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Canucks Player Power Rankings – November 28th, 2016
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Grainne Downey
Nov 28, 2016, 11:00 ESTUpdated:
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Another week of this long season is over and the Canucks are still not looking like a playoff team. It’s not all bad though! Luca Sbisa is showing off his strength, Jake Virtanen is looking and behaving more and more like a character from a teen drama on the CW network, and Bo Horvat is pretty good at the whole hockey playing thing. 
1. Bo Horvat:
The last time someone not named Sedin led the Canucks in points at season’s end was 2006. That’s the year Akon’s “Smack That” was topping the charts and Borat was released. Bo Horvat turned 11. Bo currently has more points than both Sedins. Even if he doesn’t hang onto the lead through April, Bo is making things interesting and it is very fun to watch. 
2. Alex Burrows:
Coming in at #2 is Alex Burrows, who appears to be in the midst of a renaissance season (with a little bit of help from Mike Smith and a lot of help from Bo Horvat). 
3. Ben Hutton: 
Ben Hutton signed a brand new contract this week and is having a great time, as usual. He has likely been upgraded to #1 defenseman in the absence of both Chris Tanev and Alex Edler, which is both fun and a little stressful. Here’s hoping Ben is still dancing next week.
  
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4. Loui Eriksson:
Loui Eriksson is scoring now! And they have been (mostly) Loui Eriksson goals. The king of garbage!
5. Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom:
Both of these guys got a win this week. Jacob Markstrom made the best save, so he gets the gif, but they both had a nice week. Good job, goalies!
6. Troy Stecher:
Troy Stecher continued to impress everyone this week, even his teammates. Here he is getting tired of Matt Duchene’s fanciness. 
7. Markus Granlund:
Markus Granlund scored the shootout winner in Denver this week. He’s also giving Chris Tanev a run for his money in the “What exactly is happening, hair-wise?” department.  
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8. Nikita Tryamkin:
Everything Nikita Tryamkin does is entertaining. So far, almost all of this has been good. Even his less flattering moments are amazing, though. 
9. Henrik and Daniel Sedin:
These two let Bo Horvat run the goalscoring department this week so that they could focus on being embarrassing dads. 
10. Jayson Megna:
Jayson Megna could be one of those guys that scores one goal as a Canuck and then disappears forever. But what a goal it would be. 
11. Brandon Sutter:
Last season, Brandon Sutter blocked a shot in Denver and missed the rest of the season. Last Saturday, Brandon Sutter tried to block a shot in Denver and ended up scoring on his own net. It could be worse. 
12. Luca Sbisa:
Luca Sbisa has been fine this week, which is great to see. He might not be ready to carry the team, but he was definitely ready to carry Erik Gudbranson, which is a start. 
   
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13. Michael Chaput:
I have nothing negative to say about Michael Chaput. He’s been everything you would want him to be. 
14. Erik Gudbranson:
The Hutty/Guddy duo continues to be a concern on the ice. Off the ice, though, things seem to be going far smoother. 
15. Jack Skille:

Usually I find that I don’t have much to say about Jack Skille, but this week he received support from many friends. What a nice thing for Jack!
16. Brendan Gaunce:
Brendan Gaunce is doing his thing without much pizzazz, which is fine. He’s also keeping the Twitter haters in check by passive-aggressively liking their tweets. 
17. Joe LaBate:
Joe LaBate played his first NHL game this week and participated in his first NHL fight. He got roasted by his teammates for the photo that the Canucks used to announce his call-up. Overall a so-so week for Joe.

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18. Sven Baertschi: 
Playing for his former roommate and current Tucson Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham, who is still in critical condition after collapsing before a game last week, Sven Baertschi came out flying and put up the first 3-point night of his career. Unfortunately for Sven, he also took a puck to the skate, sidelining him for now.
19. Alex Edler:
Last season, Alex Edler blocked a shot in Colorado and missed the remainder of the season. Last Saturday, Alex Edler blocked a shot in Colorado and might have broken his hand. This too bad for his teammates, who will miss his 25 minutes of ice time and his general steadiness. This is great for the Canucks fans who think he is bad at hockey and should be benched. Maybe they will learn from this. 
20. Chris Tanev and Jannik Hansen:
These two are making room for Baertschi and Edler on the IR. They are very much missed. 
21. Derek Dorsett:
Derek Dorsett is also on the IR and is slightly less missed. 
22. Jake Virtanen and the Canucks organization, as a duo: 
The Jake Virtanen saga has been genuinely hilarious so far this season and it’s only November. Remember last week when he got sent to Utica and was shortly called back up because he didn’t have his “stuff”? Jake has honestly no idea what that was about, honestly.
Apparently there are malls in Utica that Jake has access to. 
  
That’s the face of a kid who lives for the drama. Virtanen openly mentioned the lack of communication. There is no plan, as far as he’s aware. 
Like most trainwrecks, you just can’t look away because you have no idea what’s going to happen next. Also like most trainwrecks, this could have been avoided. 

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