I don’t really care much for the CFL. Not in the slightest. Never really have. I always found great interest in watching Pinball Clemons from afar, though. I swear, Damon Allen could be in the background with a full-body cast and he’d find some way to be positive about it all. Chipper fella.

I’m trying to bring some of that to Canucks Army. For today, anyway. The season is one game away from its completion (thank god) and we’re as familiar with this team and its roster as we’ll ever be. We’ve had a chance to watch them grow and develop all season.

So, I’m asking the Canucks Army staff, which of these players has grown on them the most over the course of the season. 

Hutton honestly grew on me the most, although not because I thought he was a poor player to start. I just didn’t expect him to take a spot and not only keep it, but make a case for being the team’s most impressive defenseman all season.

Although if we’re going by players I didn’t like and then did, Ryan Miller. Last year he looked very much like an aging goaltender who wouldn’t evolve his game enough to do anything worth note, but his integration of a more controlled and modern style impressed me this year. He’ll never not make those wild athletic saves, but he made an effort to adapt his game to fit the league as it is now. I’ve never been a huge Ryan Miller fan, but he earned my respect this year. It takes a lot to add elements this late in a career, but he did it.

The player that has grown on me the most since the start of the season is 2015 7th round pick Tate Olson. When selected with the second to last pick, there wasn’t much fanfare but he has quickly rocketed up the list of prospects to watch.

He plays a simple and smart game that may go unnoticed but he does it extremely well.  I had hoped to see him in Utica to end this season, but alas he will not get a ATO and will start training. If the Canucks can somehow squeeze any sort of NHL regular out of the 210th overall pick, then it’s a huge win. At this moment, a very good argument could be made that Olson will become a NHL player, so that’s good.

The player who’s grown on me the most this season has been Jake Virtanen. He faced adversity after a disappointing performance at the World Juniors this year but handled the pressure and criticism extremely well. Since the World Juniors, Virtanen has been one of the more enjoyable Canucks to watch and has shown that he can be a solid middle six winger. His pure strength has left me amazed at times as he is able to flatten even the toughest of defencemen from a standstill. In combination with his strength, Virtanen’s speed allows him to carry the puck into the offensive zone with relative ease. All these factors combined will bode well for his success moving forward. There is a lot to like about Virtanen, and he looks to be an important piece for the team moving forward.

I think this question begins and ends with  Nikita Tryamkin. Not even the most optimistic of people expected him to finish this year in the NHL, and when his KHL season got off to an abysmal start, people began to question whether he’d ever make it here.

But the young giant stepped up and became a key player on Yekaterinburg’s blue line, so much so that it made the organization eager to see what they had. He made a few people nervous to his nonchalant attitude to being a Canuck, but so far, he’s been very interesting. He’s not really driving play just yet, though some of that might be systems adjustment. He’s been menacing, selfless, and gave everybody a bit of something to cheer for with his first NHL goal last night.

The 21-year-old still has a long ways to go, don’t get me wrong, but what we’ve seen now is a heck of an improvement from the guy who nearly found his way to the Russian minors in the fall.

Luca Sbisa seems like such a nice man

I would say, Ryan Miller. We have given our goaltending a lot of crap and quite frankly they have been the least of our worries. Miller, although overpaid, has been pretty consistent this year and a great tandem with Markstrom. Better defense and guys that are able to keep the puck out of our zone would make them that much better. Keep Miller till he’s done. That’s not the problem. Also, muscles. They have grown on me

I’m going to go with the least obvious answer, Jannik Hansen. Never mind the fact that he’s shown well in a first line role and has 21-goals to show for it. That’s all fine and great.

Frankly, I love the leadership role he’s taken on this season. It’s been pretty interesting to watch. He went from a relative no-show in post-game reports from the Canucks beat to appointment reading. He’s definitely taken a step forward as a leader on this team and that’s kind of what you need during an extended rebuild.

His accent is still funny as hell, too. I’m all for him getting even more involved in the post-game business.