After 50 Games, Which Canucks Forwards Are Drawing The Hardest Matchups?
A deep dive into how the Vancouver Canucks are deploying their forwards this season.
The Vancouver Canucks have officially hit the 50-game mark of the 2024-25 season. Through their first 50 games, they have complied a record of 23-17-10, and as of the morning of January 30, 2024, sit in the second Wild Card spot. Overall, it has been a challenging campaign on and off the ice, with trade rumours and locker room rifts dominating the headlines this year.
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One of the intriguing trends to watch this season has been the deployment of forwards. Whether it is due to injury or poor performances, the Canucks have been changing up their forward lines constantly, which has resulted in some interesting trios. That being said, while the lines have been thrown in a blender on a regular basis, Vancouver has stayed consistent in deciding which players draw the toughest matchups.
PuckIQ is one of the few public sites that provides a look into the competition level players face on a nightly basis. The site has sorted all players into three playing situations: "Elite," Middle," and "Gritensity." The definitions of these three categories are:
- Elite: at least one elite player must be on the ice. No gritensity player may be on the ice.
- Middle: Elite + Gritensity on the ice or three middles.
- Gritensity: Any time a gritensity player is on the ice except when with an elite
Using their data, here is a look at ten forwards who have played at least 40 games and what matchups they draw most frequently.
The first thing that stands out about this chart is the elite category. Last season, J.T. Miller led the way, playing 39.1% of his ice time against elite players. This season, that has dropped to 31.8%. The same can be said about Brock Boeser, whose elite competition percentage went from 37.3% last season to 33.7%
As for some increase, Elias Pettersson has seen a slight bump in elite competition, going from 33.6% to now leading the team at 34.9%. As for Conor Garland, who went from 27.9% to 31.8%. While he wasn't on the team last year, another player who has been given more responsibility is Kiefer Sherwood, who was at 22% with the Nashville Predators in 2023-24 but now sits at 28.1% through 47 games.
Another interesting trend is that Miller and Boeser are playing more minutes against gritensity matchups. Miller has seen his percentage rise from 22.8% last season to 28.7% this year, while Boeser has gone from 23.1% to 27.7%. On the flip side, Conor Garland has seen his gritensity matchups decrease, as he has dropped from 33.6% in 2023-24 to 30.8% this season.
In the end, the biggest difference between this season and last is that Rick Tocchet is balancing his matchups. He is no longer relying heavily on Miller and Boeser; instead, he is letting others step up, including Jake DeBrusk, Garland, and Pettersson. With only 32 games remaining and changes to the roster expected, the question is whether Tocchet will be able to spread out the matchups or be forced to replicate 2023-24 and play certain forwards against elite competition.
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