Just three Vancouver Canucks who have played at least 100 minutes have a positive goal differential at 5-on-5 this season.

Two of them are forwards: Conor Garland is plus-one and Aatu Räty is plus-two.

And then there’s Filip Hronek. He’s plus-nine.

In the Canucks’ 22 games this season, the Canucks have been outscored at 5-on-5 when Hronek is on the ice in just three of them, each time by just one goal. This is all while he’s among the league leaders in ice time, averaging 24:23 per game.

That speaks to how well Hronek has played, no matter who he’s been paired with. He has sometimes been viewed as a Quinn Hughes merchant, riding on the coattails of one of the best defencemen in the world, but that hasn’t been the case this season; he has a positive goal differential with every defenceman he’s played with, whether it’s Elias Pettersson, Marcus Pettersson, or Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

“It’s real,” said head coach Adam Foote of Hronek’s impact for the Canucks this season. “He’s been playing well.”

Consider this: when Hughes has been paired with Hronek at 5-on-5, the Canucks have outscored their opposition 12-to-8. When Hughes has been paired with anyone else, the Canucks have been outscored 11-to-4.

In fact, the argument could be made that Filip Hronek has quietly been the Canucks’ most consistent player.

At least, he’s been quiet publicly. On the ice and in the room, it’s a different story.

“He’s probably one of the most vocal guys on the ice,” said Marcus Pettersson. “He’s very clear in his communication. On the bench, too, he talks a lot with the players on the ice — if you have pressure, if you have time. He’s a great leader that way and a great example for a young guy.”

From outside of the Canucks’ room, it’s hard to get to know Filip Hronek. He’s a pretty private person, who is notorious for never wanting to speak with the media. You won’t see him featured in any of the goofy intermission features produced by the Canucks playing air hockey or mini pool, either.

But inside the room, Hronek is a big personality.

“He’s one of the most well-liked guys in the room,” said Marcus. “As a leader, with the young guys, he always helps them out and takes them to dinners and stuff like that. It goes a long way for the young guys. The presence that he has in this locker room is unmatched.”

Hronek’s leadership is something that Foote has seen develop more and more over the past year.

“He’s matured so much as a player and a man,” said Foote. “When he came back from that injury last year — he had a couple of bumps there — it just seems like he matured and is a great leader. He’s playing solid, he’s helping the young guys, he’s fun to be around.”

That leadership has been vital for the team’s young defencemen, who have been called upon to play a key role for the Canucks with all of their injuries. After Hughes, Hronek’s most frequent defence partner has been Elias Pettersson, and Hronek’s mentorship has been crucial.

“Last year, when I came up, he was one of the guys that helped me so much on and off the ice,” said Elias. “I’ve learned so much from him, and I’m still learning from him.”

A big focus of Hronek’s mentorship has been encouraging Elias to be more vocal, which might feel ironic for media members who have, on occasion, dealt with his silence.

“Since my first day up here, he’s been on me with how we communicate on the ice,” said Elias. “He’s really good at it. He reminds me and Tom [Willander] and the young Ds — the forwards, too — always communicate. It helps everyone.”

Hronek doesn’t just communicate with his teammates; he’s known to throw barbs at the opposition, something fans got to hear at the end of the 2023-24 season when things got a little heated in a game against the Calgary Flames.

With the Canucks at the top of the Pacific Division and the Flames well out of the playoff picture, Hronek levied a devastating burn on the Flames bench, responding to their chirps with a simple statement: “You have holidays in two days.”

“He’s very funny,” said Marcus, confirming that his sense of humour comes through in the room as well as on the ice. “He’s a very competitive, fiery guy, too, so he’s got one-liners that he throws at the other team — it’s pretty fun to hear them.”

Verbal jabs are not the only way he frustrates opponents. There’s a reason why Hronek has such a strong goal differential at 5-on-5, though his team-high 1.056 PDO certainly doesn’t hurt.

Hronek’s style of play fits neatly into Foote’s system, as his mobile skating and strong defensive reads make him a good fit for the man-on-man coverage the Canucks are playing.

But much of his effectiveness comes before even getting into defensive zone coverage. He is confident and aggressive in closing the gap against the rush, frequently killing zone entries at the blue line.

There are a couple of examples from the Canucks’ game against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

Take this moment midway through the second period: As Drew O’Connor’s shot is blocked, Hronek immediately identifies that defenceman Lian Bischel is jumping up and shades into the middle of the ice to take away the potential breakaway.

As Marcus Pettersson recovers to cover Bischell, Hronek shifts his attention to Jason Robertson coming up the left wing. After a quick check to confirm that Max Sasson is skating hard on the backcheck, Hronek decides he can commit to Robertson, and sweeps the puck away at the blue line before Robertson can pass the puck.

Hronek again stymied Robertson on a zone entry later in the period. As Brock Boeser lost the puck on the boards, Hronek alertly backs into the neutral zone with a couple of strong strides, shading toward the middle of the ice.

Hronek plays the 3-on-2 perfectly, aggressively closing the gap on Robertson and taking an angle that puts his stick and skates in his potential passing lane, breaking up the rush.

Hronek’s aggressiveness paid off against a first period 2-on-1 as well. After Hughes got caught on a pinch, Hronek makes sure that he’s in the passing lane before closing on Roope Hintz and getting stick on puck.

Of course, sometimes a stick check isn’t enough, which brings me to one of my favourite defensive plays Hronek has made in recent games.

Against the Florida Panthers, Hronek was facing a one-on-one rush from the slippery Brad Marchand. But Hronek didn’t bite on Marchand’s outside-inside deke or worry about the puck in his skates; he just planted his gloves in Marchand’s chest and drove him to the ice.

“He’s a very strong human being,” said Marcus Pettersson with a grin, recalling that play. “The combination of him being the skater he is and how strong he is, it’s very impressive.”

The truth is, it’s not any one thing that has made Hronek so effective this season. It’s a combination of everything: his skating, his defensive reads, his gap control, his strength, his puck control, his passing — it has all worked together through 22 games.

“He’s so solid, and he squashes a lot of plays, and moves the puck really well,” said Marcus. “I think his game is all aspects of the game, that’s where he stands out. He can play in any situation. You love having a guy like that on your team.”