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Vancouver Canucks: 3 Players Headed for Breakout Seasons

By Janik Beichler

Sep 28, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter (21) against the Arizona Coyotes in the third period period at Rogers Arena. Vancouver won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter (21) against the Arizona Coyotes in the third period period at Rogers Arena. Vancouver won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 19, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) guards his net against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

G Jacob Markstrom

Vancouver Canucks fans are not the only ones waiting for Jacob Markstrom to finally break out as an NHL starter. The Florida Panthers, who originally drafted Markstrom 31st overall in the 2008 draft, did their waiting as well. But, they eventually decided it wasn’t happening — at least not in Flordia — and sent him across the continent to acquire Roberto Luongo from the Canucks. Now that Luongo bounced back to Vezina-level performance, the Panthers don’t care much about Markstrom anymore — but the Canucks sure do.

After spending most of the 2014-15 season with the AHL Utica Comets, Markstrom established himself as a full-time NHL player in the 2015-16 campaign. Fans are ready to kick veteran Ryan Miller off the roster, but is Markstrom really ready for an NHL starting job?

In 2015-16, the Swede appeared in 33 games for the Canucks. That number wasn’t higher because Miller was officially the starter and Markstrom, like many Canucks, missed some time due to injury. Still, in his 33 games, Markstrom posted a .920 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average. The former is a solid number, the latter should improve automatically with a solidified defense.

For large parts of the season, Miller and Markstrom only had two options: be the big-time winner with a good performance or be the big-time loser in a below-average game. The big problem here is that the goalie shouldn’t be blamed for a 3-0 loss, even if he gets those three goals against on 10 shots. Miller and Markstrom were often left alone by their offense and defense, and did what they could to win.

In the upcoming year, there is no official starter. The goalie who performs best in practice and game action will get the nod. With that, I expect Markstrom to outplay Miller and start significantly more games than his American counterpart. Miller is way past his prime while Markstrom is entering his, at 26 years old. Plus, Markstrom has to prove he is capable of being a starter before Thatcher Demko shoots past him on the depth chart.

The stage is yours, Jacob.

Next: D Ben Hutton

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