Barring a trade, there may be no other player on the Canucks who needs to bring their A-Game more than Elias Pettersson. But with drama seemingly filling Pettersson more than anyone else in British Columbia, who knows if he’ll be in town when the curtain calls on the season.
So, I wanted to talk about a few other Canucks players who also need to enjoy a huge second half of the 2024-25 season for this team to be a shoo-in to earn a playoff berth. Okay, well it’s hard to say ‘shoo-in,’ with how competitive the Western Conference is. But you know what I mean.
Which Canucks players must bring the best version of themselves forward if they want to keep playing hockey in April, May, and maybe even June? Two players listed below may surprise you.
Thatcher Demko
It seems like all Thatcher Demko has done lately is struggle with injuries. But it also looks like he’s ready to roll again, so that’ll be big news for Canucks fans, even if Kevin Lankinen has more than held up well.
Still, in the overall scope of things, nobody gives the Canucks a better chance to earn a trip to the postseason than Demko. It’s something he proved last season, even if he’s toiled through some rough outings so far.
But when he manages to stay healthy for an extended period of time, we should see the old Demko return and the Canucks will benefit.
Jake DeBrusk
I’ll tell you this: I never thought I’d have seen the day when Jake DeBrusk would lead a team in goals scored. Yeah, he’s always been a good player in this league, but DeBrusk’s proven so far that he’s an outstanding fit for Vancouver.
For a team in the Canucks position, one that has been on the bubble for most of the year, its top players must bring their respective A-Games, and it’s one reason I nearly put Quinn Hughes here. Instead, I rolled with the Canucks top goal scorer at the season’s halfway mark, and that’s DeBrusk.
Should he put on a clinic from now until April, and if Demko plays better hockey in the crease, Vancouver won’t be an easy team to deal with.
Filip Hronek
Or, I should have added that, once Demko’s playing better hockey and Filip Hronek finally returns and gets back into a groove. And who knows? Maybe after his conditioning assignment, we’ll see the same impact player who’s more than taken this team by storm.
Hronek’s seen time in just 21 games so far, and has nine points to show for it. But he had a plus-14 in that span, which led the team. He was known for his physical game, and you could count on him to get in front of at least one puck per contest.
Overall, Hronek’s return alone will give the Canucks a major boost. Still, when he transforms into the player he was last season, look for Hronek to take this team that much closer back to finally playing more consistent hockey than they’ve been.