Welcome back to WWYDW, the only hockey column on the internet entering its sixth continuous year of existence.

Speaking of this column and its existence, it’s a bit nebulous right now. Typically, these are published on either Wednesdays or Thursdays. So, depending on when it comes out and when you happen to be reading it, the Vancouver Canucks will have just played either their 37^th or 38^th game of the 2023/24 season.

Which isn’t exactly halfway through the schedule, we realize. But it will be when your responses get published next week, so that’s why we’re asking this one early.

Which one, you ask? Fair question. Unless you happened to read the headline, we haven’t mentioned it yet. But it’s a fairly straightforward concept this time around.

We asked for your standings predictions at the start of the season, and nobody had the Canucks leading the Western Conference. Well, here we sit at the (almost, sort of) halfway point of the season, and that’s exactly where the Canucks are (unless, again, that’s changed since we wrote this.)

So, it makes sense for us to simply re-ask that question and allow everyone to get in a new, updated prediction.

Will the Canucks hang on to their lofty spot at the top? Or will they go the way of Icarus and crash back down to Earth all covered in goopy wax?

You tell us!

This week, we’re asking:

Let it be known in the comment section.

You answered below!

Attending the Luongo game, and seeing Joshua score a real beauty right in front of us.

Beating the Oilers 8-1 on opening night.

Being in first place via points and second percentage-wise at the Christmas break. Who woulda thunk?

Watching all the jaded fans and media start believing again. The wagon is a lot more fun full than almost empty.

Me being wrong (don’t tell my wife). Being wrong about the Hronek trade, being wrong about the season in which our window will open, being wrong about how far away we were, being wrong about how many pieces we needed, being wrong about how good RT was going to be coaching this team. Really only a little wrong about that one…

Never been so happy to be wrong on those points in 2023. On record saying we will snag the first available wild card to get into the playoffs, and I hope I am wrong about that also, and we instead win the division. It sure fun to be a Canucks fan again. Always a fan, not always fun!

Watching the team (except for Kuzmenko and Joshua) go from hockey players to hockey athletes over the summer.

They were professionals when they hit camp.

Joshua has since picked up his conditioning and is becoming an athlete…Kuzmenko is still working on it.

I’ll go with an odd one since as it’s not a triumphant win or anything, but the memory that sticks out most to me is trading Horvat.

He was such a big part of the identity of the team, that trading him really did feel like a page was being turned. And I think he’s a really good player, so it wasn’t a “yea” moment — but it felt necessary. And I think it was one of the first steps I saw with new management that said: “we’re going to make the necessary changes, and they’ll be well thought out and part of a plan.”

I think that was, for me, the real start of how Canucks management set up the team for success for the 2023/24 season.

The reemergence of Brock Boeser as a sniper and defensively competent forward. I was in favour of trading him last year to give him a fresh start and to open up a spot on the wings here. He’s never going to be a burner, but his skating looks better, he’s finding a nose for the net and he’s using that frame of his a lot better on the boards.

“On January 22, 2023, Tocchet was named head coach of the Vancouver Canucks to replace Bruce Boudreau.”

This was the by far the absolute biggest, boldest, smartest move the club did in 2023 without question. You always build the base first. What a base they built! They are building it fundamentally correctly finally again!

Second, was showing one of the worst captains ( Marshmallow Bo Horvat) in our history the door! Jettisoning that soft, floating culture with it!

Look at where we are now! Yes, the Smarts always thought this was possible, as to why we asked for Benning to be fired! We all knew the core was always here, just not being handled correctly. The players had no idea, because most of them never saw anything different in their NHL careers. The Alumni kept their blinders on and went along with the dog and pony show. Until Smyl finally manned up! Smyl turned out being the REAL Deal!

Biggest moment “good” is beating San Jose to be top in the league going into Christmas break.

Biggest moment “ surprise” trading 1st round pick in Bo trade for Hronek. Didn’t see that one coming.

Overall, nothing really memorable in 2023. Make the playoffs and win a round or two, that would make 2024 memorable. Until that happens, it’s been mediocrity or worse for 12 long years.

Going into the season, about half the roster had turned over considering Mikheyev and Hronek had missed a large part of the back-half of last season. OEL was gone. New D-men and bottom-six centres were on board at reasonable terms and cost. The players were pushed to come to camp conditioned and the newish coaching staff ran their first camp, emphasizing process and systems.

I was optimistic all the changes would bring the team a reasonable chance at playoffs. A few more things happened; Demko and DeSmith at the top of their game, Myers started playing well, Quinn Hughes stopped throwing muffins from the point and started driving the puck into the zone and firing wrist shots. The partnering with Hronek struck gold.

There was a realization in October this was a good hockey team. Not a bubble team, not a middling team scraping for a wildcard spot but a good team. Then came a few weeks of whimpering about PDO and regression as pundits tried to salvage some dignity from all the slights, apathy, and disrespect given the Canucks all through the offseason.

My favourite part of 2023 is knowing how uncomfortable all those ratings and ranking must be right now that they have been stuffed right up the arses of all those so called experts.

I hope Canucks Army reviews a number of those predictions, ratings and rankings. We know mainstream hockey media won’t.