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
7 of 7
Next
Dec 15, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenceman Ben Hutton (27) skates with the puck in the second period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 15, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenceman Ben Hutton (27) skates with the puck in the second period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

Honourable Mentions

Ben Hutton

Ben Hutton has been the best Canucks rookie skater and has claimed the third defenceman slot in Hamhuis’ absence. Although no goals and nine assists are not the gaudiest of numbers, Hutton is doing everything right in his rookie campaign. He got 49.5 percent of his shots on net, the best of all Vancouver defenceman not named Alex Biega.

Although his minus-eight is not a bright spot on his resume, his ability to skate the puck, flank the rush, and slow down the tempo on the break-outs is sublime. Hutton‘s defensive play could be more refined, though. The need to get stronger and tougher on the puck is there.

Alex Biega

I could not believe my eyes when I realized that Biega is averaging 20 more seconds of ice time than Hutton was.

Biega is a late bloomer who is dogged on the puck and never short of physicality. Should he continue his first-half hitting game, Biega would have 195 hits in a full 82-game NHL season, the highest among all Canucks defencemen. For a comparison, Dustin Byfuglien had 203 hits last year.

Biega is also getting shots on net with great success. He got 70.6 percent of his shots through on target, the highest among all Vancouver skaters who have played more than one game for the Canucks. In fact, Biega is the league leader among all defencemen in getting shots through on net (among those who played at least 10 games). No wonder Coach Willie Desjardins likes him.

Next: Most Underrated: Dan Hamhuis?

The first half of the 2015-16 season was painful, a blurry mix of good in mostly sub-par performances from the Canucks. But let us not forget — hockey is a sport. Have fun playing it, have fun watching it, have fun cheering on your team when there is nothing to boo about. It was a horrible stretch of 41 games — the boys know it. Unless you truly believe and understand #tanknation, give them all your support.

The second half will be better —  I guarantee you.

*Stats courtesy of hockey-reference.com and stats.hockeyanalysis.com

Home/Canucks News