The Vancouver Canucks man advantage needs it’s power back in the play.
Vancouver had the 25th ranked power play last season at 17.4 %. It was quite the drop off from 2019-20, where the Canucks power play ranked 4th in the entire NHL.
Next season, the Canucks power play has a ton of options. New acquisitions Conor Garland and Oliver Ekman-Larsson and rookies Vasili Podkolzin and Jack Rathbone are expected to make an impact on the power play.
With Jason King and new assistant coach Brad Shaw running the power play next season, it will be interesting to see what kind of approach they use for the man advantage and what the two units will look like.
Let’s predict what the power play units will look like next season.
The first unit
Brock Boeser-Bo Horvat- Conor Garland
Quinn Hughes- Elias Pettersson
For the past two seasons, the first power play unit has taken the four forward and one defenceman as the quarterback approach. I expect it to stay the same but with a few changes.
What stays the same is Quinn Hughes as the power play quarterback. 19 out of his 41 points last season came on the power play. In his career so far, he has three goals and 46 points on the man advantage. While Hughes’ defensive game wasn’t very good last year, he was fine on the power play. Hughes led the Canucks with 12 primary assists on the man advantage last season.
The power play really missed Elias Pettersson for the last half of the season. Pettersson should be in the position for one-timers just above the faceoff circle. There, he could also help out with quick tape to tape passes.
Bo Horvat has shown success the past few years centreing the first unit. He scored plenty from the “bumper” spot and provides some much needed net front presence. Expect him to stay on the first unit in the bumper spot.
I’m predicting that Garland will get a chance on the first unit just like he was with the Arizona Coyotes. According to Canucks Army’s Chris Faber, Garland mainly was on the right side of the ice and was moving around the ice a lot. He only managed three power play goals last season but got seven power play assists which was third behind Phil Kessel and Jacob Chychrun. Garland’s puck retrieval ability and playmaking could help the first unit become deadly and he could score plenty more receiving passes from Hughes and Pettersson. The Canucks power play looked quite stagnant last year and his ability to move around could be a spark.
Finally, Brock Boeser will be on the left side. The Canucks have used this approach with Boeser before and it has worked before. Whether it’s a goal from a wrist shot or one-timer, Boeser on the left side must be a thing for 2021-22.
https://twitter.com/ChrisFaber39/status/1403137690455855104
Boeser in the slot is better than being in front of the net is better because he is in position to get a good shot off and could be the second option for a one-timer along with Pettersson. The power play needs to be constantly moving to get Boeser to unleash his shot to the best of his abilities. His eight goals and 42 shots on the power play led the Canucks last season and his 22.95 expected power play goals were first on the team.
The second unit
Nils Höglander, J.T. Miller, Vasili Podkolzin
Oliver Ekman-Larsson- Jack Rathbone
The second unit shall use two defencemen and three forwards.
Last season, Nate Schmidt and Tyler Myers were on the blue line for the power play. I’m predicting this year, the two defencemen will be Ekman-Larsson and Rathbone.
Despite OEL’s play declining, (mainly defensively) his work on the power play is still good. He can still carry the puck into the offensive zone quite well. According to Daniel Wagner of Vancouver is Awesome, he mainly makes quick, clear passes across the point, nothing really to fancy. Ekman-Larsson still has a decent shot too. It just wouldn’t be right to have him on the first pair replacing Hughes. He could at least show off his skills on the second unit.
I have the feeling that the Canucks will want to get Rathbone plenty of looks on the power play and he would have Ekman-Larsson to mentor him. Rathbone displays excellent vision and a hard shot. Travis Green gave him a little bit of power play time.
Nils Höglander was a bright spot on the Canucks dismal power play last season. He provided a ton of skill, energy and tenacity on the man advantage. It’s best if he is put in the right or left corner.
The most exciting addition to the second unit is Podkolzin. He should be the guy in front of the net because he displayed great net front presence with SKA St. Petersburg and Team Russia.
https://twitter.com/ChrisFaber39/status/1290711341120884737
It is tough to split up the Lotto Line even on the man advantage because of their chemistry. However, it didn’t feel right to take Horvat off the first unit. J.T. Miller is best suited to play on the side of the net and his versatility and leadership could really help the second unit get into gear.
With the new personnel, along with Shaw and King behind the bench the Canucks power play already looks better than last season and is a key part in the push to make the playoffs.
These are just my predictions on what the power play units. Let us know in the comments what you think the power play units will look like!
*Stats courtesy of NaturalStatTrick, NHL.Com and ESPN.Com