The Vancouver Canucks were a surprisingly successful team last season winning the Pacific Division and making it to the second round of the playoffs. This season, the expectations will be higher as Canucks Nation now expects at the very least a playoff berth and maybe even another division championship. To further that goal, general manager Patrik Allvin was busy on July 1 signing seven players that he hopes will help push this team over the hump and win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Related: Meet the New Canucks: Jake DeBrusk
The top six will feature a new face in Jake DeBrusk as he is expected to take up residence on the second line with Elias Pettersson and be what Brock Boeser has been to JT Miller – the ying to his yang. But that’s all Allvin added in free agency that will be a lock for the top of the lineup. The other two spots are up for grabs and a few players will battle for them, new additions and incumbents alike.
Danton Heinen
Coming home to his native British Columbia for the first time since his minor hockey days, Danton Heinen will be given an opportunity in the top six after he spent a lot of last season playing with the likes of David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle in Boston. He started the season in the bottom-six, but slowly worked his way up the lineup and finished the regular season with the most even-strength ice time (187:33) alongside Pastrnak and Zacha. Heinen’s production reflected that of a top-six forward, too, as he scored 17 goals and 36 points – the most he’s recorded since 2021-22 when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Heinen would bring speed, forechecking and tenacity to either of the top two lines. He might work well with DeBrusk and Pettersson, considering he played 153:24 at five-on-five with DeBrusk in Boston and finished with an impressive 54.82 Corsi for percentage (CF%) and outchanced the opposition 78-57.
Pius Suter
Similar to Heinen, Pius Suter started the 2023-24 season in the bottom six with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua but worked his way up to the top line with Miller and Boeser after Teddy Blueger returned from injury. He bounced around the lineup throughout the season, and finished with 195:03 of even-strength ice time alongside Miller and Boeser. As a line at five-on-five, they skated to a 60.68 CF% and out-chanced their opponents by an inflated 132-70 margin. They also generated 61 high-danger chances and scored six high-danger goals. By all accounts, they were a great line combination and should be given a chance to start the season as a trio again.
Nils Hoglander
Head coach Rick Tocchet loves his duos, and Pettersson and Nils Hoglander were one of his regular pairings in 2023-24. They played 363:25 of even-strength hockey together and were pretty effective, scoring 17 high-danger goals and generating 92 high-danger chances. They also controlled the play whenever they were on the ice, finishing with a 57.99 CF%. Overall, Hoglander was one of, if not the best even-strength producers on the team, scoring all 24 of his goals at five-on-five.
Hoglander wasn’t very good in the playoffs with Pettersson, though, scoring only one goal and being a healthy scratch against the Edmonton Oilers in the second round. They finished with a high CF% (57.04), but couldn’t translate the puck possession into goals. Despite that, he will likely be given first dibs on the open spot with Pettersson and DeBrusk.
Vasily Podkolzin
Now we get to the outside challengers for the top-six. Vasily Podkolzin spent most of his 2023-24 campaign in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Abbotsford Canucks, scoring 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games. He suffered a scary injury at the end of October that caused him to miss almost a month of action, but returned no worse for wear and was eventually called up to Vancouver in March. He played 19 games to end the season, and although he didn’t score a goal, he performed well in a bottom-six role providing physicality to the tune of 70 hits.
Despite Podkolzin’s effectiveness at the bottom of the lineup, Tocchet didn’t give him much of a chance in the playoffs. He only played two games, where he averaged a measly 8:32 of ice time. Hopefully, in training camp and the preseason, he is afforded some shifts in the top-six with Miller – someone he’s had previous success with. During his rookie season where he scored 14 goals and 26 points, he played 207:33 at even strength with him and could return to that level – or even better – this season with the added tools of his lethal one-timer and physicality.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki
We’ll finish with young sniper Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who debuted with the Abbotsford Canucks last season after a banger of a year in Sweden. Before coming over to North America, he starred in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with Orebro HK where he scored a career-high 19 goals and 31 points and walked away with both the SHL Rookie of the Year and Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year awards. He also led Team Sweden to a silver medal at the 2024 World Junior Championship, finishing with a tournament-leading seven goals and the MVP award.
To top off the banner season, Lekkerimaki played six memorable games in the AHL, scoring his first professional goal and assist. While he didn’t dominate the competition, he looked comfortable on the smaller ice and at times showcased his immense potential with his NHL-caliber shot and dynamic skating. With the Canucks’ recent propensity to “cook” their young players in the AHL before allowing them to grab a full-time spot in the NHL, he likely won’t play the entire season in Vancouver. Having said that, a strong training camp could change that plan and allow him to make the opening night lineup. If he does find chemistry with either Pettersson and DeBrusk or Miller and Boeser, the Canucks’ top six could be one of the more skilled groups in the league.
Final Verdict: Pius Suter & Danton Heinen Will Start in the Top Six
As you might have noticed, neither Dakota Joshua nor Conor Garland were discussed in this training camp battle. That’s because they will return with Teddy Blueger as the “third line” or as I call it “the 2B line”. They produced like a top-six line last season and will definitely be a trio to start the season. As for who will win the right to play with Miller and Boeser and Pettersson and DeBrusk, I predict we will see Heinen take up shop beside the latter and Suter with the former, which means Hoglander will be relegated to the fourth line with newbie Kiefer Sherwood and either Podkolzin, Nils Aman or Phil DiGiuseppe.
Whatever the case may be, Canucks’ training camp in Penticton will feature an interesting battle to follow. Who will Tocchet deploy the most alongside his two top-six duos? Stay tuned, as the festivities are only a short two months away.
All advanced stats were taken from Natural Stat Trick
