The Vancouver Canucks are off to a remarkable 4-2-0 start thanks to their incredibly disciplined defensive structure – with the help of Thatcher Demko, of course. They’ve already benched Noah Juulsen, significantly reduced Tyler Myers’ minutes, and promoted newcomer Mark Friedman to the second pair alongside Ian Cole. That leaves Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek as the last two.
This pair has been nothing short of incredible so far, and at 5-on-5 they’ve yet to allow a goal. With Hronek and Hughes on the ice (in all situations), the Canucks have outscored their opponents 7-0. On the penalty kill, they’ve blanked their opponents across 5:28 up to this point.
Thomas Drance of The Athletic recently published a piece on Hughes, where the Canucks captain admitted that he’s picked up on the noise surrounding his game, and particularly the stereotypes that persist on his defensive ability.
That conversation naturally blew on over all across social media, but like Hughes, another Canucks defender deserves just as much credit for their play this season. That would be Hronek.
Filip Hronek with a big night by leading all #Canucks in TOI (27:33) + some incredible underlying metrics at 5v5:
— Grady Sas (@GradySas) October 25, 2023
74.3 CF% (29-10)
87.5 SF% (14-2)
100% HDCF% (6-0)
100% GF% (2-0)
79.9 xGF% (0.93-0.23)
One assist, +2, 3:10 PK TOI (2nd). All situations beast!
The Canucks paid a pretty penny to acquire the Czech defender on March 1, sending a 2023 first round-pick and a 2023 second-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Hronek and a 2023 fourth-round pick. The 25 year-old had 38 points in 60 games with the Wings, but only managed to appear in four games with the Canucks by season’s end.
Hronek is now in the last year of the three-year, $13.2 million deal he signed with Detroit back in 2021, and with a new contract on the line, Vancouver’s newest star has been performing under the bright lights. Through six games, he’s got four assists, a +7 plus-minus rating, and of course hasn’t allowed a goal when paired alongside the captain.
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Hughes will naturally get most of the plaudits as a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, but we can give some credit to Hronek too. In his first real season in Vancouver, he’s making an early impression and playing a large part in the Canucks’ success. Hronek has looked just as much of a No. 1 as his partner this season, and after playing a team-leading 27:33 on Tuesday, he’s not showing any signs of slowing down.