On Thursday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal analyzed the Vancouver Canucks&#8217; <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-vancouver-canucks-practice-raty-hoglander-garland-third-line">lineup from practice</a> ahead of their final preseason game Friday night against the Oilers.
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Wednesday <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a>  practice lines 
Heinen. Miller. Boeser. DeBrusk. Pettersson. Sprong. Höglander. Räty. Garland. Åman. Blueger. Sherwood. Bains.
Hughes. Hronek. Soucy. Myers. Forbort. Desharnais. Friedman. Juulsen.<a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsnet650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sportsnet650</a> <a href="https://t.co/Jr9LqD81Sf">pic.twitter.com/Jr9LqD81Sf</a>
&mdash; Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/BatchHockey/status/1841547916953186454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
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“I like these combos,” Harm said. “It’s the best construction Tocchet could’ve come up with. It’s interesting to break down the variables we’re going to be looking at in terms of whether these lines will actually be successful or not. For example, starting with the J.T. Miller line, the key difference is Danton Heinen moving up. I’m really intrigued to see what he can do. Watching him in training camp, I didn’t realise how much of a strength his wingspan is and how it helps him win pucks back on both the forecheck and backcheck. I think he could quietly help that line control play down low, and he’s learned how to mesh better with high-skill linemates. Another thing that flies a bit under the radar is Heinen’s point totals. They don’t seem impressive on the surface, but that’s largely because he doesn’t play on the power play at all. He actually scores five-on-five points at a legitimate top-six rate relative to his ice time. He has 80 five-on-five points in 215 games; Boeser has 91 in 226 games, so that shows Heinen can bring more offensive pop than Pius Suter showed there.”
Heinen, the 29-year-old Langley, BC native, is entering his ninth NHL season after starting his career with the Bruins in 2017. He has collected 87 goals and 212 points in 487 career contests with Boston, Anaheim, and Pittsburgh.
“I also like that if Raty is able to stick at centre, you’ve now got Suter as a backup option,” Harm continued. “If Heinen doesn’t work on that top line, it’s a nice plan B to have. Suter might not seem like a flashy option on paper, but that trio of Suter-Miller-Boeser spent nearly 205 minutes together last season, controlled 66% of five-on-five scoring chances, and outscored teams 16-4 at five-on-five.”
“We also have to assume that when Dakota Joshua comes back, he’ll have a spot in the lineup, which would presumably push Hoglander off that Garland line,” Quads added. “I know Hoglander and Garland have been phenomenal in the preseason, but Joshua and Garland are like peanut butter and jelly—they’re going to be together. If Raty sticks in that spot, suddenly you have another top-six option in Nils Hoglander.”
The conversation then shifted to the Pettersson line of DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sprong.
“The most exciting possibility with that line combination is what they can cook up off the rush,” Harm stated. “Sprong has high-end finishing ability, and he’s quick when it comes to leading the rush. When he has time and space in transition, like we saw in the preseason against the Flames, he can really use his hands and shot with creativity. Combine that with Jake DeBrusk’s speed and above-average finishing ability, and I think they could be dangerous off the rush. The question is: will they be ferocious enough on the forecheck? DeBrusk adds speed, but one of the frustrations Tocchet had with Pettersson’s line last year was that they weren’t often engaged enough on the forecheck to create havoc and force turnovers that lead to quick-strike offence.”
“The top six looks pretty good, and I’d say this is the best bottom six the Canucks have had in years,” Quads noted. “It’s definitely better than what they started with last year. The big difference is they made trades during the season, but I don’t see the need for adding someone like Elias Lindholm this year. Maybe you go for a Nikita Zadorov-type acquisition or a top-four defenceman. I’d say this team is still one top-four defenceman away from being a true contender.”
The discussion then moved to the bottom six.
“The challenge for Raty is translating his preseason success to the regular season,” said Harm. “There are countless examples of talented young prospects who dominated the preseason but couldn’t make it work when the games counted. He had a great preseason, but how will that look now that all the top players on every team are in the lineup and operating at full speed? Players like Pettersson, Hughes, and Miller are just going through the motions in the preseason. The intensity ramps up significantly when the regular season starts. Another thing to track is what kind of minutes and matchups they’ll be trusted with. It’s not just that Raty is inexperienced—we know how little trust Tocchet has in Hoglander defensively. There could be a scenario where that line gets sheltered. If Suter comes back and it’s Suter, Blueger, and Sherwood, that’s better than most NHL fourth lines. Given how much Tocchet loves Suter and Blueger, it could end up being a relatively even load for the bottom six.”
You can watch the full segment below:
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Heinen earning a spot on J.T. Miller&#039;s wing and other Canucks lineup thoughts" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EjnNNrH9VEY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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On Thursday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal analyzed the Vancouver Canucks' <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-vancouver-canucks-practice-raty-hoglander-garland-third-line">lineup from practice</a> ahead of their final preseason game Friday night against the Oilers.
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https://twitter.com/BatchHockey/status/1841547916953186454

“I like these combos,” Harm said. “It’s the best construction Tocchet could’ve come up with. It’s interesting to break down the variables we’re going to be looking at in terms of whether these lines will actually be successful or not. For example, starting with the J.T. Miller line, the key difference is Danton Heinen moving up. I’m really intrigued to see what he can do. Watching him in training camp, I didn’t realise how much of a strength his wingspan is and how it helps him win pucks back on both the forecheck and backcheck. I think he could quietly help that line control play down low, and he’s learned how to mesh better with high-skill linemates. Another thing that flies a bit under the radar is Heinen’s point totals. They don’t seem impressive on the surface, but that’s largely because he doesn’t play on the power play at all. He actually scores five-on-five points at a legitimate top-six rate relative to his ice time. He has 80 five-on-five points in 215 games; Boeser has 91 in 226 games, so that shows Heinen can bring more offensive pop than Pius Suter showed there.”

Heinen, the 29-year-old Langley, BC native, is entering his ninth NHL season after starting his career with the Bruins in 2017. He has collected 87 goals and 212 points in 487 career contests with Boston, Anaheim, and Pittsburgh.

“I also like that if Raty is able to stick at centre, you’ve now got Suter as a backup option,” Harm continued. “If Heinen doesn’t work on that top line, it’s a nice plan B to have. Suter might not seem like a flashy option on paper, but that trio of Suter-Miller-Boeser spent nearly 205 minutes together last season, controlled 66% of five-on-five scoring chances, and outscored teams 16-4 at five-on-five.”

“We also have to assume that when Dakota Joshua comes back, he’ll have a spot in the lineup, which would presumably push Hoglander off that Garland line,” Quads added. “I know Hoglander and Garland have been phenomenal in the preseason, but Joshua and Garland are like peanut butter and jelly—they’re going to be together. If Raty sticks in that spot, suddenly you have another top-six option in Nils Hoglander.”

The conversation then shifted to the Pettersson line of DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sprong.

“The most exciting possibility with that line combination is what they can cook up off the rush,” Harm stated. “Sprong has high-end finishing ability, and he’s quick when it comes to leading the rush. When he has time and space in transition, like we saw in the preseason against the Flames, he can really use his hands and shot with creativity. Combine that with Jake DeBrusk’s speed and above-average finishing ability, and I think they could be dangerous off the rush. The question is: will they be ferocious enough on the forecheck? DeBrusk adds speed, but one of the frustrations Tocchet had with Pettersson’s line last year was that they weren’t often engaged enough on the forecheck to create havoc and force turnovers that lead to quick-strike offence.”

“The top six looks pretty good, and I’d say this is the best bottom six the Canucks have had in years,” Quads noted. “It’s definitely better than what they started with last year. The big difference is they made trades during the season, but I don’t see the need for adding someone like Elias Lindholm this year. Maybe you go for a Nikita Zadorov-type acquisition or a top-four defenceman. I’d say this team is still one top-four defenceman away from being a true contender.”

The discussion then moved to the bottom six.

“The challenge for Raty is translating his preseason success to the regular season,” said Harm. “There are countless examples of talented young prospects who dominated the preseason but couldn’t make it work when the games counted. He had a great preseason, but how will that look now that all the top players on every team are in the lineup and operating at full speed? Players like Pettersson, Hughes, and Miller are just going through the motions in the preseason. The intensity ramps up significantly when the regular season starts. Another thing to track is what kind of minutes and matchups they’ll be trusted with. It’s not just that Raty is inexperienced—we know how little trust Tocchet has in Hoglander defensively. There could be a scenario where that line gets sheltered. If Suter comes back and it’s Suter, Blueger, and Sherwood, that’s better than most NHL fourth lines. Given how much Tocchet loves Suter and Blueger, it could end up being a relatively even load for the bottom six.”

You can watch the full segment below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjnNNrH9VEY

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Diving into the Canucks’ projected line combos: Canucks Conversation

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