Vancouver Canucks: 5 Second Half Predictions: “Revival”

3. Jacob Markstrom will Rise

I think we all agree that Jonathan Quick deserves to be at the All-Star Game, but John Gibson? When I was trying to pull together an argument that someone else, perhaps that Ryan Miller, deserves to be there in Nashville instead of Gibson, I saw Markstrom’s advanced stats.

Wow. Were they good.

According to war-on-ice.com, through his 14 games, Markstrom ranks first in save percentage in all Pacific Division goaltenders who have played more than 500 minutes. Of the same sample of netminders, Markstrom ranks first in medium-danger scoring chance save percentage, and second in high-danger scoring chance save percentage.

Guess who stands first — Quick. Guess who stands third — Gibson.

Although there is never a single metric to grade netminders, I believe that Markstrom will be a capable NHL starter by the end of this season. Next year should prove to be an intriguing one, where Markstrom eventually bumps Ryan Miller from the starting role and eventually to a trade as his contract expires. After all, Markstrom is posting better number than Miller is, despite playing tougher minutes. The team’s Corsi is 4.4 percent lower with Markstrom in net than with Miller in net.

I cannot say that Markstrom gets the recognition as the number three netminder in the Pacific Division, but the league will soon realize that with Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider both out of the Pacific, that Vancouver is growing another top-tier goaltender in the 6’4″ Markstrom. With the Canucks defence getting healthier and stronger in the second half, expect Markstrom to push Miller’s performance.

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