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Vancouver Canucks F Anton Rodin deserves a chance

By Janik Beichler

Oct 3, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Anton Rodin (17) skates against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period during a preseason hockey game at Rogers Arena. The Arizona Coyotes won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Anton Rodin (17) skates against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period during a preseason hockey game at Rogers Arena. The Arizona Coyotes won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Vancouver Canucks winger Anton Rodin returned to North America because he wanted to play — he needs a chance.

Going into the 2016-17 season, Vancouver Canucks fans had high hopes for Swedish winger Anton Rodin. The former Canucks draft pick (2009, 53rd overall) couldn’t establish himself in his first stint in North America but, after three years in Sweden, wanted another chance.

Rodin took that chance and ran with it, being one of the standouts in preseason. Scoring was a question mark at the beginning of the year as much as it is now, so Rodin was someone who could potentially help.

He couldn’t.

Instead, Rodin missed all but six games, three in the NHL and three with the AHL Utica Comets. The knee injury that had cut his 2015-16 season short was still bothering him.

So what’s next?

It’s a chance, not another

Yesterday I talked about the Canucks with a friend who asked me, “do you think Rodin deserves another chance?”

I thought about it for a second, likely with a very confused look on my face, and replied: “why do you say ‘another’?”

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This is something I have heard and read many times over the past months. The big question whether Rodin deserves another chance.

But how is this a question at all, and why is it worded that way?

Ex-Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins said he didn’t know what they had in Rodin, which still holds true today. Rodin is a highly talented player who could have an impact at the NHL level; we just need to see him play and figure out what his upside really is.

Rodin struggled mightily with injuries, so he never had a chance to prove himself. Even when he did play, he likely wasn’t 100 percent healthy. Had he been healthy for the few games he played, he would not have missed the majority of the season.

Rodin needs a chance. Not another one.

Contract and health

Therefore, the questions asked should be different ones.

Rodin is now a restricted free agent. At 26 years old, this might be his final chance to prove himself — if he gets it.

So, question one: are the Canucks willing to use one of their 50 contract spots on a total wild card? Who knows whether Rodin can ever play hockey at the highest level again. Maybe he’ll feel good to go once more but ends up missing all but a couple of games again. Is it worth the gamble?

Second, is Rodin willing to give it another try? Chances are, not playing at all and spending day after day trying to recover from a gruesome injury is not what Rodin had imagined. Will he continue his hockey career? Will he continue it in Vancouver?

Third, is he willing to go the long way through Utica again? Even for great NHL players like Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews or Erik Karlsson, missing one and a half seasons would be incredibly difficult to rebound from. A guy like Rodin, who might not be an NHL-level player at all, certainly can’t be thrown straight into the NHL and be expected to have an impact.

Next: Benning is wrong about European Stereotypes

There are many questions about Rodin’s future that require to be answered — but whether he deserves a chance sure isn’t one of them.

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