Vancouver Canucks: Top 5 underrated players going into 2019-20
Everyone knows the stars on the Vancouver Canucks, but a lot of the time it’s the underrated players that make the difference between a pretender and a contender. Let’s count down the top five underrated players on the team.
I’ve always gravitated towards the underrated players on the Vancouver Canucks. They are usually the ones that work their tail off and don’t get the recognition that players like Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser get.
So I thought I would give them the recognition they deserve by counting down the top five underrated players that are currently on the team.
Before I get to the list, I want to share what people replied with when I put the question into the Twitterverse. The majority of people listed Troy Stecher, Alex Biega and Josh Leivo. As you can see these are not the most publicized players on the Canucks. Stecher is probably the most known out of the three around the NHL, but not as a top-rated defenceman.
They usually turn out to be the most important players on the team when the playoffs roll around. Without contributions from the underrated, a Stanley Cup is usually not in the cards. So without further ado, click below and let the countdown begin!
Before we get started, a note: Stats courtesy of Hockey Reference and NHL. com. Charts are from CJ Turtoro.
5. Josh Leivo
When Leivo was traded to the Canucks in December of last year, we did not know what to expect. Surprisingly, he was put on a line with Pettersson in his first game. He promptly scored his first goal as a Canuck. As the season progressed, Leivo shuffled up and down the lineup and became a useful forward for head coach Travis Green.
He was a player that could play in the top six with Pettersson and Horvat as well as the bottom six as an energy player. His underlying numbers were also solid, as he sported a 54.4 Corsi-For percentage, which ranked him first among Canucks regulars. More importantly, he also was a solid contributor — offensively scoring ten times following the trade.
Going into 2019-20, Leivo will be part of the log jam of forwards the Canucks currently have on the team. If he can continue to show the versatility, two-way prowess and offensive productivity he displayed last season, Leivo will be a very valuable, but still underrated part of the forward depth.