Nils Höglander knows that this season has had its fair share of ups and downs, but the young forward continues to work on his game and is beginning to see his hard work pay off with positive results on the ice.
Since the calendar flipped to 2025, Höglander has been one of the Vancouver Canucks’ most impactful forwards. He leads all Canucks’ forwards with 10 five-on-five points since January 1st and has five primary assists in that span, which is more than double the next forward on the team.
The 24-year-old forward has played up and down the lineup this season and says he likes to work off his linemates’ strengths and feels he has specific skills that mesh well with various teammates.
“It feels like me and Teddy are good at reading off each other,” said Höglander of Teddy Blueger, who has been his most consistent linemate this season.
“If I’m down low and doing my best work, Teddy is always a bit behind me and knows when to get open on a play [around the net].”
Through 201 minutes of five-on-five play as linemates, Höglander and Blueger have been on the ice for eight goals scored and three against.
Höglander’s next most consistent linemate this season is Elias Pettersson. The two Swedes are currently on a line together and are joined by Jake DeBrusk.
Pettersson recently called Höglander a ‘Pitbull’ and likes the energy he brings to a line. Höglander has enjoyed playing alongside Pettersson and is seeing first-hand that Pettersson is beginning to get back to finding his A-game.
“He’s back to sniper Petey or pistol Petey,” said Höglander with a laugh.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has used Höglander as a spark plug in the past and feels comfortable moving him up and down the lineup when Höglander is playing his game.
As for where his game is, Höglander believes that he has worked through some bad luck and kept an even-keel mentality throughout the season.
“Every player goes through ups and downs. I feel that I’ve been working through a lot of that this year. It feels like I started pretty good at the beginning of the season, and it went down a little bit. I was glad I worked through that,” he said.
“Those couple of months, I played bad and got scratched – it can be tough. There were trade rumours; all that stuff is pretty hard when you are in it. You’ve got to be comfortable with yourself to work through those things, and I worked through it, and now I feel like I’m back to where I was last year, maybe even better.”
Since January 1st, Höglander has led the team in control of goal share, being on the ice for 15 goals scored and five against. He also leads the team in control of shot share with a 55% shots-for percentage.
Höglander feels his best when he can go out for a shift and give 100% of his energy in the 40 seconds he is on the ice.
“Giving energy is what my game is,” said Höglander. “My game is filled with speed, playing fast and playing strong. That’s my game, and that’s what is most important to me.”
Not only has Höglander begun to shine in the offensive zone, but his play in the defensive zone has also seen improvement. Since January 1st, no Canucks forward has allowed fewer scoring chances per minute than him.
The Canucks are averaging 19.6 scoring chances against per 60 minutes at five-on-five when Höglander is on the ice and creating 25.4 scoring chances per 60 minutes.
An essential part of that has been his ability to play well in the high-danger areas of the ice at both ends of the rink.
“I’ve been working on my play in the D-zone a lot every year,” said Höglander. “I feel like I am way more comfortable at playing my role deep in the D-zone. In the offensive zone, my game has always been about being close to the net. I don’t really look at the stats, but I think I’ve been good around both nets.”
And he has.
No Canucks player has a better control of high-danger scoring chances this season.
Höglander has been on the ice for 117 high-danger chances for and 96 against. That is good enough for a 54.9% control of on-ice high-danger chances, and his number has only improved since January 1st – seeing his HDCF% go up to 63.5% through 27 games played.
With his game trending up, Höglander is excited about the season’s final stretch and wants to be effective at both ends of the ice as the team continues their playoff push.
“That’s what we’re fighting for,” said Höglander about returning to the playoffs. “Every game is a playoff game. It’s unreal when you play those playoff games. These last few games, we are fighting for our lives to play playoff games. I like it so much; it’s so much fun.”
No matter where he plays in the lineup, Höglander looks to stick to his game and be able to help lift his teammates. His goal is to continue playing with speed and energy while also being confident in the defensive zone as this Canucks team makes their push to the playoffs.
