The passionate fans of the Vancouver Canucks are showing some split emotions about what they expect of defender, Tyler Myers, but I make the case that the 6’8 giant doesn’t necessarily need to be mean to be effective.
When Tyler Myers hit the open market on July 1st, Vancouver Canucks general manager, Jim Benning made the Texas-born giant his number one target and it was only a matter of time until he got his man to sign on the dotted line.
Myers is the highest-paid player on the team now that his contract life outlives the six million dollar price tag he shares with both Loui Eriksson and Alex Edler. With that being said, there is a lot of “tall” expectations that Canucks fans have for the team’s biggest defender.
With Myers being over 6-foot-8, fans don’t hesitate to expect some physicality from the defender and a mean side that’s here to protect this team’s star player. You’re not wrong in thinking that Myers is going to bring those elements to the table, but he’s also not going to be the guy to drop the gloves every night and have ten hits.
The truth is Myers’ better attributes are in fact his skating ability, his break out passes and his booming slap shot from the point and that’s what he needs to bring to the team in order to be a successful contributor. Not to mention, he is an absolute beast in the gym.
Yes, Myers will be physical from time to time and when it comes down to it, he’s going to stand up for his teammates and that right there is a huge bonus, but the real goal with Myers is to see him succeed in being a top four guy who can skate, shoot, eat up big minutes and produce offense for this club. Hear me out here.
This season, the Canucks are a much more difficult team to play against and that starts with off-season additions of Micheal Ferland, J.T. Miller and Jordie Benn. These three players all bring toughness and a physical edge that’s feared by their opponents on a nightly basis.
Throw in some physical play from Jake Virtanen and eventually, the returning Antoine Roussel, and this team suddenly looks capable of playing a hard-nosed game without leaning too heavily on Myers.
With hard hits from Ferland, fights from Benn, and a relentless attack from Miller, the Canucks are looking tougher than ever and Myers can focus on taking over the reigns from Edler on the defence side of things, as he once did back when they played for the Kelowna Rockets.
Throughout the first three games of the season, Myers only has two hits but he’s still managed to be one of the team’s better d-men. He put up an assist in the first game which came from a rocket of a slap shot that was tipped in at the last second by Tanner Pearson.
Myers has done a fairly acceptable job in jumping up for the Canucks and being a staple on the top pairing with Edler. He was a fourth or fifth guy in Winnipeg last year, but has stepped up into a bigger role quite nicely here.
He’s taking pressure off of older guys like Edler and he’s been a good power play two partner with Quinn Hughes. Myers has been able to give the second unit two guys that can break out the puck and move into the offensive zone, and that’s something we haven’t seen in far too long in the city of Vancouver.
Myers is a great addition to the roster and the sooner fans realize what his true qualities are, the better. He’s here to reshape the back end, break out the puck and be a presence in the locker room.
Hey, don’t get me wrong though, if Mike Matheson comes head hunting for Elias Pettersson or someone takes a run at Hughes, they’ll be facing the consequences in the likes of a nearly 7-foot tall monster on skates. Myers is a Vancouver Canuck and it’s a very good thing for this hockey club moving forward.