3 potential combinations for the Vancouver Canucks’ third defence pairing
By Faber
3 years agoThe Canucks are going to have a different look to their bottom pairing this season.
With the loss of Troy Stecher and the emergence of young talent, we could see a very different look for the defencemen getting 8-12 minutes a game.
I’m not going to include potential free agents or defencemen they could trade for. With the cap situation, they may be forced to play with what they got and for the sake of this article, that is how I’m going to predict it.
The Defensive Pairing: Olli Juolevi and Jordie Benn
For those hoping that Olli Juolevi is going to be an offensive force in the NHL, 2018 called and they want their take back.
Juolevi showed that he is more of a defensive defenceman this past season with the Utica Comets. He was excellent on the penalty kill and that’s the special team unit where he will contribute to at the NHL level.
Jordie Benn is the seasoned vet who likely will be higher up in the depth chart than other right shot options like Brogan Rafferty or Jalen Chatfield. There’s a chance that the Canucks try to move Benn and his two million dollar salary and go with a younger option but Benn is what he is. He’s a bottom pairing defenceman who plays better on the right side, despite being left-handed. Paired up with Juolevi makes a lot of sense for a bunch of different reasons.
Juolevi’s most consistent defensive partner last season was Ashton Sautner, who was another left-shot defencemen playing the right side. Juolevi made Sautner noticeably better when it came to puck possession last season with Utica.
Juolevi had to get used to the passes from a left shot defenceman and therefore should be comfortable with Benn on his right side.
Both Benn and Juolevi will be relied upon to kill penalties. If both played on the penalty kill, it would give a break to the likes of Nate Schmidt, Alex Edler, and Tyler Myers. Last season, Schmidt was the fourth most used defenceman on the penalty kill for Vegas and Myers was third on the Canucks for penalty killing time.
Juolevi is a puck eater on the penalty kill, as he led the Comets in blocks per game on the PK last season. It’s something that he talked about at training camp this past season:
“I’ve always said that I want to be a guy who is able to do that too. That’s a big thing that helps win the games. I think it was a good year that way for me. You always get a couple bumps and bruises but that’s normal. I think the (Utica) coaching staff trusted me more in the defensive zone, so I got more opportunities to show what I got and I think I did good in those parts.”
This Juolevi-Benn pairing is something I can really see happening on opening night if there are no free agents signed or trades for a defenceman in the near future. That being said, for this to happen, Travis Green would have to be comfortable with a young player in Juolevi and a left-shot defenceman on the right side in Benn. Those are the only two things that might hold this pairing back from being a real possibility for opening night. I think Green will be fine with it though, but we will see!
The Kids Steal the Show Pairing: Jack Rathbone and Brogan Rafferty
Two former NCAA defencemen who will be dialled in all throughout training camp are Jack Rathbone and Brogan Rafferty.
Rathbone is arguably the Canucks’ top defence prospect. Those who like him, really like him and it’s only a matter of time before Judd Brackett gets Bill Guerin to call about Rathbone’s availability. Rathbone has elite passing skills and skates very smoothly, his defensive game may need work in advance of becoming a full-time NHL player but we won’t know that until we see how he competes against NHL players.
Rafferty had an incredible rookie professional season, he was third in the AHL for defenceman scoring and made the AHL all-star team. Rafferty is the most NHL ready of the young defencemen, although some say he isn’t part of the “young defencemen” group as he will turn 26 at the end of next season.
Rafferty had 11 multi-point games in 57 played last season. He is a powerplay quarterback who commands the point well when he is on the ice. He skates the puck up well and has a good enough shot to beat NHL goaltenders from the point.
These two would have to absolutely dominate camp to both make the opening night roster.
Canucks fans would surely love for two young players to come knock the door down and earn spots on this roster but with Travis Green as the coach, I don’t see it happening.
Rafferty has killed penalties in the past but was not one of the top four defenceman to do so with Utica this past year. Rathbone could kill penalties down the road but will have a lot to learn before he kills penalties against the best powerplay units in the world.
With both being low in the penalty killing depth charts, it’s an unlikely situation that they both make the team. However, one or the other could be paired up with Benn if they have an excellent camp.
My Prediction for the Third Pairing: Jordie Benn and Brogan Rafferty
This is what I predict will be the third pairing on opening night. I know that Jim Benning will want to have Juolevi in the lineup and he has mentioned Jalen Chatfield by name on multiple occasions. But this looks like the pairing that makes the most sense for Travis Green.
Benn would play his natural left side and Rafferty would be on his natural right. That’s right up Green’s alley. This duo is also an older group even though Rafferty only has one professional season under his belt.
Rafferty’s strong AHL season should be enough to be ahead of Juolevi, Rathbone, Chatfield and Sautner as they come into camp. When it comes to the right side on the third pairing, it’s Rafferty’s spot to lose.
It would take a strong camp from Juolevi or Rathbone to move Benn over to the right side and make Rafferty the seventh defenceman. The only problem is that Rafferty had a horrid camp this summer as the Canucks were prepping to enter the bubble in Edmonton. He did not look strong enough to defend against the NHL competition at camp.
Rafferty has returned home and is committed to making the team out of camp this season. I spoke with him back in May and he said that anything less than making the team out of camp would be a disappointment.
“Obviously I want to make the team. I think that anything less than making the [Canucks] out of camp would be a disappointment to me. I don’t like to blame others for my failures or letdowns so if I don’t make the team out of camp, it’s gonna be my fault. But yeah, that’s my goal, show up and work hard and keep working towards being in the lineup more often and just kind of go from there.”
He is so committed to working out this offseason, he has decided to skip this season of “The Bachelorette”. For anyone who doesn’t know, Rafferty is a big fan of the show ever since his fiancée Michelle got him into it a couple of years ago. Rafferty wasn’t allowed to participate in the 2019-20 Utica Comets Bachelor Fantasy Draft because he “had inside information” on the show.
With this pairing, the two penalty-killing units would look like Edler-Myers and Schmidt-Benn. This would be ok, as the Canucks could use a defensive defenceman like Juolevi or Sautner in a pinch if they wanted to limit Schmidt’s time on the penalty kill.
This third pairing could look a bunch of different ways, I think Benn is there unless the team can go out and make a trade. To me, it’s a three-horse race between Juolevi, Rafferty and Rathbone.
Some will throw Chatfield’s name into the mix but from my view of his tape, he is just not an NHL defenceman right now. Out of the young defencemen to make the team, this is my ranking:
1. Rafferty
2. Juolevi
3. Rathbone
4. Sautner
5. Woo
6. Chatfield
2. Juolevi
3. Rathbone
4. Sautner
5. Woo
6. Chatfield
The Canucks have a lot of decisions to make and it wouldn’t hurt to sign a defenceman or two to come in and compete for that third pairing spot against these young players and Jordie Benn.
What’s your best guess for the third pairing on opening night?
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