It’s time for another Vancouver Canucks mailbag!
The Canucks didn’t get much out of the win column this week, however, smaller victories were taken in other areas, including the NHL debut of Kole Lind. And seeing as how it went so well, his big night seems like as good of a place as any to kick things off. Let’s get rolling.
Thoughts on Kole Lind so far?
— PP1 PODCAST (@ThePP1Podcast) May 1, 2021
So far, so good. The 22-year-old looks like he belongs in the NHL. In his debut on Thursday night against the Leafs, Lind was arguably one of the best players on the ice for the Canucks. He played over 17 minutes, found himself being trusted in situations both offensively and defensively, and looked excellent in his mid-game promotion to the second line alongside Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson.
He’s only got two games under his belt, but he put up a similar individual scorecard in his second outing. He looked good, but he wound up without a point and he was on the losing end of what some people would call a blowout game.
This early on, the points don’t matter much if any, but the grind down the stretch should be a challenge in itself. I’m going to have to wait and see how he performs between now and the season’s end before making any real judgements. But looking at the small sample size, it seems he might have the potential to be a real gamer.