Nearly half of the Vancouver Canucks roster enjoyed some type of breakout season in 2023-24.
Eight different players either tied or surpassed their career high in points. Tyler Myers arguably had his best season in a Canucks uniform. Thatcher Demko set a career-high in wins and was runner-up for goalie of the year.
If the Canucks want to carry this positive momentum forward, they’ll need more career-best seasons from the players on this roster.
No pressure, though.
1. Jake DeBrusk
The Canucks’ biggest offseason addition is positioned nicely to smash his career highs for goals and points.
Jake DeBrusk’s best NHL season came back in 2022-23, when he scored 27 goals and 50 points in 64 games, largely while playing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
Last season, DeBrusk’s totals dipped drastically, especially at five-on-five, where he primarily played with Charlie Coyle.
With the Canucks, DeBrusk should get a massive upgrade at center if he plays with either Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller. He also was mainly on the second power-play unit with the Boston Bruins, whereas he should get a crack at PP1 time with the Canucks.
2. Carson Soucy
When healthy last season, Carson Soucy was a steadying defensive force.
That’s a good thing because he’s in line for a larger role this season.
Although Soucy finished fifth among Canucks defencemen in ice time last season (17:29), it wouldn’t be surprising to see him surpass the 20-minute per night total for the first time in his career.
Offensively, Soucy was a non-factor last season, with two goals and six points in 40 games. However, this was a player who registered 10 goals and 21 points in 64 games just two seasons ago. He has a sneaky, accurate shot that we didn’t see much of in Vancouver last season.
The increased role, coupled with an offensive bounce-back, puts Soucy firmly in line for a career year.
3. Elias Pettersson
Although Pettersson’s poor finish looms large, he was dominant for stretches last season.
At the All-Star break, Pettersson was eighth in league scoring with 64 points in 49 games, good for a 107-point pace.
That’s why it was disappointing to see him finish with only 89 points.
Pettersson has the potential to surpass the 110-point threshold, something that we’re seeing with more regularity in today’s NHL. At even-strength last season, his 68.6% Individual Points Percentage (the percentage of goals that a player gets a point on when he’s on the ice) was his lowest total in four years. In 2022-23, Pettersson’s IPP was 86.6%.
His 12.2% shooting percentage at five-on-five was also a career low. If his even-strength scoring rate ticks up, he could conceivably surpass his career-high of 102 points.
4. Brock Boeser
The longest-tenured Canuck just enjoyed a breakout season in 2023-24, but is there another level to his game?
Predicting Boeser’s season is twofold. This is a guy that just posted a career-best 40 goals, 73 points, along with a 19.6% shooting percentage. We also learned how he’ll have to manage his body differently after being sidelined with a blood clot prior to Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Despite all of that, there could be another level to Boeser’s game next season.
His IPP last season was down at 59%. For reference, the league average for forwards last season was 65.1%, but the majority of top-six forwards register a point on 70% or more of the goals they’re on the ice for.
Although Boeser had a career-high 16 power-play goals, he did play on a unit that was well below its peak. There is a path for Boeser to pull a Sam Reinhart this season and push 50 goals for the first time in his career.
5. Daniel Sprong
Daniel Sprong has been one of the most efficient point producers in the NHL.
Over the last two seasons, Sprong has been one of the league leaders in terms of points per 60 at even strength. All of the players ahead of him are bona fide NHL stars.
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The only way Sprong could be more lethal is if he earns an increased role. While the winger competition will be stiff with the Canucks, there are openings for two spots in the top-six, including a spot alongside Sprong’s friend, Pettersson.
If he manages to lock down a bigger role, there’s a good chance he will surpass his career highs of 21 goals and 46 points.
6. Arturs Silovs
It’s easy to forget that young Arturs Silovs has only played in 19 NHL games, 10 of which came in last year’s playoffs.
The Latvian netminder will be counted upon for a much larger role this season. Even without an injury to Thatcher Demko, there was a good chance that Silovs was in line for 30 starts.
Now? It might be conceivable that he will play close to half of the Canucks’ games if Demko misses time.
This is a sink-or-swim season for Silovs. If he carries over the momentum from last year’s playoffs, he could be one of the best rookies in the NHL.
7. Vincent Desharnais
Canucks management is certainly hoping there’s a breakout campaign in store for Vincent Desharnais.
The 6-foot-7 defenceman will never be a prolific offensive producer, but he could be in line for the biggest role of his NHL career.
After watching what assistant coach Adam Foote did with the likes of Tyler Myers and Noah Juulsen last season, there’s a chance that Desharnais levels up and has his best season to date. That could be expedited if the Canucks choose to split Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, which would open the door for Desharnais to skate alongside Hughes.
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