6 Canucks players who will make a step forward next season

Each offseason, the trades made in the NHL continue to prove that the salary cap space is the most important asset outside of the Superstars. Teams with limited space can upgrade much more easily by taking advantage of other teams and acquiring assets cheaply.

It’s been a long time since the Vancouver Canucks had any significant amount of salary cap space left. Hence, the organization was forced to become more creative in order to improve. With no end date in sight for the Canucks’ salary cap issues — upcoming extensions for Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson make that difficult — this conundrum won’t let up.

That means the Canucks need internal improvement. They need the players within the organization to take further steps forward in their development in order to advance the team as a whole. It’s clear that internal improvement is key for the Canucks unless the team manages to scoop a hefty salary load, which is clearly proving to be more difficult than many thought.

The Canucks had a nightmare start to the 2021-22 NHL season, and that meant many players had a difficult time getting off on the right foot. For some, the start of last season derailed their entire season. Heading into the 2022-23 NHL season, there are six players who are expected to step up and have better years.

The young wild

Jack Rathbone

Rathbone, one of the Canucks’ hottest prospects for the past few seasons, is finally reaching a make-or-break stage where he is expected to make the leap to full-time NHLmanship. He managed to play nine NHL games last year, but that was during the Dumpster fire earlier in the season, which caused Rathbone to find himself in some sticky situations.

This season, the Canucks are hoping Rathbone can make a smoother transition to the top tier of professional hockey. If everyone is fully healthy, the organization can use him for more physical matchups, helping the young defender stay fresh for the full 82 games.

After leaving the NHL last season, Rathbone dominated the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks. He managed to have 40 points in 39 games, scoring more than a point a game as a 22/23-year-old defenseman against men. That stint certainly helped Rathbone gain a little more confidence, and the Canucks are hoping the patient development strategy will start to pay off this season.

Vasily Podkolzin

Last season was Vasily Podkolzin’s first in the NHL and the transition went as smoothly as could have been hoped. He played in 79 games, recording 14 goals and 12 assists. He also provided a strong physical presence and was effective in the precheck. Podkolzin showed chemistry throughout the year with a host of key Canucks forwards, including Pettersson and JT Miller.

As long as he can avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, Podkolzin seems poised to take a step forward in his sophomore year in the NHL. He was a very effective 5-a-side last season as the Canucks scored 56.35% of goals while he was on the ice in those minutes.

Podkolzin is a smart player who has visibly improved and become more comfortable as the season progressed. Beware he will thrive more as a playmaker this season due to his underrated passing game and vision that just started to show last year.

Nils Hoeglander

Nils Höglander experienced a small fall from grace within the Canucks organization. After an excellent rookies season in which he blew everyone away and blew expectations, Höglander had a very disappointing second season. He finished the 2022-23 NHL season with nine points fewer than the previous one, despite playing in four more games.

To make matters worse, Höglander was never able to get into head coach Bruce Boudreau’s good books. While the mid-season coaching change last year helped revitalize some struggling players, that was not the case for Höglander. Now that the Canucks have added a few new characters to the Assault Squad, Höglander is in a sticky spot and it’s not entirely clear where he fits in.

However, at 21, Höglander is still very young. He came into the NHL very early on from an impressive training camp and is still the second youngest player on the roster. He also possesses a very impressive work ethic, a trait that will certainly have him coming to Vancouver to improve on last season.

Spencer Martin

Spencer Martin, perhaps last season’s most unlikely star, enters this year’s training camp and only has to fight Collin Delia for the NHL backup job, a fight he’s likely to win. The Canucks are confident going into this season with Martin as a full-time backup due to his incredibly impressive numbers last season in both the AHL and NHL.

Martin appeared in six NHL games for the Canucks, finishing with a 3-3-0 record, 1.74 goals against average and a .950 save rate. Those flashy numbers probably won’t hold up for long, but the fact that he’s done so in his first six NHL games with the Canucks defense in front is impressive.

Martin has all the skills and capabilities to have another breakthrough season and establish himself as a full-time NHLer behind Thatcher Demko. If he does, the Canucks would get one of the best goalie duos in the league at an extremely affordable price.

The Veterans

Conor garland

Conor Garland is an often underrated forward who manages to post some of the best 5v5 metrics in the entire NHL. An analytics darling, Garland doesn’t have the same raw scores as other elite forwards due to a lack of power play. Garland also plays a very sideways game, not in the north-south style that many NHL coaches prefer.

The move to Vancouver wasn’t easy for Garland. During an April interview with Harman Dayal from the athleteGarland had this to say.

“I don’t like change, I like having the same thing over and over again and it was hard to get used to. But that’s up to me, I still have to get a lot better. I am confident that I will be much better next year.”

Another season in Vancouver with some continuity should be huge for Garland’s game on the ice.

Brock Bad

Brock Boeser enters the 2022-23 NHL season with many expectations imposed on him by a brand new three-year, $6.65 million contract with AAV. The prolific winger had a poor season last year, scoring just 23 goals and adding 23 assists in 71 games.

In his game, Boeser is one of the deadliest goalscorers in the league. However, he has been fickle throughout his time in the NHL, in part due to a complicated mix of injury issues and a lack of elite skating skills. He has surpassed 20 goals four times during his NHL career and this should be the season where he finally breaks the 30-goal mark.

With an improved forward group, Boeser should be able to find two talented linemates. While the Canucks weren’t far enough up front to run “The Lotto Line” last season, this season will be a different story, especially given the trio’s mixed results last year.