As the season winds down, who will walk away with individual year-end awards?
With just two weeks remaining in what has been another lost season, the end (of the schedule) is near. And despite the fact that the Vancouver Canucks will be on the outside looking in when the Stanley Cup playoffs begin for the third straight season and the seventh time in the last eight years, there have still been a number of individual performances worth noting.
As is always the case regardless of the team's finish in the standings, the Canucks will hand out year end awards. Fan voting is open now and the team will unveil its 2022-23 individual award winners during the home finale on Saturday April 8th against Calgary. With that in mind, here are my picks for the major awards the Canucks will dole out:
Most Valuable Player:
Elias Pettersson's breakout season makes him the Canucks MVP. Not only has he proven to be the team's best offensive player, he has taken on a leadership role and rounded out his game adding penalty killing duties to long list of areas he excels. He is closing in on his first 100-point season in the National Hockey League and has made everyone he's played with better. That's one of the true measures of greatness. For that reason and many others, Pettersson is my selection as team MVP
Honourable mention: Quinn Hughes (& Thatcher Demko whose injury absence proved his value to the hockey club)
Top Defenseman Award:
At some point in the future, this award will be named for Quinn Hughes. In the meantime, he'll have to live with the fact his name will be on it every year for the better part of a decade (or perhaps more). This will already be his fourth consecutive season as the team's top blueliner and he's only getting better. Hughes has rewritten the record he set last season for most points in a season by a Canucks defender.
Honourable mention: Ethan Bear has been a nice addition, but is a distant second in this category
Most Exciting Player:
While Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes both established career-highs for points in a season, Andrei Kuzmenko will skate away with this award. The goals, the smiles, the pre-game connection with the fan base, the first-year Russian scored in his National Hockey League debut and hasn't looked back. He has done it all with an easy grace that made him an instant fan favourite. By locking him up for two more seasons beyond this one, the Canucks made it clear they liked just about everything the saw from Kuzmenko in his first season in Vancouver.
Honourable mention: Elias Pettersson & Quinn Hughes
Unsung Hero
It's always difficult to accurately describe any player on a team that is covered as heavily as the Vancouver Canucks as unsung. Every player is talked about and every one of their stories has been told. However, it feels like this is Dakota Joshua's award to win. The big winger has been a second-half force as his confidence has grown. Not only has he scored timely goals, but has broadened his role on the hockey club by growing into an effective penalty killer. And in recent weeks has seen time on the team's top line.
Honourable mention: Collin Delia & Sheldon Dries