Vancouver Canucks: TCW’s Team Award Picks
By Jeff Godley
Cyclone Taylor Award – Most Valuable Player
Our picks:
- Jeff Godley — Daniel Sedin
- Janik Beichler — Daniel Sedin
- Sarah Laug — Daniel Sedin
- David Joun — Ben Hutton
- Gerald Morton — “Oh boy. Umm….Er…..Daniel?”
Consensus MVP: Daniel Sedin
There is a clear consensus for this pick: Daniel Sedin was the Vancouver Canucks’ Most Valuable Player this season.
It’s hard to argue with this. On a Vancouver team that has scored the fewest goals in the Western Conference (180) Daniel has scored 28 of them, or 16 percent of his team’s total. With 61 points, Daniel has contributed to one third of his team’s goals this year.
Without that production, it’s painful to imagine where the Canucks would be.
Daniel Sedin’s value, however, extends beyond his on-ice feats. It was not too long ago that Daniel, in a very un-Sedin-like fashion, openly criticized his team for a lack of effort.
Read: Daniel Sedin Unhappy with Teammates’ Effort
After his team managed to record three straight wins versus the powerhouse teams in California, Daniel was all smiles, and was just as open in his praise of his teammates for their play:
"I just like the way we’re playing. Forget about wins and losses. We’re competing, we’re playing well, and it’s a good feeling. We want to show ourselves we can play — even going into next year — that playing the right way, working hard is going to pay off in the long run."
Daniel Sedin has more than earned the “A” he wears on his jersey this season. Aside from his twin brother, could there be a better mentor to the next crop of young Canucks players?
The question answers itself.
Dark Horse: Ben Hutton
David was the lone dissenter in our writer’s poll: he picked rookie defenceman Ben Hutton as Most Valuable Player.
Hutton leads all Canucks defencemen in points and assists this season. And, in a year where injuries have plagued the back end, Hutton is second among defencemen in games played with 73, trailing only Matt Bartkowski‘s 78.
More on Ben Hutton later.
Next: Walter 'Babe' Pratt Award -- Best Defenceman