3. Jalen Chatfield
This last spot was quite tough, but for all the wrong reasons.
Aside from Horvat and Miller, there weren’t many other obvious candidates to choose for the third and final spot of the week.
Boeser continued his strong play alongside Miller and Pettersson, notching two goals and an assist on Wednesday night, but he also went scoreless on Thursday and didn’t make much of an impact.
Braden Holtby and Thatcher Demko have both played well this season, and have unfortunately been hung out to dry for most goals against, but we still haven’t seen the best from this tandem.
Nate Schmidt has been hot and cold with his new club, and Quinn Hughes has struggled defensively, posting a minus 6 rating, which overshadows his six registered assists.
Even Canucks fans themselves could make a case to secure the last spot on our list, having gone through such a painful, disappointing and cringe-worthy week of hockey.
In the end, it ultimately felt right to recognize and congratulate Jalen Chatfield for his NHL debut.
Nothing against Olli Juolevi, who was a healthy scratch for the home-opener, but it was great to see how nicely Chatfield fit on the 3rd pairing. He didn’t make any glaring defensive mistakes, and he showed adaptability and composure with the puck. He also made the most of his additional ice-time in the 3rd period, logging just over 15 minutes of ice-time after Alex Edler and Travis Hamonic were forced to leave the game with injuries.
Despite the overall defensive breakdowns and inconsistencies from the Canuck backend, many fans were excited to watch Chatfield suit up for the squad once again. And with both Edler and Hamonic sidelined for the second half of the back-to-back, Chatfield was poised to play a bigger role.
Unfortunately, his second-career game ended much earlier than expected. Chatfield left the game with an injury.
Even though Chatfield’s NHL sample size is small, and his timetable to return is still unknown, many of us are hopeful and eager that he can land a permanent role on the backend in the near future.
Honourable Mention: Brandon Sutter
Don’t worry, we also agree that Brandon Sutter’s unmemorable tenure in Vancouver has carried over into this season. But he scored his prettiest goal as a Canuck on Wednesday night, completely (and unexpectedly) undressing Alexander Romanov before roofing his backhander past Carey Price.
Just going to leave this Brandon Sutter backhander here... pic.twitter.com/oduIlrxFKX
— NHL (@NHL) January 22, 2021
That’s all. Please enjoy.
Upcoming games:
Saturday, January 23rd – Montreal Canadiens at Vancouver Canucks (4:00 PM PST)
Monday, January 25th – Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks (7:00 PM PST)
Wednesday, January 27th – Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks (5:00 PM PST)
Thursday, January 28th – Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks (7:00 PM PST)
Who do you think played well during the past week? Make sure to drop a comment below!