The Canuck Way
Fansided

9 early and bold predictions for the Canucks 51st NHL season

By Brayden Ursel

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 07: The Vancouver Canucks celebrate their 5-4 win on a goal by Christopher Tanev #8 at :11 in overtime to defeat the Minnesota Wild in Game Four and the Western Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 07, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 07: The Vancouver Canucks celebrate their 5-4 win on a goal by Christopher Tanev #8 at :11 in overtime to defeat the Minnesota Wild in Game Four and the Western Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 07, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
Vancouver Canucks’ J.T. Miller skates with the puck (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images).
Vancouver Canucks’ J.T. Miller skates with the puck (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images). /

6. Juolevi will play a full NHL season with the team

It’s been a long and challenging road for Olli Juolevi, but as the saying goes, whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

It appears that Juolevi has done enough to gain the confidence of Jim Benning and coach Green. He impressed his camp inside the bubble and even got the opportunity to play in his first NHL game. He got over 6 minutes of ice time in a sheltered role, but he made no mistakes and helped the Canucks eliminate the Minnesota Wild.

Now, it looks like Juolevi will get his chance to take up a full-time position on the roster. Benning has stated he believes that Juolevi is ready and with the lack of offseason moves made to acquire new blood on the blueline, he’ll likely get his shot. It’s been a long time coming for Juolevi. I predict he’ll come to camp in the best shape of his life and be more than ready for what’s next.

7. Miller will have another great season with Canucks

Last year he was better than anyone could have possibly imagined. Next season, I predict he’ll be just as good if not better for the Canucks. Miller is in the prime of his career, he plays on one of the NHL’s most deadly top lines, and he’ll be asked to take on an even larger role in leadership.

He got the taste of what it’s like to be a leader for a young and unproven franchise and he’s going to want a bigger bite. He was a big part of the Canucks success and he’ll feed off of those learning curves as he continues to play next to Sweden’s great Pettersson. I don’t expect anything less from Miller next season. He’ll be just as good, if not better. He’ll pace around a point per game.

8. Demko will have a better save percentage than Markstrom

Last season, there was little doubt that Markstrom was the Canucks starter, but actually, on paper Markstrom and Demko had pretty similar performance levels. Yes, Markstrom had the bigger workload, but Demko put up a good save percentage and was great when the Canucks needed him to be.

Of course, Demko only has 40 games to his name but up to this point, he’s more than proven he can handle the big moments. I don’t expect Demko to play nearly as many games as Markstrom will next year, but that should only help aid in Demko putting up a better save percentage.

Markstrom’s 0.917% of a year ago isn’t anything to be super jazzed about. It’s a good statistic, but it’s not impossible to overcome. If Demko can settle in as the starter sooner than later, he might have a chance at a better save percentage than his former mentor.

9. Myers will score at least 30 points this season

With the departure of Tanev, Tyler Myers becomes the team’s best right-shot defenseman. Add the idea that Myers has a good chance of playing some big minutes with the offensively productive Hughes and suddenly it doesn’t seem impossible that Myers could, in fact, reach the 30-points club.

He might see his power play time on unit 2 revoked with the arrival of Nate Schmidt, but Myers being paired with Hughes makes up for it. Just look at Tanev’s point production last year. Known as a “stay at home” defender, Tanev enjoyed the best statistical season of his career. The same thing should be in store for the BFG.

Next. The Canucks need to offer Travis Green an extension. dark

Myers and Hughes have proven in the past that they can be a good offensive duo in the right circumstance. If Green decides to pair these two up long-term, I’d imagine they’ll get a lot of offensive start time and that should help drive up Myers production numbers. I see a 30-point season in Myers’ future.

Home/Editorials