Two months ago there was no way I would have thought Micheal Ferland would be helping the Canucks in a playoff run.
Ferland, who has a well-documented history with concussions, battled concussion-like symptoms all season long. The low point had to be when he was unable to play a full period of hockey during a conditioning stint with the Canucks AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.
Even at the beginning of training camp 2.0, Ferland was deemed unfit to play by the team and it was starting to look like seeing Ferland in a playoff game was a pipe dream.
Itās amazing how much can change in two weeks.
Just look at some of the reviews of Ferland during Fridayās final scrimmage of training camp.
Aside from Quinn Hughes, Ferland was the best Canuck on the ice at the final scrimmage. He looks fast and is having no problem processing the speed of these scrimmages.
Scrimmages are not full speed though.
On Wednesday night the Canucks will face off against the Winnipeg Jets in their one and only exhibition game before they compete against the Minnesota Wild in a best of five play-in series. This game will be the final test for Ferland, who has passed every preceding test thrown his way in the past two weeks.
Travis Green has mentioned that he has been happy with Ferlandās progression throughout camp and is excited to see what he can bring to the team.
Ferland averaged 14.5 hits per 60 minutes when he was in the lineup for the Canucks this season. JT Miller was the leader in that category for the Canucks this season with 123 hits. For comparison, Miller had 5.3 hits per 60 minutes. Tyler Motte had the highest hits per 60 on the team with his 15.9 hits/60. Imagine a bigger and strong version of what we saw Motte do on the forecheck this season.
Micheal Ferland can make a huge impact on this Canucks team if he is able to return to his previous game shape.
We wonāt know if Ferland will be able to get that level. The only way to really find out is to see how it plays out.
Ferland was on a line with Antoine Roussel and Adam Gaudette on Friday night. The Roussel-Gaudette duo seems to be what Travis Green wants to go with for his third line. Ferland would really round out the Canucks top nine and if he is able to add a bit of scoring to go along with his bone-crushing hits, the Canucks will have an exquisite top nine group.
Hopefully, weāll see more hits like this from Ferland in the postseason.
I spoke with Micheal Ferland on a zoom call and he gave some great quotes about looking forward to playoff hockey. I will include a few quotes here.
Ferland on coming back strong: āGoing into summer before going home we didnāt have ice for two months, that was the best thing for me. I kept pushing and pushing and wasnāt giving myself enough rest. The two months off was what I needed. I havenāt had any symptoms now.ā
On recovering from his head injury: āIt was a long year. Iāve been through this stuff before and I kind of know where Iām at now. I feel good.ā
On his symptoms during his recovery: āThe best way to explain it was like I was feeling drunk.ā
When asked if heās ready to play a physical style despite not being able to during scrimmages, Ferland said: āOnce playoff hockey starts, Iām going to be hitting and Iām going to be hitting hard.ā
