The Forwards
Brock Boeser: 7/10: Boeser benefited from Bruce Boudreau’s arrival. However, he has been inconsistent and has gone on stretches without scoring. 23 goals isn’t bad and it matches his total from the 2020-21 season, but there needs to be more consistency. I should also note that Boeser has had a tough time off the ice over the past year as he emotionally revealed that his father Duke has dementia. All the best to Boeser and his family.
Alex Chiasson: 5/10: 10 out of Chiasson’s 13 goals came on the power play. He scored on the man advantage using his net-front presence. While he is effective on the power play, he doesn’t do a whole lot at even strength.
Jason Dickinson: 1/10: It is very safe to say Dickinson has been a disappointment. He has been poor in the faceoff circle, in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill. Overall, he hasn’t been a fit with the Canucks. Could Patrik Allvin and company find a way to trade him? Maybe, but I’m not sure there will be interest.
Conor Garland: 7/10: Garland kind of became a fan favourite in the early stages of the season. He was scoring goals, making shifty moves, spinning and getting under the skin of his opponents. However he had a quiet second half and while the effort was there, the production stopped. He did finish the year strong with 14 points in the last 12 games. Garland would have got at least an 8/10 if he was consistent all season but his good start and solid finish give him a seven.
Nils Höglander : 4/10: It looked like Höglander was a victim of the sophomore slump and 4/10 might be a bit too harsh. He was not the same skilled winger we saw in 2020-21 for most of the season. Höglander wasn’t scoring or putting up many points and he wasn’t very good on the defensive side. Hopefully, he recovers from his upper-left-leg/core muscle issue and comes back next season stronger and proves that this season was just the sophomore slump.
Bo Horvat: 8/10: Before he went down for the season with his foot injury, Horvat was leading the Canucks in goals and was the first Canuck to hit the 30-goal mark since Radim Vrbata in 2014-15. While he has had consistency issues and isn’t as good in his own end, Horvat proved he is a capable offensive centre and was good in the faceoff dot. The Canucks captain was sixth in the NHL faceoffs won among centres with 841 and his faceoff winning percentage of 57% was 14th.
Matthew Highmore: 5/10: Highmore did miss a large chunk of the season due to injuries and being in the COVID protocol. On the fourth line, he was fine. Highmore was fine. He was physical, showed some good pace and gave a good effort while occasionally providing offence. Highmore wasn’t super good or super bad but good enough in a fourth-line role.
Juho Lammikko 6/10: Lammikko was another player that benefited from Boudreau’s arrival. He wasn’t doing very well on both ends of the rink but that changed when Boudreau arrived. Lammikko was winning the battles in his defensive zone and even managed to score some goals and create plays in the offensive zone. Though he did slow down offensively after Tyler Motte got traded to the New York Rangers. I gave Lammikko gets a higher score than Highmore because I felt like Lammikko provided a bit more offensively and defensively on the fourth line.
J.T. Miller 10/10: Miller has been the engine for the Canucks this season. Despite his defensive zone turnovers, Miller drives the offensive bus. He was putting up points with ease and he managed 99 on the season which is an impressive feat. It’s fair he gets a perfect ten. Jim Rutherford has said they want to extend Miller but it won’t be easy after his impressive season in which he’ll want a big payday. Can they afford to keep him?
Tanner Pearson: 6/10: He isn’t the 20-goal scorer from 2019-20 anymore but in a middle-six role, Pearson has looked effective. Pearson displayed good forechecking abilities, especially along the boards and has scored now and then. He gets a six because he has proven he is still useful despite being overpaid.
Elias Pettersson 8/10: If the season ended in December or January, Pettersson would have gotten a one or two out of 10. But as we all know, Pettersson woke from his slumber and since the All-Star break, he had 44 points in 34 games. He was looking like the player from his first two seasons, scoring goals, deking and displaying great playmaking skills. Pettersson’s second-half play alone is a 10/10 but he only gets an eight because of his slow start but that is also because he made us forget the slow start even happened.
Brad Richardson 5/10: The Canucks claimed Brad Richardson off waivers on trade deadline day. In 17 games, he managed two goals and two assists. He didn’t really help a lot but he worked hard on the fourth line.