Penticton — As most Vancouver Canucks fans know by now, Nils Höglander is a man of few words. He’d much rather let his actions on the ice speak for themselves. And through three days of Vancouver Canucks training camp in Penticton, the 23-year-old Swede has made all kinds of noise – the good kind of noise.
Head coach Rick Tocchet revealed on Friday that Höglander was among the team leaders in fitness testing ahead of camp and he’s looked the part of a tone-setter in each of his on ice sessions so far. The trademark hustle and determination has been on full display through camp and on Saturday, Höglander displayed the form that led to him scoring a career-high 24 goals last season.
The crowd in attendance at the South Okanagan Events Centre during Group A’s morning session roared its approval after Höglander snapped a shot off the rush high over the blocker of Arturs Silovs and into the back of the net.
Already a veteran of 221 NHL games, this is Höglander’s fifth training camp with the Canucks. So he knows the ropes and understands the preparation needed to be on top of his game.
“I feel more and more comfortable every year and this year I’ve never felt this good before,” the 2019 second round draft pick said after Saturday’s session. “So I feel really good for the season.”
Despite his goal-scoring exploits last season, Höglander still had nights where his play away from the puck was called into question. And when push came to shove in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Höglander was twice a healthy scratch in the middle of the team’s second round series with Edmonton. He finished his first look at NHL playoff hockey with just one goal and two points and averaged only 10 minutes of ice time per night.
So it was a bitter end to what had been a dream season. But Höglander vows to learn from his post-season struggles and be better for the lessons he learned.
“It was my first playoff games and every guy that plays his first NHL playoff games, it’s not easy every time,” he explained. ”It’s a good experience for me, I had it last year and hopefully we make it this year and I can keep building from that.”
In the eyes of the coach, Höglander needs to keep building out his game. His motor always has to be running and he needs to find ways to contribute no matter where he finds himself in the line-up. The Canucks have increased their winger depth which creates internal competition for ice time.
Last year Höglander showed he could score lower in the line-up and hold his own when elevated on the depth chart.
“Higher expectations,” Tocchet said bluntly when asked how he views his young winger. “I thought it was tremendous how he grew. This year, I think it’s another level of higher expectations. We expect him not to make some of the mistakes he made last year. Now listen, he’s going to make mistakes but he came in great shape and him, Garland and Raty have been pushing been the pace. They’re probably one of best lines out here in the sense of sustainability, so I have to give him a lot of credit.”
Outside of a brief trip to Spain, Höglander spent the summer at home around family and friends while training and preparing for the new NHL season. He arrived in Vancouver three weeks before camp to get back around teammates and to ramp up his workouts.
It’s a plan that has come together nicely, allowing Höglander to be one of the best players in Penticton.
“I always feel I need to work harder in the summer because I know when we get here (to camp), we have the testing, and it’s going to be a long season, and you need good conditioning,” he explained. “I just need to keep having that confidence I had last year and keep building from that. That’s going to be my goal for the rest of this camp and the upcoming weeks. I feel ready. It’s going to be fun. We’ve been waiting for this since we lost in the playoffs, so finally, it’s here again, and we can play.”
Höglander and the rest of the Canucks regulars will scrimmage on Sunday before wrapping up their time in Penticton. Then it’s on to an unyielding preseason schedule that starts with five games in seven nights in five different cities, beginning on Tuesday at Rogers Arena against Seattle.
It’s all part of the grind of life in the National Hockey League. And Nils Höglander can’t wait to get started again.
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