5 Vancouver Canucks Who Are Playing Better Than You Thought They Would This Season

Are we having fun yet? A 3-0-1 start to the new NHL season has the Vancouver Canucks perched atop the Western Conference and dishing up some highly-enjoyable hockey. 

Three out of four points against the rival Calgary Flames, then road wins in scary SoCal against Anaheim and Los Angeles: if you listened to all the pundits who insisted that the Canucks got worse this summer, this start defies your wildest dreams.

It’s early going, but seven points are in the bank—and those points could be handy when the playoff stretch run arrives next spring.

How is this happening?

Vancouver’s fresh crop of rookies have been both exciting and productive, but the team’s early success goes beyond that. Here’s a look at five players who are performing well above expectations so far in 2015-16.

No matter how deeply Eddie Lack was loved by the Canucks’ fanbase, general manager Jim Benning has made it clear that his loyalty lies with Ryan Miller.

Their relationship goes back almost as long as Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann have been alive. In 1999, Benning was the Buffalo Sabres’ director of amateur scouting who unearthed Miller as a fifth-round draft pick. Miller went on to excel in Buffalo, reaching the Eastern Conference Final twice and winning a Vezina Trophy in 2009-10.

It’s fair to say that Miller’s first year in Vancouver was bumpy. He struggled to make adjustments to his game and missed the last six weeks of the regular season with a knee injury. But Miller has come to play this season.

An early injury to his next challenger, Jacob Markstrom, has given Miller the opportunity to take complete control of the Canucks’ net—and he has seized the moment.

Miller has given up just five goals in Vancouver’s first four games, earning himself an otherworldly .955 save percentage and 1.21 goals-against average to start the season. He padded his stats as the most successful shootout goalie in NHL history, per Sportsnet Stats, when he earned Vancouver the win over Anaheim on Monday night, then picked up a shutout in the second game of the back-to-back in L.A. on Tuesday.

If Miller keeps this up, the Canucks might actually boast an old-school, uncontested No. 1 goalie this season for the first time since Andrew Raycroft backed up Roberto Luongo in 2009-10.

A plodding pugilist whose role is disappearing from the game, you say? 

Not so fast. Brandon Prust is quickly finding favour with coach Willie Desjardins and looks like he’s on track to become a key member of the Canucks’ forward corps this season.

Yes, Prust leads the NHL with 25 penalty minutes in four games and has already logged three first-period fights. But Prust has also posted three assists to go along with those fights. On Tuesday at Staples Center, he was named the game’s third star as he logged a season-high 14:26 and was moved up to the second line with Bo Horvat and Radim Vrbata for the last two-plus periods.

Prust’s best season was 2010-11 with the New York Rangers, where he peaked with 29 points and 160 penalty minutes. If these first four games are any indication, he could easily eclipse both those numbers as a member of the Canucks.

The Canucks signed Adam Cracknell to a two-way contract in late August—an apparent afterthought of a deal that looked like it was intended to shore up the veteran ranks of the Utica Comets.

When the Vancouver Island native told Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times-Colonist at the time of his signing that “I hope to keep the ferries busy [with family and friends],” it sounded like wishful thinking. But not only did Cracknell beat out Linden Vey for the Canucks’ fourth-line centre job, the guy whose last NHL goal came in April of 2013 is now leading the Canucks in scoring after odd-angle tallies during both games in California.

How many of those friends and family members from the Island do you think will be headed to Rogers Arena to see Cracknell face his old teammates from the St. Louis Blues on Friday night?

Maligned in the past for his lack of finish around the net, Jannik Hansen’s playing style is almost perfectly suited for today’s evolving NHL game.

Hardworking and versatile, Hansen can be shuffled up and down the lineup, is airtight defensively and can skate like the wind. 

This season, Hansen has also been dazzlingly consistent. He has a point in every game so far, which gives him the lead in the team scoring race even though he has been used primarily on the third line.

Hansen’s best offensive season came in 2011/12, when he tallied 16 goals and 39 points, but he could hit a career high this season. Hansen has never looked as confident, nor has he appeared to be better suited to a role than he has during these first four games.

It might be time for the herd mentality against Luca Sbisa to start slowly shifting.

The Canucks have given up just four goals against in regulation through their first four games, which makes it pretty tough to come down hard on any member of the defence. 

Even better, it looks like Sbisa has found a partner he can work with in Ben Hutton—a 22-year-old rookie, but one who appears to think the game very well, communicate effectively with his partner and learn from his mistakes.

Last year, Sbisa and Kevin Bieksa were like oil and water on the ice together. Maybe this season, we’ll start to see more tweets like this:

With the way this first week has unfolded, it would be easy to hand out more bouquets. Savour the moment, Canucks fans. Which players have been the most pleasant surprises for you?