The Vancouver Canucks revamped their entire defence corps in the offseason bringing in Carson Soucy, Ian Cole and Matt Irwin via free agency, buying out Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s massive contract and opting not to re-sign Kyle Burroughs and Ethan Bear. Led by captain Quinn Hughes, this new unit will attempt to gel quickly in training camp and the preseason and become the reason the team makes the playoffs rather than a reason they don’t.
In the first of this series on training camp battles, we looked at the wingers. Now we will take a stab at the defence where only Hughes is a lock on the top pair. The rest of the pairings are going to be determined throughout the preseason where I’m sure assistant coach Adam Foote will cycle almost every newbie alongside Hughes.
Canucks’ Projected Top Four
Quinn Hughes – Ian Cole
Hughes will have to break in a new defence partner this season as Luke Schenn is no longer with the team. While he will likely play with everyone but the kitchen sink in the preseason, I am landing on Cole as his partner when the puck drops on Oct. 11 against the Edmonton Oilers.
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While he’s not a right-hand shot like Schenn, he has a lot of experience playing on the right side with top-pairing defenders like Victor Hedman in Tampa Bay and Jaccob Slavin in Carolina. His style is also reminiscent of Schenn all the way down to his physicality (117 hits in 2022-23) and love of blocking shots (123 in 2022-23). On paper, it sounds like a perfect match, but we will have to wait and see how it translates on the ice.
Carson Soucy – Filip Hronek
This pairing could turn out to be one of the Canucks’ best two-way duos as they both can skate and move the puck. Filip Hronek will likely be the guy who jumps up the most, but I wouldn’t count out Soucy either as he scored 10 goals in 2021-22. They could also be a set pair on the penalty kill considering both of them were primary penalty killers on the Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red Wings respectively before coming to Vancouver. Of all the pairings, I am most intrigued by how this one will work out in the preseason and early on in October.
Who Will Play With Myers on the Bottom Pairing?
With Tanner Pearson and his $3.25 million cap hit being traded to the Montreal Canadiens, it appears Tyler Myers is staying put – for now. That may change before the trade deadline, but it sounds like he will be taking up residence on the third pairing alongside the winner of this battle. General manager Patrik Allvin said as much in his press conference prior to training camp.
Regarding Tyler Myers, we have no intention of moving him…He was good for us, especially after Sergei Gonchar and Adam Foote came in. He had a really strong World Championship, and I was happy for him that he won the gold there. I know he’s excited to be back here, and working with Foote and training camp will dictate our opening night roster.
– Patrik Allvin (from ‘Canucks GM Patrik Allvin 1-on-1: On Elias Pettersson, Tyler Myers and camp competition,’ The Athletic, 9/20/23)
With that said, let’s take a look at the contenders.
Akito Hirose
Akito Hirose had an impressive seven-game stint with the Canucks at the end of the season after coming over from the NCAA. He notched his first three points in the NHL and looked incredibly calm and poised along the blue line – especially for a 24-year-old fresh out of college. In fact, he reminded me a bit of Chris Tanev, not flashy, but a defenceman that just does his job night in and night out.
Alongside fellow NCAA signing Cole McWard, Hirose was arguably the best defenceman at the recently completed Young Stars Classic. He led the tournament with a goal and five points and was noticeable in every game moving the puck with efficiency and showcasing a strong two-way skill set. If he plays like that in training camp and the preseason, I think he’s got the bottom-pairing spot locked down.
Matt Irwin
Irwin will probably grab the seventh defenceman spot when all is said and done, but that doesn’t mean he won’t battle in training camp. He was signed for a reason, and I don’t think it was for the Abbotsford Canucks. He has a lot of experience having played 461 games in the NHL, and he plays the game tough and hard – exactly how Foote and Rick Tocchet like their defencemen to play. He also can play on the penalty kill, which is something that Hirose likely won’t be trusted to do early on. That alone might give Irwin a leg up on the rookie going in.
Jack Rathbone
This season is going to be a big one for Jack Rathbone. He is a restricted free agent (RFA) at the end of 2023-24 and he has to show signs of becoming a full-time NHLer soon or risk falling down the depth chart – or out of Vancouver altogether. The Canucks have added a lot of defensive depth since he was drafted and he’s now arguably behind Hirose and maybe even McWard in the pecking order.
Rathbone has shown flashes of what he can do in the NHL with his mobility and first pass, but he still isn’t the strongest defensively. With the Canucks wanting to become a more structured team in their own zone this season, that part of his game has to develop quickly if he wants to find a permanent spot on Foote’s blue line. Reports indicate that he’s bulked up over the offseason, so it will be interesting to see how that added strength affects his game.
Christian Wolanin
Christian Wolanin had a surprising stint with the Canucks last season and impressed management enough to give him a two-year extension. In addition to his 55 points in 49 games in the AHL and the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s Best Defenceman, he played 16 games with the big club, averaging 15:45 of ice time. He played well in his own zone and moved the puck efficiently, which is something they want to improve on this season as a unit. Even if he doesn’t beat out someone for the bottom-pairing or the seventh defenceman spot, he is solid insurance in the minors in case of injuries.
Cole McWard
Finally, there’s McWard, who stood out at the Young Stars Classic as the best defenceman not named Hirose. The 6-foot-1, 192-pound right-hander had an outstanding tournament where he scored two goals with perfectly placed wrist shots. If he can parlay that performance into a strong training camp and preseason, he could surprise everyone and make the roster ahead of names like Wolanin, Irwin and Rathbone. I don’t see McWard beating out Hirose, especially if he continues to play like he did in Penticton.
Battle For the 3rd Pairing & Extra Defencemen Will Be One to Watch
In addition to the names mentioned above, another standout from last season in Guillaume Brisebois could also make a case to be in the lineup. He played a very solid 17 games in the NHL before his injury and like Wolanin, filled in nicely when injuries hit nearly the entire regular defence corps.
Jett Woo, who had a career season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with seven goals and 21 points, will also be chomping at the bit to make a name for himself considering he just signed a “make-it-or-break-it” one-year deal in the offseason. And don’t forget Noah Juulsen, who showed well in his 12-game stint and partnered with Hughes for 126:07 of ice time.
All in all, the battle for these final spots on defence is going to be fierce. It will all come down to who performs the best in the preseason and impresses the coaching staff with their work ethic and two-way game. May the best defenceman win.
