Canucks: Breaking down Nils Hoglander’s first NHL game
The Canucks kicked off their season Wednesday night against the Edmonton Oilers, and Nils Hoglander had himself a game.
The Vancouver Canucks started their 2020-21 season with a 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, and rookie Nils Hoglander wasted no time properly introducing himself to the NHL.
Despite overwhelming uncertainties surrounding the team before the season, there was an air of excitement heading into the Canucks’ first game, and for good reason.
Hoglander was the star of Canucks training camp, as he impressed coaches, teammates, and fans alike with his quick hands and slick skating.
The question that remained was how easily it would transition into success in an NHL game. In short, the transition was seamless. The young Swede fit right in at the NHL level, as he looked quite comfortable slotting into the Canucks top-six.
He was another breath of fresh air to the lineup; something Canucks fans have become accustomed to over the past few years. With that said, similar to what you saw for prospect Vasili Podkolzin, this article breaks down Nils Hoglander’s unforgettable first NHL game.
First period: Hoglander adds speed to the Canucks’ second line
Hoglander’s first NHL shift came at puck drop, starting alongside Tanner Pearson & Bo Horvat. You could tell the Swedish rookie was fired up to get on the ice.
When Horvat and Connor McDavid got tied up, Hoglander immediately attacked the faceoff dot. After losing the faceoff, he immediately charged towards defenceman Ethan Bear at the centre-line, forcing a dump-in, where the Canucks reclaimed possession.
Subsequently, one of his first plays in the game saw the rookie latch onto Alex Edler’s clearance at centre-ice, and carry the puck into the zone.
After darting away from Darnell Nurse’s oncoming pressure, Hoglander wired a sharp pass towards the goal. Horvat, the intended recipient, couldn’t connect, but it was an excellent way to start the game.
In the young Swede’s second shift, his line found themselves hemmed into the defensive zone after a failed attempted exit from the rookie. On the same shift, he got into some board battles, but nothing significant arose at either end.
His third shift saw the rookie again in his own zone, where his pressure was good, despite the slightly evident first game jitters.
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After a successful neutral zone pinch by Olli Juolevi, Hoglander made another swift transition into the Oiler’s zone, dropping a pass to Pearson for an attempt on goal, which was blocked.
Later in the shift, Hoglander nearly linked up with Pearson again. The rookie picked up a wide shot in the left corner and slid another pass into the slot.
Initially intended for Horvat, Pearson made a sweeping second effort after it slipped through, but the Oilers defence thwarted the attempt.
The first thing you notice about Hoglander is that his effort levels are certainly always high. At the end of his shift, he literally leapt to tap the puck outside the Canucks blueline to allow for a change.
Hoglander’s next appearance began just before a Quinn Hughes icing call, leading to another start in the defensive zone. The Swedish rookie should expect a lot of d-zone starts this season, so long as he’s stapled next to Horvat.
In fact, Hoglander spent a whopping 65.28% of his ice-time against the Oiler’s top two lines, with 48.61% being against McDavid’s line, as per DobberProspects.
On this shift, Hoglander’s positioning in the Canucks zone was a tad relaxed, which led to a shot from his point-side.
As you can see, he gave Slater Koekkoek way too much time and space to shoot. It looked almost as though Hoglander was marking the point on a penalty-kill. Although, he did tighten up his defensive marking as the game went on, so it was more of an anomaly than anything.
After another defensive zone faceoff, the Canucks’ ‘shutdown line’ made another exit, where Hoglander made yet another controlled entry, catching a Pearson pass through the neutral zone smoothly off his skate.
This was Hoglander’s standout play of the game. While attacking Koekkoek, the speedy Swede made a between the legs move to create space, then used some of his patented edge-work to shift the play to the centre of the ice, creating space for a dish to Travis Hamonic, leading to an attempt on goal.
While flashy, the most exciting part about this sequence was how effortless it looked for the rookie. This was by far the best illustration of Hoglander’s talent, and something Canucks fans should expect to see more of as the season progresses.
After a Kailer Yamamoto penalty, Hoglander got his first official audition on the Canucks’ PP1 unit.
In place of the absent J.T. Miller, Hoglander sat at the net-front, mostly stuck to his post in front of Mikko Koskinen, however, he was active in opening up an extra passing lane when necessary.
Hoglander also made a nifty behind-the-back-pass to Horvat to get into the zone and set up the powerplay, another small, enjoyable expression of his game.
Hoglander made a great pass across the slot from behind the net for a golden Elias Pettersson chance, which unfortunately went wide. Shortly after, Hoglander also got a piece of a Hughes shot that ultimately went wide.
Hoglander had an extended break on the bench after the powerplay due to a Jake Virtanen cross-checking penalty & commercial break.
On the following shift, the Swede’s pressure along the boards led to a chip up to Pearson down the line, where he found Horvat for the Canucks’ first goal of the season.
Full replay of Horvat's goal - his first of how many this season? pic.twitter.com/NnzGJlgPnI
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 14, 2021
While Hoglander didn’t register a point on the play, his pressure along the boards was tremendous, and it actually does look like the rookie Swede got a piece of the puck.
Over his next two shifts, there was not much to note.
In his second-last appearance of the first, though, Hoglander took a pass from Nate Schmidt in transition but got thwarted shortly after, so he sent it back to the Canucks defence to regroup. It was certainly the smart play.
Overall, it was a good period for Hoglander. He didn’t see too much action on some shifts, but his first period of NHL hockey was undoubtedly a success.
His crafty work along the boards contributed to Horvat’s goal, and he is continuously active while on the ice. He’s shown his quick instincts so far, and while a little skittish at times, he was still making the right plays.
He made a few controlled entries into the zone, which led to some great chances. Hoglander was a bit loose on the defensive end, but he’s quick on his feet and did well to close his gaps otherwise.
Second period: Hoglander scores his first career NHL goal
Hoglander’s line took the ice to start the period, where the young Swede began the frame battling with McDavid in the neutral zone, and, after an attempted dump, he got muscled out by Nurse.
The rookie made a nice dish to Edler for a one-timer from the right point which went wide. Later in the shift, Horvat tried a no-look pass to the Swede on the rush but didn’t connect, with not much more to report after that.
Hoglander’s next on-ice appearance began in the Oilers’ end, but in a 1-1 game after an ugly defensive sequence from the Canucks’ third pair. Off of the faceoff, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins overmatched the rookie’s smaller frame, but the Canucks maintained possession in the zone. Hoglander made a quick move to get around Nurse, where Horvat took the puck for another opportunity.
While Hoglander has shown his shiftiness in glimpses thus far, he’s looked great.
On his next shift, Hoglander delayed an offensive entry by going offside, leading to a break for the Oilers, forcing Braden Holtby to make an incredible toe save on Connor McDavid.
Due to a Hamonic penalty, Hoglander took a long break while the Canucks killed off the penalty and rolled their checking lines.
In his second encounter with Nugent-Hopkins, Hoglander went at it along the boards, fighting off both Koekkok and the former, which led to a Horvat chance on net.
This play shows off the scrappier side of Hoglander’s game. The Swede brings a diverse skillset to the lineup, with his crafty hands, solid skating, and bold two-way play.
Hoglander had another long stay on the bench after Pettersson’s line took some extended shifts. However, the added rest time on the bench clearly served him well. On his next shift, Hoglander scored his first career NHL goal, stuffing a Pearson rebound past Koskinen.
https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1349581486933086209?s=20
This sequence is mostly in part due to Horvat and Pearson’s work. But, as mentioned previously, Hoglander is always in the right spots, always keeping active. He did a great job to follow the play, tracking the play through the slot to pounce on the rebound.
After the goal, the ‘shutdown line’ was back at it for the Canucks, where Hoglander made a great pickup in the defensive zone, then turned around and made a near-perfect saucer pass to Horvat, who got a grade-A chance that was blocked by Koskinen.
So much for the first game jitters, eh?
Through two periods, Hoglander’s line was the most productive on the ice by far. Being tasked to stop McDavid in the same hand is no small feat either, and the trio reaped the rewards of the Oilers’ defensive deficiencies.
While it may seem obvious, it bears mentioning that inserting Hoglander alongside the Canucks captain has made his line so much more dangerous. Horvat and Pearson facilitated much of their play between each other, but they are doing so with a higher volume of opportunity.
In turn, they look much more lethal. The trio dominated at even-strength, outshooting the Oilers 11-2 while on the ice.
Third period: A quiet, yet effective finish to Hoglander’s first NHL game
Hoglander was the odd man out on his line to start the third, where the Oilers potted a quick goal on the powerplay to tie the game at 2-2 as Hamonic’s penalty dwindled down.
Another aspect of Hoglander’s playstyle that was apparent throughout the game was his hand-eye coordination. He managed to get a piece of a couple of Edler point shots, along with his work on the powerplay.
At 5:19, Hoglander quickly collected a deflected shot, after a Holtby save exited the Canucks zone, and fed Pearson for the first shot of what was one of the line’s more dominant shifts. After Pearson’s shot, Hoglander bombarded Koskinen, chipping the puck out of the goalie’s grasp before he could cover it up.
The rookie then fought off pressure from Koekkoek in the corner, moving the puck to Edler with a pass vertically through the slot, which led to a Juolevi shot on net. This was another really impressive forechecking sequence from Hoglander.
Hoglander impressing viewers has become a bit of a theme, hasn’t it?
At 6:49, Hoglander does a superb job of stripping the puck from Nurse, getting in the way of the defenceman’s shot. He then sent a great pass out of the zone to Hughes, who tried to feed a spurting Pearson, but couldn’t connect.
On Hoglander’s next shift, he and rookie counterpart Juolevi worked together to evade Oilers forecheckers’ pressure, using a quick back-and-forth passing sequence before moving the puck up to the right side of the ice to Pearson for a shot on goal.
In particular, this play is interesting, considering that the rookie pair faces pressure from Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian, who are both big-bodied, physical players. Both showed a calm demeanour in this situation, evading what could’ve been a dangerous turnover.
As Hoglander’s hand-eye coordination has been apparent, the young Canucks did an excellent job to clear the puck out of danger on his next shift, batting the puck out of the slot after a sharp Holtby save.
Another one of Hoglander’s more lowkey eye-popping plays came at around 13:00 in the period.
Hoglander corralled Nate Schmidt’s stretch pass while skating backwards, uses a quick pivot to create space between himself and Nurse, screens for oncoming teammates, then threads a pass to a lagging Edler for a shot on goal.
The best part about these small plays is how effective they are and how effortless they look. It was another excellent display of the Swede’s skating abilities and vision. It was also a sign that Hoglander got more comfortable as the game went on.
As the game progressed, the Oilers kept up the pressure, as expected.
At around 14:50, Hoglander spent time in the Canucks zone with Virtanen and Pettersson, as the Oilers caught the duo in their own zone before they could change. Hoglander was much more active in his coverage on the left flank as Edmonton held Vancouver in their own zone.
Hoglander closed his gaps well and cleared the puck out of the low slot just as the whistle blew for an Edler cross-checking penalty.
While not a surprise, Green kept Hoglander off the ice when Edmonton pulled their goalie, as he opted for Tyler Motte to close out the game before a Jesse Puljujarvi penalty.
It’ll be interesting to see if Green ever hands Hoglander the reigns to the Canucks’ late-game situations as he plays more with Horvat and Pearson. Although that’s something you shouldn’t expect to see, at least for now.
As the clock winded down, Hoglander did not see another shift as the Canucks capped off a 5-3 victory over the Oilers.
Hoglander finished the game with one goal, three shots on goal, along with a 59.38 Corsi For% in 16:23 of ice-time. That’s quite the debut for the Swedish rookie.
While it’s only been one game, the addition of Hoglander to Horvat’s wing has completely reimagined the Canucks’ second line.
It is promising to see how Hoglander can facilitate so much offence on the rush and is fast enough to stifle the opposing team’s transition.
The apparent lag that hampered the ‘shutdown line’ so much is no more, as Hoglander’s speed and poise are a breath of fresh air in the Canucks top-six.
It feels weird to even coin this trio as a ‘shutdown line,’ because thus far they look to be so much more. While they will continue to match up against top opposition, they are equally as dangerous in the offensive end as well.
As a whole, there are a lot of things to like about Hoglander, and if last night was just the start, then Canucks fans have a lot to be excited about this year.
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What did you think of Hoglander’s performance? Let us know in the comments!