3 Canucks players who surprised us this season

Filip Hronek just raised the bar up another level

Fans just saw a tiny sample size of Filip Hronek in 2022-23 when he played in just four games and logged an assist. But the 60 appearances he made in Detroit gave us a better look at what the blueliner could offer Vancouver. 

Last season in the Motor City, Hronek saw action in 60 contests and recorded 38 points plus nine goals. He was also a rather physical player more than capable of putting up top-four minutes, and it’s something we knew was coming in his first full season with the Canucks. But Hronek gave us more than what we thought, with 48 points and five goals across 80 games as of April 15th, plus 23:29 of average total ice time.

With a points total nearing 50, we can now ask ourselves just how Hronek will parlay his performance this season after he eventually signs a new deal to stay in British Columbia. He won’t throw any more surprises at us unless the 26-year-old decides to give us a season akin to what we saw from Evan Bouchard over in Edmonton. 

But with Quinn Hughes in town, that probably won’t happen, and if it does, expect this team to lead the league in goals. Either way, it’s perfectly acceptable to believe he will cross the 50-point threshold, barring an injury.