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Milestone watch: Hronek has opportunity to cement his spot among top Canucks defencemen of all time next season
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Jul 9, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 9, 2026, 13:46 EDT
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Playing in the shadows of Quinn Hughes as he did for his first three seasons in Vancouver, Filip Hronek didn’t really have the chance to pile up the points. But now that Hughes has moved along, Hronek is the undisputed best defenceman on the roster and has a real opportunity to climb the ranks of the highest-scoring defencemen in Canucks franchise history.
Coming off a career-best 49-point season, the 28-year-old defenceman seems primed to log big minutes and play a key role for the Canucks in all situations again next season. If he comes anywhere close to matching his point total from a year ago, Hronek could rise as high as 13th on the club’s all-time list for defenceman scoring.
Hronek has 131 points in 228 games played and will start into next season 21st on the list. If he produces 50 points, he’d reach 181 points and surpass recognizable names such as Dale Tallon, Tyler Myers, Dan Hamhuis and Dave Babych. 
Much of Hronek’s point total will likely depend on his role on the power play. And that deployment will be in the hands of new head coach Manny Malhotra and his staff. Hronek has shown the ability to play the point on the man advantage, but there’s no question Zeev Buium will be pushing for an opportunity with the team’s top unit, too. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the Czech veteran start the season as the team’s top power play quarterback, with Buium growing into the role as the 2026-27 season progresses.
Hronek finished fifth in the league last season, averaging 25:00 of ice time per game. After the Hughes trade, he rose to fourth in average ice time at 25:23. He seems likely to carry a similar workload into next season, which should provide him with ample opportunity to be involved in the team’s offence.
Hronek has already worked his way into 16th spot among all Canucks defencemen in assists with 113. With 40 helpers in two of the past three seasons, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility he could add 40 more again next season. If he does, he will shoot up the list to the 12th spot, which is currently held by Kevin McCarthy with 148. It may take two seasons to crack the top 10, which would mean moving past Harold Snepsts (160) and Sami Salo (162). 
While he’s been productive, the Czech native has never been a big goal scorer in the NHL, having never reached double digits in a single season. Hronek has scored 18 goals in parts of four seasons in Vancouver, leaving him 31st on the list among all defenders. If he scores 10 for the first time in his career, he’d match Christian Ehrhoff for 20th all time in the annals of Canucks history. That seems like a reasonable target given the amount of ice time the workhorse logs.  
For Filip Hronek, it’s never been about putting up huge numbers. But on a rebuilding team, he’ll see plenty of ice time, and with those opportunities, it stands to reason that some offence should follow. If he’s here for the long haul, he projects as a player who should work his way into the top 10 all-time in almost every statistical category among Canucks defencemen.

Milestone watch series

Part 1: Elias Pettersson
Part 2: Brock Boeser
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