaby]

How much of a problem was it for Makar this last year?

Take a look at Makar's size compared to Hughes.. Makar is slightly undersized while Hughes has alot less thickness and a few less inches. Hughes will have to bulk up a ton IMO and if he does then maybe ill feel different about his own zone ability.

 

[logan5]

I would choose big fast Defensemen and you can take your small guys and we shall have differing takes on what type of D our team needs to win. Best of luck to Hughes and your Canucks, we can discuss this after next season if you want too.

Hughes is a great defensive player. I would be curious to hear an example of a big fast defenseman you would take over Hughes.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

Hughes is a great defensive player.

 

[BouchBaby]

Hughes is a great defensive player. I would be curious to hear an example of a big fast defenseman you would take over Hughes.

Great defensive players need to be able to command the front of the net on the PK and when the other teams top lines are on the ice, I dont want my top pair Dman to be bullied by other teams PWF in front. I think Hughes has almost everything you want in a Dman but the nasty, physical side which i personally value very highly. Chris Pronger is my all time fave for this, and Nurse from 2 seasons ago before he got injured was eye opening and the reason he got such a big contract.

 

[sting101]

Take a look at Makar's size compared to Hughes.. Makar is slightly undersized while Hughes has alot less thickness and a few less inches. Hughes will have to bulk up a ton IMO and if he does then maybe ill feel different about his own zone ability.

It's ridiculous and you know it. Was Girard Byram and Makar pounding teams into submission while they steamrolled the league?

No nobody could catch them. And 1 inch and 7lbs is not worth arguing over

If you are below average in transition and lack offensive ability then i could see where it becomes an issue but nobody could sustain much because they were chasing or being chased down

Hughes is a top10 talent. He's a 1 man break out machine and has become a PKer and has teams on their heels when he's on the ice. He can skate with the best of forwards and his crossovers are almost unparalleled. The greatest aspect is his intelligence.

He puts himself into positions to succeed with a good stick and positioning it's rarely an issue but yes i guess if he was 6ft 3" and added a ridiculous reach to his size we would be talking about a generational talent but as is he's still a gamechanger

 

[sting101]

View attachment 575635

yes he's not there yet.

2020/21 he was pretty bad but he also lost Chris Tanev and had a sophomore slump year
21/22 was a revelation. Started killing penalties logged huge minutes and rarely got beat by power moves or anything resembling poor decisions bad passes reads etc.. Sure he's a small guy but he's packed on some muscle and i bet the way he conducts himself with his determination and training that the best is yet to come.

The thing that he needs to work the most on is his shot to be honest. I think his defensive game will continue to mature and is already far from a negative but if he can get strong enough to snap pucks with decent velocity and add some speed to his slapper....look out

 

[BouchBaby]

It's ridiculous and you know it. Was Girard Byram and Makar pounding teams into submission while they steamrolled the league?

No nobody could catch them. And 1 inch and 7lbs is not worth arguing over

If you are below average in transition and lack offensive ability then i could see where it becomes an issue but nobody could sustain much because they were chasing or being chased down

Hughes is a top10 talent. He's a 1 man break out machine and has become a PKer and has teams on their heels when he's on the ice. He can skate with the best of forwards and his crossovers are almost unparalleled. The greatest aspect is his intelligence.

He puts himself into positions to succeed and a good stick and positioning it's rarely an issue but yes i guess if he was 6ft 3" and added a ridiculous reach to his size we would be talking about a generational talent but as is he's still a gamechanger

I dont think Girard is that great, ive seen Drai give him the reverse hit and take him completely out of the play. Makar has the ability to hold his own in front compared to Hughes and Girard who look head and shoulders smaller than most guys on the ice. Ive watched all these Dmen for years and Makar is certainly more physical than either of them.. I actually played for the Brooks Bandits a few years before he did too.

 

[sting101]

To stay on the thread topic. A lot has to go right for it to be a consideration

Podkolzin Kuzmenko Hoglander are unproven as scorers at this point
Michayev helps -should be 15-20 and some help retrieving pucks which will help his linemates
Millers future is a questionmark but appears to be going nowhere yet

I think it's fair to say that Garland Pettersson Horvat and Boeser should be better than last year.

Pettersson being healthy and in shape with a renewed focus should be a top15 scorer.
Horvat had Covid effects that really hurt his start last year and then finished on LTIR when he started flying. He's a bit of a slow starter anyway traditionally but last year was really bad.
Boeser i mean what can you say there. Guy broke down at the season ender press conference about how tough last year was for him with his father dying. The previous season was our best forward. I expect 30 goals in his sleep i really do.
Garland had pretty decent production last year but was a really odd fit most games. Never really settled into a riole and he talked about it at the end of season also. He vowed to be much better and i know all players say that kind of stuff but i get the feeling that familiarity a better more competitive group could offer a situation for more productivity.

Not the deepest without a lot of optimism though so kinda funny topic on the main boards as we havent proven anything yet

 

[logan5]

View attachment 575635

Then you have not watched him play. Most of the time a forward rush will result in a shoot in or play along the boards. This is where Hughes is elite. He retrieves the puck and gets it out almost every time. Most defencemen cough up the puck half the time when they are rushed. Hughes is a great penalty killer as well.

 

[Diehard Devil]

"Miller, Pettersson, Horvat, that’s 90-100 goals alone down the middle. I don’t think there’s any team with that type of scoring punch down the middle."
- Leafs had 110+ goals from their Centres last season.

"Not to mention Boeser having a down year last season due to family reasons. He’s easily good for 25 goals on the wing."
- Meh. Leafs had 35 goal Marner, and 34 goal Nylander on the wings. Many other teams have that too.

"Then you have another 25, potential 30 goal scorer in Mikheyev"
- LMAO at Mikheyev getting anywhere close to 30 goals. Too funny.

"Demko is a top 5 goaltender in the league"
- He's a good one, but Shesterkin, Vasilevsky, Sorokin, Saros, Markstrom, Andersen, Jarry are all better.

"and there’s Hughes and OEL (albeit overpaid) are 2 elite defenseman who make their partners much better than they are"
- LOL @ calling OEL ELITE.

You might need to calm down.

I dont think theres a chance in Devil's hell that Jarry is a better goaltendee than Thatcher Demko

 

[LemonSauceD]

"Miller, Pettersson, Horvat, that’s 90-100 goals alone down the middle. I don’t think there’s any team with that type of scoring punch down the middle."
- Leafs had 110+ goals from their Centres last season.

"Not to mention Boeser having a down year last season due to family reasons. He’s easily good for 25 goals on the wing."
- Meh. Leafs had 35 goal Marner, and 34 goal Nylander on the wings. Many other teams have that too.

"Then you have another 25, potential 30 goal scorer in Mikheyev"
- LMAO at Mikheyev getting anywhere close to 30 goals. Too funny.

"Demko is a top 5 goaltender in the league"
- He's a good one, but Shesterkin, Vasilevsky, Sorokin, Saros, Markstrom, Andersen, Jarry are all better.

"and there’s Hughes and OEL (albeit overpaid) are 2 elite defenseman who make their partners much better than they are"
- LOL @ calling OEL ELITE.

You might need to calm down.

Look at OEL’s defensive stats, they were elite level last season. And Demko is easily better than Saros, Jarry, and Sorokin.

 

[hamzarocks]

Dude if mikheyev gives you 15 goals be happy

He's not a goal scorer.

He blows breakaways routinely and has little finish

21 goals was an anomaly for him this year.

15 goals and 20ish assists with strong defense is what is fair expectations for him.

 

[logan5]

Dude if mikheyev gives you 15 goals be happy

He's not a goal scorer.

He blows breakaways routinely and has little finish

21 goals was an anomaly for him this year.

15 goals and 20ish assists with strong defense is what is fair expectations for him.

He must have been doing something right. His line mates were defensive specialists with not much offensive ability, but he still got 21 goals in only 53 games. His shooting % shot in, so obviously he has learned to finish his chances.

In Vancouver he is going to play with much better forwards so he will get more scoring chances to offset a fall back in his shooting %. We will see.

 

[lightstorm]

The lineup could have many changes but ngl it looks deep

View attachment 575325

Nils Hoglander, one of Jim Dims draft history's Crown Jewels is on the 4th line??

 

[HockeyWooot]

It’s a weird post, deepest is a huge reach. I do think the Canucks will surprise some though.

 

[Alienblood]

Take a look at Makar's size compared to Hughes.. Makar is slightly undersized while Hughes has alot less thickness and a few less inches. Hughes will have to bulk up a ton IMO and if he does then maybe ill feel different about his own zone ability.

MAKAR IS 6'0 205

 

[Canuckle]

It's a deep group for sure, but I think it hinges on Petterson and Kuzmenko being better than people expect and Miller repeating and Boeser bouncing back. If not then it's mediocrity again.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

I'd give their forwards a B or B+, goaltending an A and their D I'd like to give a D, for symmetry's sake, but in actuality is probably a C.

And no, it's not "the deepest forward group in the league", not by a long shot... but it's fine, good even.

 

[TheRumble]

Count me in on the Mikeyhev 30 goal campaign. I think the rest of the post is delusional homerism but Mikeyhev is capable of 30 goals.

1) Canucks need to have a good PK, Mikeyhev in open ice is a legit weapon. He's part of the reason why the Leafs PK was so dangerous last year. He'll get you a few goals here.

2) Mikeyhev is a good player defensively and can be trusted to be on the ice in 5v6 situations. He's good for a few empty netters if he's given the chance.

3) Mikeyhev had 21 goals in 53 games last year. Is in that hard to believe that he'd get 9 more goals in - lets be conservative and say 20 more games? Not even giving him a full season here.

 

[QuinnsQuest]

Poor Mikeheyev when Vancouver fans inevitably realize he ain't worth that contract. Great pk depth forward.. potential 30 goal guy?? Lol.

Vancouver is not in the same class as the top teams sorry

So he had his best season last year and now he’s peaked and career decline?

 

[QuinnsQuest]

I think people forget the Canucks have a few players on the verge of really breaking out. I wouldn't be surprised to see big years from:

Pettersson
Boeser
Podkolzin
Hughes
Miller

Then an abundance of depth scoring in Garland/Horvat/Kuzmenko/Mikheyev/Hoglander/Pearson

They're defiantly not the best, but I'd say at least top 10 forward group. I also really like the 4th line with Joshua-Lazar. Might just bookmark this thread so I can respond to all the blatant Canucks haters come next April. 15th-20th now that's some funny shit.

Their biggest issue is reducing goals against. Especially on the PK. The new additions all seem to address that. So Increased scoring may be possible but just maintaining the goal pace as a group should be enough. The ingredients are there for improvement.

 

[QuinnsQuest]

Putting whether or not the Canucks are deep aside, some people are confusing "deep" for "best". A deep group of forwards can still be average overall if you lack elite talent at the top.

So they don’t have the most elite players in the league but a collection of good ones that can be deep? So that’s not good?