{"id":300382,"date":"2025-11-22T21:09:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T21:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/300382\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T21:09:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T21:09:07","slug":"letter-grades-for-each-canucks-player-a-quarter-of-the-way-through-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/300382\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter grades for each Canucks player a quarter of the way through the season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> reached the quarter-mark of their 2025-26 National Hockey League schedule<\/a>. That means it\u2019s time for our first CanucksArmy<\/a> report cards of the new season. Letter grades are based solely on performance shown through the first six weeks of the season and are not relative to expectations for individual players. These are simply a reflection of how well (or poorly) players have performed.\u00a0FORWARDS (minimum of 10 games played):<\/p>\n

Elias Pettersson: B
Pettersson\u2019s start should probably be broken into two halves. He wouldn\u2019t have graded well in the first 10 games, but more recently he has rediscovered the form that has allowed him to be a solid point producer. Given the role he\u2019s been tasked with and the match-ups he\u2019s faced, Pettersson has performed admirably. Of course, when he makes the money he makes, more will always be expected. But he\u2019s showing signs of getting back to the player he was earlier in his career.<\/p>\n

Brock Boeser: B
With eight goals already, Boeser is on a mid-30 goal pace. Considering he missed a pair of games for personal reasons and left another after just one shift, he\u2019s been highly productive with almost all of his goals coming at 5-on-5 and with a variety of centres. He\u2019s also demonstrated deft playmaking to set up others for goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kiefer Sherwood: A
How can you not give Sherwood top marks? He leads the team in goals and hits and has shown that last season was no fluke. He uses his speed effectively, has a deceptive shot and has been a goal-scoring buzzsaw. The man is going to earn a huge raise.<\/p>\n

Conor Garland: B
Garland continues to give the Canucks everything he has. He\u2019s consistent in both effort and productivity. He led the team in scoring for much of the first quarter of the season before being beset by a couple of injuries<\/a>. If everyone on the Canucks played as hard as Garland, the team would surely have a few more victories.Evander Kane: C
Surely more was expected from the veteran winger<\/a>. He\u2019s shown some solid playmaking, it must be noted, but with just three goals (and two came in the same game), he hasn\u2019t managed to make much of a mark offensively. He hasn\u2019t been overly physical and hasn\u2019t proven to be any kind of forechecking menace. He plays a lot but without much of a bottom line.<\/p>\n

Jake DeBrusk: C+
Once again, it took a while for DeBrusk to get out of the starting blocks. But once he gets cooking, look out. Seven of his eight goals have come on the power play where he continues to show a willingness to go to the dirty areas of the ice and has been rewarded for it. That\u2019s the good news. The flip side, however, is that he has just one 5-on-5 goal with December approaching.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drew O\u2019Connor: C+
After a sluggish start, O\u2019Connor has found his groove<\/a> in the past 10 games. It remains to be seen if he can score at the rate he has over the past couple of weeks. But he is using his size and speed effectively and has earned an uptick in ice time and opportunities.<\/p>\n

Aatu R\u00e4ty: B
Quietly, Raty has gone about his business holding his own in a third line role and winning far more face-offs that he has lost. Ideally, you\u2019d like a little more offence from him, and maybe that will come in time. But he\u2019s responsible defensively and has a positive goal differential on a team that has bled goals at an alarming rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Linus Karlsson: C+
In limited minutes, Karlsson<\/a> has started to look like he belongs at this level. He\u2019s scoring at a 30-point pace which isn\u2019t bad for a guy averaging 9:57 of ice time per game. He wins most of his board battles and uses his length effectively in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n

Max Sasson: C
The Canucks need Sasson\u2019s speed. And his four goals in 19 games is a reasonable total for a depth piece. But as a centre, he has set up just one goal and far more is needed in that regard. He\u2019s been okay, but only okay.<\/p>\n

Arshdeep Bains: D
The team\u2019s second line left winger to start the season, Bains has been in a free fall ever since. He has been a healthy scratch the past four games. In between, he just hasn\u2019t been able to make anything happen with no goals and just three assists in 18 games. Defensively, he\u2019s generally been fine, but that\u2019s clearly not enough to maintain a regular spot in an NHL lineup.<\/p>\n

DEFENCE (minimum of eight games played):<\/p>\n

Quinn Hughes: B+
He\u2019s getting closer to his old self, but the first month of the season he just seemed off slightly from the ridiculous heights we\u2019re accustomed to seeing him reach. His point total is exceptional, but his one goal stands out for the wrong reasons. He hasn\u2019t tilted the ice the way he has in past seasons. He\u2019s been good on many nights. But like the team itself, he\u2019s had a few too many nights when he\u2019s been forced to defend more than he\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

Filip Hronek: B+
Hronek earns a high grade for his play to start the season. He\u2019s on pace for a 45-point season, is carrying a +9 goal differential at 5-on-5 and has been asked to shoulder an increased work load in the five games Hughes has been out of the line-up. The only knock is his role in penalty kill that is 32nd and last in the NHL at 68.1%.<\/p>\n

Marcus Pettersson: C-
It\u2019s been a struggle on many nights for Pettersson. His rush defence has been suspect. His work on the penalty kill has been a problem. He\u2019s among the league-leaders in minor penalties taken. He just hasn\u2019t been able to find any sort of solid footing this season. This isn\u2019t the player the Canucks were expecting when they traded for him and immediately committed significant dollars and term on a lucrative extension.<\/p>\n

Tyler Myers: C
Much like his defensive partner Pettersson, Myers has had a challenging start to the season. With a change in coaching staff and a new face handing the defence, Myers seems to be struggling to adapt. As he nears his 36th birthday, it\u2019s fair to wonder if he can get his game back on track. He\u2019s been on the ice for too many goals against, has had trouble reading and reacting to plays in the defensive zone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elias Pettersson: C
He\u2019s young and he\u2019ll get better. But the NHL is a tough place to learn on the job and DPetey just hasn\u2019t looked as poised or confident as he did when he broke into the league midway through last season. Maybe it\u2019s the new defensive system. Maybe it\u2019s simply a sophomore slump. Maybe it\u2019s a combination of the two. Whatever the case, it\u2019s been an okay start to his first full season in the big league. Nothing more.<\/p>\n

Tom Willander: C+
The mere fact that the 2023 first rounder is included in this exercise is a success in itself. Willander didn\u2019t exactly shine in training camp or the preseason, but earned his first NHL call-up and has shown a baseline of the skillset that makes him an exciting prospect. Certainly, there have been bumps along the way and maybe too much is being asked of him too soon. But his skating looks NHL ready and now he just needs experience to round out the rest of his game.<\/p>\n

Pierre-Olivier Joseph: C-
Not a lot was expected of the depth signing and really not much has been delivered. Even with a spate of injuries, he\u2019s appeared in just nine games and seems to have already been passed on the depth chart by younger, more promising players. His puck skills haven\u2019t been sharp and he\u2019s not physical. He just hasn\u2019t brought a lot to the mix in his limited activity.<\/p>\n

GOALTENDING (minimum of 2 games):<\/p>\n

Thatcher Demko: B-
How do you accurately grade Demko? When he\u2019s played, he\u2019s looked good. But availability is a huge part of the equation \u2013 especially given his lengthy injury history. And here is sidelined yet again. And so it\u2019s impossible to give him a higher grade because this team needs him to be healthy and his body just won\u2019t allow him to handle the rigours of the position with any regularity or dependability.<\/p>\n

Kevin Lankinen: C+
Lankinen has had his moments, but ultimately has delivered just four wins in 11 starts with individual statistics that aren\u2019t terribly flattering. He\u2019s being asked to play behind a defence that has been in shambles for much of the season. So that is taken into account. But more is needed from the team\u2019s 1B especially in the absence of his running mate.<\/p>\n

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