Canucks: Who will be Travis Hamonic’s defensive partner?
By Bill Huan
The recent addition of Travis Hamonic to the Vancouver Canucks’ blueline gives the team more depth on the backend, but who will he play beside?
After much speculation in recent weeks, the Vancouver Canucks have finally added Travis Hamonic to their team.
The specifics of the signing aren’t known at this time since he has only been invited to the team via a professional tryout (PTO), but he’s a virtual lock to make the roster once he finishes his mandatory seven-day quarantine.
I previously suggested that Hamonic should play on the Canucks’ bottom pairing if he were to be signed, but there are many other options to choose from.
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For instance, Vancouver could deploy a shutdown pair if the coaching staff decides to slot Hamonic beside Alex Edler, who has morphed into a reliable defender in recent years due to his decline in footspeed.
If the puck-moving ability of an Edler-Hamonic pairing proves to be too much to overcome, the team can also elect to have the former Flame play beside Nate Schmidt. Schmidt will be able to provide instant offence from the backend and he also has experience playing tough minutes, so the Canucks can still use the pairing in a matchup role. This will also allow Schmidt to play on his strong side, which is something that Travis Green has shown a propensity of doing last year.
With that said, I believe that the most logical place for Hamonic to play would be on a pairing with Quinn Hughes. Stylistically, the veteran plays a similar game to Chris Tanev, who was a natural fit beside Hughes last season.
When Hughes is making his one-man rushes, Hamonic can stay behind and act as a safety net for Vancouver. This will allow the young phenom to continue playing his game, and we all saw how successful he was last season when given free rein to roam around the ice.
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No matter who he plays beside, Hamonic has now provided the team with much-needed depth on the blueline and a lot more options to choose from. So, Canucks fans, do you see him playing beside Hughes? Let me know in the comments below!