Poll: When Horvat Fits in, Who Sits?

After being sidelined in the preseason with a minor shoulder injury, Bo Horvat resumed practice with the Canucks earlier this week, and while he didn’t travel with the team for their 2-0 victory in Edmonton, it looks like it’s a matter of time before Willie Desjardins slots Horvat into the Canucks’ lineup for his NHL debut.

But, while excitement is running higher than a Grouse Mountain jogger for the Canucks’ no. 9 pick in 2013 to debut, this means that a current Canuck forward is going to find himself the odd man out in Horvat’s place. Now, if this was last year, we wouldn’t be sweating this at all. (Do we scratch Sestito? Dalpe? Not Jeremy Welsh?!) But this year, the Canucks find themselves with this confusing thing called forward depth…and for that reason picking the forward to pull out is going to be trickier than closing your eyes, pointing to the fourth line and saying THAT GUY.

So, with that in mind, I give you a possible selection of guys who could find themselves in the press box, and my various takes on why/why not they may/may not sit. In no particular order:

1. Derek Dorsett.

Why?

Well, he was brought in to replace Tom Sestito, so he’s probably the lowest on the depth chart in terms of pure hockey skill, or offensive upside (except, you know, he can actually skate and play, and draw penalties instead of just take them. Wait, how is he like Sestito again?)

Why Not?

Well, like I just said, he can skate and agitate and is defensively sound, while creating energy, havoc, and all those delightful stereotypical fourth-line qualities, without being a possession back hole. We even saw him chip in offensively in the pre-season by being tenacious and well-positioned, and he’s the closest to an ‘enforcer’ the team has without Sestito drawing in. There’s also the fact that we’ve already seen his value in being able to draw penalties: in last night’s game against the Oilers, he took a penalty, sure, but he also drew a big penalty later in the game, and created a heated scrum while doing so. There’s also the fact that he’s a Desjardins favourite from back in Medicine Hat, so I doubt he would draw out, at least not for an extended amount of time.

2. Shawn Matthias.

Why?

Well, he hasn’t been too noticeable in the first three games (although I thought last night was probably his strongest), and he’s shown that he’s not nearly as comfortable on the wing as he is down the middle, so it would be difficult to swing him over to the sides to make room for a center. As per war-on-ice.com he’s only drawing 44% on faceoffs, and has a -12 corsi rel% so far, meaning that the team is generating -12% less chances when he’s on the ice than when he’s not.

Why Not?

Well, it’s still early, and he’s still a young guy with hopefully more upside than what he’s shown, and more room to develop than say, Dorsett or Richardson, who we pretty much have a handle on, in terms of ceiling and overall abilities. The logic here, then, would suggest that it’s good to get Matthias more playing time, both to help him develop, and help the Canucks management better assess their asset.

3. Brad Richardson

Why?

Because while this guy does a lot of things right (faceoffs, penalty kill, overall defense), he’s just not a third line guy, and he’s dragging Vey and Kassian down offensively. There were a couple times last night where a good cycle, and offensive zone pressure just died as soon as it hit Richardson’s stick. There’s also the logic that Richardson is a veteran, who’s used to sitting out in Los Angeles, without it affecting his game, as much as it might a younger guy like Matthias.

Why Not?

Because all of those things I mentioned that he does right are pretty vital if we want to shelter a line of younger guys. Vey and Matthias have been not too great at faceoffs, (although it’s still early!) and giving Richardson PK and Defensive zone draws takes the pressure off of players who might need more sheltering still. (Problem is, he hasn’t been used this way, yet, truly, but I digress.)

4. Jannik Hansen.

Why?

No good reasons other than small sample bias.

Why not?

I think I used enough words on this already.

5. Zack Kassian

Why?

Some people are down on Kassian, because some people always seem to be down on him. I don’t really get it.

Why not?

Well, aside from the fact that he’s a good–albeit occasionally frustrating–player with tons of offensive upside, if he wasn’t around, we’d never get .gifs like this.  Plus, if Kassian goes all the way from the second line to the press box, Tony Gallagher might actually have a heart attack, and is that a risk we really want to run?

So, unless there’s a mystery option I’m forgetting, I think this about covers it. If I had to pick, I would say Matthias has the strongest case against him, especially if the Canucks are in “win now” mode, instead of developing. I think that taking Matthias out allows Horvat to audition for the third line position between Vey and Kassian, where he can hopefully anchor them in terms of faceoffs and defense, while allowing their offense a bit more range than it has had with Richardson. Richardson would be my second pick, but if all goes well with Horvat on the third line (and this is a big if, I realize), then I think Richardson sliding down to the fourth line, where he can give us all his defense without as much offensive expectation makes a lot more sense.

What does everyone else think?