2. Nils Höglander
The praise continues to pour in for Nils Höglander.
Aside from Boeser, the 20-year-old rookie has been the team’s most consistent forward for the first quarter of the season. His tenacity, speed and energy is on full display every time he steps over the boards, and he has brought a dynamically offensive punch to the team’s formerly-defensive second line.
He registered the first multi-point performance of his career on Wednesday night, notching two assists, and is currently tied for second in rookie scoring. He also leads all rookies with 44 shots taken.
Of course, it’s not all about the scoresheet for Höglander. We all know that the kid can dazzle us with the puck, but it’s his ability without it that makes him a favourite amongst fans, coaches and management.
For starters, we’ve yet to see Höglander back down from an opponent, no matter their size, toughness or amount of games played in the league. He will challenge anyone to a gritty puck battle along the boards, and he often comes out on top. It’s hard to believe that Höglander is only 5’9” and 185lb, because he often plays like he’s a 6’6” veteran forward with years of experience under his belt.
Höglander has also garnered the attention and respect of Green, and this is reflected in the Swedish left winger’s overall ice time. He is averaging just over 15 minutes per game this season, with his numbers creeping closer to the 20-minute mark over the past few outings. He has become a permanent fixture on the second line, and the trio is being more frequently deployed when the team needs a high-energy, puck-controlling shift in the opponent’s end.
Höglander continues to showcase his strong and speedy 200-foot game, night in and night out, and it’s landing him amongst some of the league’s superstars.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Höglander is currently tied for second in takeaways with 17, sitting ahead of defensive specialists like Leon Draisaitl, Aleksander Barkov and Mark Stone. He’s been able to transform these turnovers into high-danger scoring chances as a result, and it was only a matter of time before some of them would lead to goals, much like this beauty from Jordie Benn to open up the scoring on Wednesday night.
Great play by Höglander in the neutral zone to cause the turnover which led to the Benn goal
— Satiar Shah (@SatiarShah) February 18, 2021
#Canucks on a 2-on-1 and Horvat feeds to Benn, yes Jordie Benn up in the rush, and he beats Markstrom to give the #Canucks a 1-0 lead early! pic.twitter.com/Pu6ql0zaYJ
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) February 18, 2021
And it’s not like this feat is going unnoticed.
Teams are starting to target the “Pepper Pot” as part of their gameplay strategies, hoping that they can throw him off of his game in order to quiet the rest of the Canucks’ top six forward group. How do we know this? He currently leads the entire league in hits taken with 43. Not too shabby for the youngster.
If Höglander keeps up this gritty, quick and entertaining style of play, the Canucks should continue to out chance, outplay and outscore their opponents every time he’s on the ice.
He is driving the Canucks’ forwards to new heights, so don’t be surprised if the “little engine that could” continues to rack up our weekly honours.