Why do so many #canucks castaways - Chatfield, forsling, Podz & now hoglander - seem to do better even tho a mushy-middle chasing & now bottom dweller should be prime zone for opportunities?
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JPat’s Monday Canucks Mailbag: Why is Brock Boeser playing so much on a rebuilding team?
Oct 19, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 19, 2026, 10:02 EDT
As the old saying goes: you can’t win ‘em all. But it would have been nice to see the Vancouver Canucks find a way to come home from their gruelling early-season road trip with at least one victory in six games. As it was, the Canucks claimed a single point for their overtime loss in Florida. And so it goes for the rebuilding hockey club. Ten games into the new season, many questions remain about how this season will unfold and how this organization plans to put the necessary pieces in place to become a contender some day. While patience is certainly required in this exercise, it’s fair to constantly monitor the process. And that’s where the Monday Mailbag comes in. You’ve got questions, and we do our best to provide answers. So let’s dive right in.
Jeff: Your thoughts on Boeser? 3 questions: 1. Why is he leading the Canuck F’s in TOI and 2. why is he on the PK? is ok but not quick enough to close gap: PP goal. His: TOI 3:30 more than EP40 same # of shifts last night. 3. On 3×3 a liability? Tkachuck’s OT g: BB let his man go. Slow!!
Brock Boeser has been okay in the team’s first 10 games. I was a little surprised to see him crest 21 and a half minutes in each of the final two games of the road trip (after playing just 14:51 in the season opener). But on Saturday in Tampa Bay, the team’s top line didn’t have a whole lot going on, so Manny Malhotra looked to others. Yes, you’d like more than two goals every 10 games from Boeser. But you’d probably take seven points for every 10 games he plays. So his production to this point falls well within the acceptable range. I think he is killing penalties because no one else on the team has been able to with any success. So the coach is leaning into Boeser’s smarts and veteran savvy to get the job done. I don’t know if this will be a long-term play, but until other options emerge, Boeser will likely remain in the PK rotation.
As for overtime, I liked the Canucks’ approach in Edmonton on opening night when they went with speed for the most part. I’m not sure that Boeser needs to be part of this team’s 3-on-3 groupings. He has just one OT winner since the start of the 2024-25 season, so it’s not like he has shown to be a game-breaker or a game-ender. Boeser still has a role to play in many situations on this roster as constructed, but I’d probably look for other options beyond regulation time if I were calling the shots. And I’d probably try to scale his minutes back to the high teens on a given night. Spread the ice time and play the kids. This is a rebuild, after all.
It’s pretty clear that the first three guys listed have all landed in terrific spots. Jalen Chatfield has settled in as a big part of what the Carolina Hurricanes have put together. Gustav Forsling took a long and winding road to become a Stanley Cup champion in Florida. And Vasily Podkolzin has found a home riding shotgun with the best player on the planet in Edmonton. As for Nils Hoglander, I’d suggest the jury is still out on whether he’s any different in Nashville than he was for the Canucks. He has three points (all goals) in 10 games and is averaging 11 minutes of ice time a night. Did the Canucks make rash decisions on a few of these guys?
Did the organization’s player development department let it down? Absolutely to both. But we’re talking about three separate management groups spanning the better part of a decade. And for the ones that got away, the Canucks have also found guys like Kiefer Sherwood, Linus Karlsson, and now Paul Cotter, who have made the most of their opportunities in Vancouver after scuffling earlier in their careers. So it does cut both ways. Change is a part of pro sports. Obviously, successful organizations make more good moves than bad ones. The Canucks have clearly let some good players get away before they blossomed elsewhere. But it’s also fair to ask whether they would have ever reached their potential in this environment.
Is DPetey more Mattias Ohlund or Kevin Bieksa?
I’d say more Ohlund than Bieksa. At his best, Mattias Ohlund was a workhorse defenceman who logged big minutes, imposed his will on opponents and didn’t back down from anyone. Now, that could also describe Kevin Bieksa. But stylistically, I see more of Ohlund in young DPetey’s game. From being left-handed to being from Sweden to being soft-spoken off the ice, the similarities line up more with Ohlund than Bieksa. Ohlund was a lock to produce 28-35 points a season and four times scored at least 10 goals in a season. I don’t know if DPetey will be as productive in terms of his goal-scoring, but with three goals in 10 games this season, he’s given himself a chance to chase double digits. Three times in his Canuck career, Bieksa racked up between 42 and 44 points. I definitely don’t think that’s in DPetey’s future. But if he could have a career in Vancouver that comes anything close to resembling what Mattias Ohlund did for the franchise, then DPetey will wind up as one of the best third-round draft picks in Canucks history.
Most disappointing player so far?
And people scream that the media is negative, then you bring this heat. Let’s acknowledge the positives before we address players that haven’t lived up to expectations. Both Elias Petterssons are off to fine starts it should be noted. And Leevi Meriläinen has been terrific. Also, Paul Cotter, Linus Karlsson and Jonathan Lekkerimäki have also had productive first 10-game stretches. So there have been some good news stories in the early stages of this season. At the other end of the spectrum, plenty has been made of the performances of Kevin Lankinen and Zeev Buium and certainly it’s fair to categorize their starts as underwhelming at best.
But if there’s one guy that has flown under the radar a little bit, I’d have to say Marco Rossi. He finished the season strong after the Olympic break and the hope certainly was that, fully healthy after an off-season to train, he’d hit the ground running again. And he did. Sort of. He scored three goals in his first two games of the season, but hasn’t had a point since then. Now, he missed Saturday’s game in Tampa with an illness, so we won’t hold that against him. But much more was expected than four points through nine games and mired in a seven-game pointless skid. Rossi needs to get back in the line-up and get going offensively. I’d also say it’s been a little too quiet for Drew O’Connor with just one goal in his first 10 games. But he’s been asked to play out of position as a centre and that likely explains some of his offensive struggles.
Yes, teams will generally tell young prospects that they believe will be with the big club all season that they have the green light to find a place to set up a home base. Liam Öhgren talked about how up until this season, he had always lived out of a hotel because he wasn’t sure if he’d be in the NHL or sent to the minors. You can understand how that would weigh on anyone. There are comforts that come with having a place to call your own. Players get enough of hotel life on the road. As for Brock Boeser, with full trade protection, he has some security over his future that he didn’t have earlier in his career. So you can understand why he waited to get into the Vancouver housing market. It doesn’t mean that he will be a forever Canuck, but clearly, he feels comfortable putting down some roots here after more than a decade in the organization.
If we are truly going to rebuild should RJ not be selling high on EP40 and Debrusk while they are playing well right now. Jake is playing the best I have seen him play. I think Petey is now worth a player and a good prospect or 2 with no retention. Teams are desperate for good players We are not.
— DJTaxman77 (@taxman77.bsky.social) 2026-10-18T16:50:13.639Z
Which teams exactly are desperate for good players? You may have noticed there is rarely significant trade activity around the league in the first couple of months of the season. So there’s that. There is also the Dylan Larkin situation in Detroit and maybe even the Connor Hellebuyck saga in Winnipeg. Those matters may have to be settled first before the trade chatter picks up around the league. So be patient. Also, both players you mentioned have full control of their situations. Ryan Johnson can be as aggressive as he wants in shopping the players, but they have the ultimate say. Pettersson has had a very solid start to the season with three goals and 10 points in 10 games in addition to his 30 hits.
DeBrusk, as is his history, scored three goals over a three-game span early in the road trip and then faded to the point that Saturday in Tampa Bay was as quiet as he’s been all season. So I’m not sure I agree with your assertion that this is the best he’s played. He’s played well in spurts. But I think, by now, teams around the league know exactly what Jake DeBrusk is. Maybe there will be a taker at some point. But I wouldn’t hold my breath much before US Thanksgiving. That’s when acquiring teams will have a better sense of who they are and what they need.
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