The Canuck Way
Fansided

Vancouver Canucks Midseason Awards: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

By David Joun

Nov 21, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen (36) and defenseman Christopher Tanev (8) and defenseman Alexander Edler (23) and forward Daniel Sedin (22) celebrate a third period goal by Sedin in the third period against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena. Vancouver won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen (36) and defenseman Christopher Tanev (8) and defenseman Alexander Edler (23) and forward Daniel Sedin (22) celebrate a third period goal by Sedin in the third period against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena. Vancouver won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 7
Next
Nov 14, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Vancouver Canucks right wing Adam Cracknell (24) warms up before playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Canucks 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Vancouver Canucks right wing Adam Cracknell (24) warms up before playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Canucks 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Unsung Hero: Adam Cracknell

Do not underestimate the power of Adam Cracknell.

More from The Canuck Way

Do you remember when you first encountered Cracknell’s name as a Vancouver Canuck? He was advertised as a depth signing that could provide leadership for the AHL Utica Comets. I recall commenting how his signing will increase the level of friendly competition in the Comets’ lineup — a good call by Benning as young guys like Brendan Gaunce, Hunter Shinkaruk, and Alex Grenier were filling up the roster.

The next encounter with him might be a rather pleasant one, on a night of Kraft Hockeyville’s preseason matchup against the San Jose Sharks. He had the overtime winner, a sniper’s shot, and gave his Prince Albert fans a terrific hockey story to enjoy for weeks to come.

Now he finds himself a regular in the Canucks lineup and was given the honour of bumping Chris Higgins out of the lineup, Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Talk about progression for the 30-year-old forward who anchored the fourth line in December that held high the Canucks’ secondary scoring torch.

Now Cracknell finds himself with three goals and five assists, a plus-four, and averaging over 12 minutes a game — all of which are career highs.

His skills are underrated, as seen in the Canucks’ Super-Skills competition. He went four-for-four on the accuracy challenge, quite impressive if you ask me, for a supposed fourth-line grinder. His value goes beyond his play — his $0.575M contract is the cheapest one of all the Canucks, and an extremely valuable one given his defensive goodness.

That assist on Sven Baertschi‘s goal? Perfect execution.

Next: Best Defenceman and Most Promising Player

Home/Canucks News