The Canuck Way
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3 takeaways from the Canucks’ 5-3 season opening victory

By Brayden Ursel

EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 13: Goaltender Mikko Koskinen #19 of the Edmonton Oilers can't stop Bo Horvat #53 of the Vancouver Canucks from scoring at Rogers Place on January 13, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 13: Goaltender Mikko Koskinen #19 of the Edmonton Oilers can't stop Bo Horvat #53 of the Vancouver Canucks from scoring at Rogers Place on January 13, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) /
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Nils Hoglander, Vancouver Canucks. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
Nils Hoglander, Vancouver Canucks. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) /

Hoglander shines in his NHL debut

What an NHL debut…

Hoglander is an impressive hockey player for such a young kid and he made it very clear he’s ready to be an NHL player. His debut really couldn’t have gone much better than it did. Starting his NHL career next to the Canucks’ captain, Hoglander was on the ice for the opening faceoff and it wasn’t long until he was showcasing his skill-handling.

Getting first unit power play time in place of the currently quarantined J.T. Miller, Hoglander got involved down low, found positioning, and had a quick tip in front go off his stick and nearly beat Koskinen.

Later in the second period, Hoglander put himself on the scoresheet in an incredible fashion. Walking across the blueline, the 20-year-old glided towards the net and snapped one home after a quick pass from Tanner Pearson. A nice goal to start off his NHL career.

Hoglander finished the game being plus 2, he registered three shots on net, he potted his first NHL goal and he did it with over 16 minutes of ice time. Another big plus for Hoglander was that he seemed to fit right in next to Horvat and Pearson, not only in the offensive zone but the defensive end as well.

It may be too early to tell, but from how he looked last night, he could very well be another Canucks rookie that breaks out and has a really good campaign. With Horvat entering his prime and centring Hoglander’s line, he has the ability to help Hoglander rack up some serious points.

Newsworthy notes

  • Juolevi gave up a bad turnover in the defensive end that cost the Canucks a goal, but overall he had a solid regular-season debut. He was sheltered to just 10:16 of time on ice, but he finished the game even and added a hit and one blocked shot to his stat sheet.
  • Holtby’s debut wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t bad either. A couple of the goals he let in were questionable, but if it wasn’t for his five timely stops against McDavid, the Canucks probably would have lost this game.
  • Hamonic was solid considering he had just one full practice in training camp. His rust was noticeable as he took two penalties on the night, but his conditioning held up (19:55 TOI) and he also put three shots on target.
  • Schmidt fell quickly to the ice after taking a hard deflection off the face/neck area. He managed to stay in the game logging 24:18 on the ice time and blocking 4 shots.
  • Quinn Hughes put up two assists, one of which was after he was down and out on the ice. While sitting on the ice with his legs pressed together and stretched out in front of him, he somehow managed to reach out with his stick and get the puck to an open Boeser.

Final thoughts…

As a team the Canucks battled it out and grinded for a full 60 minutes. There were some nice goals and there were some forgettable mishaps, but most importantly the Canucks found a way to win. The priority against Edmonton always has to be the need to shut down the NHL’s most dominant player, and they did that last night.

Next. Canucks will start their season without J.T. Miller. dark

The puck drops again tonight at 6 PM. Hopefully, Vancouver can have a repeat performance.

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