Arguably the most notable change from last year has been the Vancouver Canucks’ commitment to new systems and structures.
With the buy-in to a strong defensive structure, the Canucks have seen their goals against significantly drop this season, and we see their goals against per game rank second in the league – allowing 2.47 goals per game, which is only topped by the LA Kings at 2.34.
There have been changes to the defence and management have found a few great additions that have slotted in nicely with the guidance of defence coaches Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar.
More recently, Foote and Gonchar have been able to integrate newcomer Nikita Zadorov into a system where he can play a simplified game and be more predictable.
The time for predictability to take priority is in the unadorned parts of the game: breakouts, defending your own zone and other areas that don't always show up on the stat sheet. Selfless play and sticking to their "staples" have the Canucks' defensive improvements.
“Fast hockey is predictable hockey and predictable hockey is for the coaches to have a system and structure in place so that every player understands where the puck is going to go and when it should go there,” said General Manager Patrik Allvin. “It is easier to play fast when you are playing predictable hockey because then you can move faster without needing to adjust your process. This is something we started last year when Rick came in here to implement how we want to practice and from there, how we play the game.”
How this team approaches the game is through quick breakouts and smart plays around their own blue line. The goal is to simply get the puck out and work your ass off in the attacking half of the ice. It doesn’t take a perfect pass to break the puck out if the players are playing with predictability, as it sets up chances for one-on-one battles. And even though you won’t win every time, the chances of you gaining possession are better than some of the riskier plays that have been happening over the past few years.
We’ve seen the defence corps come together with some new names like Ian Cole, Filip Hronek, Mark Friedman, Carson Soucy and Nikita Zadorov. All have become pieces who have found their role with the team this season.
A lot is being asked from the defencemen, but the trick is to ask them not to do too much. Head coach Rick Tocchet has often spoken about his forwards being so important to the breakouts and how he wants them to be a supporting piece that assists the defencemen in getting the puck out of their own zone. This has resulted in the team being able to quickly transition to an offensive zone possession or at least a dump-in that gives a one-on-one battle to gain possession.
This support once again comes from the predictability that this club is looking for and one pairing that has found success from playing a simple, predictable game is Tyler Myers alongside the newcomer Zadorov.
“Sergei has done a good job with Mysie and his gap control because when his big body goes one way, it’s hard to go back the other way,” said Foote about Myers’ improvements. “He has much more control of his gaps right now.”
Since the Zadorov trade and assembly of the tallest defence pairing in the NHL, both Myers and Zadorov have seen their game calm down with the help of Foote and Gonchar.
