2023 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews: Vancouver Canucks
The 2023 DailyFaceoff Fantasy Hockey Projections has projected stats for over 650 skaters and goalies.
The Fantasy Hockey Team Previews have all the projections for that team and mini-bios for all the Re-Draft and Dynasty relevant skaters and goalies.
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Skaters
J.T. Miller
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 80.1 | 29.0 | 57.7 | 86.7 | 6.2 | 52.0 | 7.9 | 33.8 | 190.5 | 15.2% | 21 | 596.7 | 47.9 | 153.8 |
Miller turned a breakout season in 2021-22 into a seven-year, $56 million contract extension in the offseason. The future financial faith by the Canucks’ front office was due to Miller surpassing the 30 goal and 65 assist plateau for the first time in his 10-year career. The 29-year-old finished fifth in the NHL assists (67), ninth in points (99), and third in power-play-points (38) while playing the sixth most time on ice (21:05) of all forwards. Considering he had a 52 ADP in fantasy drafts in 2021-22 (Yahoo leagues), he was one of the biggest draft days steals. However, his overall value is a bit capped as the forward has surpassed 30 goals only once in his career. To expect a similar near 100-point season from Miller in 2022-23 may be a bit of a stretch, but he’s a category stuffer capable of 30 goals, 60 assists, 200 shots, 30 PPP, and 150 hits.
Quinn Hughes
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 79.5 | 8.2 | 60.1 | 68.3 | -3.7 | 31.3 | 1.5 | 31.6 | 161.7 | 5.1% | 25.3 | 0.0 | 66.9 | 27.4 |
Hughes took another step forward in 2021-22, passing 60 points (68) for the first time in his young career. The 22-year-old posted career highs in shots (150), ATOI (25:15), and blocked shots (56) on the way to finishing 13th in Norris voting. Since Hughes entered the NHL full-time in 2019-20, he has produced at an elite rate as he is fourth in assists (143), sixth in points (162), and second in power-play points (75) among all defensemen. Never scoring more than eight goals in a season, Hughes isn’t in the upper echelon of fantasy defensemen, but he’s a reliable No.1 and should be one of the first ten blueliners drafted.
Elias Pettersson
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 76.3 | 30.3 | 36.7 | 66.9 | 3.2 | 15.4 | 10.1 | 24.1 | 184.3 | 16.4% | 18.8 | 194.0 | 40.9 | 51.1 |
Pettersson has been the model of consistency throughout his career as he has never scored less than 27 goals and 66 points while never collecting more than 32 goals and 68 points in any of his three full-length NHL seasons. His 32 goals and 192 shots in 2021-22 were career-highs as he averaged nearly 18:30 TOI for the fourth straight season. He enters 2022-23 as the Canucks top-6 option and power-play specialist again. At 23 years old, another 30+ goal, 65-point season from Pettersson is to be expected as he continues his consistent but unspectacular fantasy production. Until the Swede proves he can be a point-per-game player, he shouldn’t be going in the first handful of rounds in fantasy drafts.
Brock Boeser
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 74.7 | 24.9 | 29.3 | 54.2 | -2.1 | 21.1 | 9.1 | 17.0 | 198.7 | 12.5% | 18.6 | 20.7 | 25.7 | 39.2 |
Boeser went through one of the most challenging seasons of his career in 2021-22, posting his lowest goal and point-per-game totals in any of his five full NHL seasons. His 23 goals and 23 assists accounted for his second-lowest career totals in both categories, even though he played more than 70 games for the first time in any season. Surprisingly, the hard-shooting winger has never eclipsed 30 goals or 56 points. However, Boeser has averaged 225 shots per 82 games over the last three seasons, so he has 30-goal upside if he can stay healthy. His 148.5 ADP suggests that fantasy owners have grown tired of Boeser underperforming year after year, making him an exciting sleeper pick in the 13th round. He should spend most of the season playing beside Miller or Pettersson while also occupying a spot on the Canucks’ top power-play unit.
Bo Horvat
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 77.9 | 29.3 | 27.3 | 56.6 | -2.8 | 36.4 | 12.8 | 19.1 | 201.4 | 14.6% | 19.6 | 928.1 | 54.5 | 91.1 |
Horvat passed the 30-goal mark (31) in 2021-22 for the first time in his career, having reached 20 goals in the last four full-length seasons. In addition, the 27-year-old centre finished with the second highest point total of his career while finishing in the positive for plus/minus (+3) for the first time and playing more than 19:00 ATOI for the fifth straight season. Horvat has averaged 29 goals and 31 assists (60 points) per 82 games in the last four seasons. That’s the kind of production you can expect from him, but he doesn’t have a lot of upside. He’s a safe, boring option towards the end of your drafts but receives a significant boost in leagues that count face-off wins.
Conor Garland
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 77.3 | 20.3 | 31.7 | 52.1 | 7.3 | 33.1 | 2.7 | 7.3 | 200.7 | 10.1% | 16.4 | 6.2 | 24.9 | 46.4 |
Garland’s first season in Vancouver seemed to be the breath of fresh air that the American needed as he blasted by the 40-point mark for the first time in his four-year career (52). His 33 assists, 203 shots, and plus-18 plus/minus were all career highs, as he shot below 10 percent (9.4%) for the second time. Unfortunately, with the additions of Andrei Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev in the offseason, it’s tough to find big minutes for Garland in 2022-23. He’s a dart throw at the very end of your draft but should likely start the year on waivers.
Andrei Kuzmenko
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 75.8 | 17.9 | 25.0 | 42.9 | 1.5 | 20.9 | 3.5 | 8.6 | 143.7 | 12.5% | 15 | 0.0 | 25.1 | 25.1 |
Kuzmenko was a highly sought-after free agent this offseason after finishing second in the KHL in points (53) and tied for seventh in goals (20) in 45 games. Ultimately he signed with the Canucks, where he should find himself in a top-6 role with Pettersson. He’ll look to follow in the footsteps of Artemi Panarin and Kirill Kaprizov, who came over in their mid-20s and had immediate success in the NHL. Currently going undrafted in fantasy, Kuzmenko is worth a flier in the last couple of rounds of your fantasy draft because he could have instant success in a talented Canucks’ top-6.
Ilya Mikheyev
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 74.3 | 19.6 | 16.9 | 36.5 | 7.1 | 21.1 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 179.7 | 10.9% | 15 | 1.8 | 30.0 | 67.9 |
Mikheyev joins the Canucks after signing a 4-year/$19.M contract in the offseason. Mikheyev averaged 20 goals and 20 assists per 82 games in his first three NHL seasons while playing a limited role with the Maple Leafs. Jake Debrusk was the only forward in the NHL to score 20-plus goals and average less TOI than Mikheyev in 2021-22. The 27-year-old opened camp on a line with Pettersson and Kuzmenko, suggesting that he could have better usage with the Canucks. Mikheyev could find himself with fantasy value during the season, but it’s best to leave him undrafted and see how it plays out. Take players with higher upside in the late rounds and drop them for Mikheyev early on if they don’t pan out.
Goalies
Thatcher Demko
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 61.0 | 31.0 | 22.8 | 7.2 | 0.915 | 2.69 | 2.6 |
Demko had a sluggish start to 2021-22, going 6-10-1 with a .904 SV% in his first 17 games. However, he was much better once December hit, going 26-12-6 with a 2.65 GAA and .917 SV%. in his final 46 games. Over that span, he was t-4th in games started, t-9th in SV% and 12th in GAA. After December 1st, he started 77 percent of the Canucks’ games, so expect him to start 60-plus games for the second straight season. He has top-5 upside but is currently being drafted as the ninth goalie off the board.
Remaining Canucks Projections
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| Tanner Pearson | LW | 75.7 | 14.9 | 17.6 | 32.5 | 1.3 | 29.0 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 152.2 | 9.8% | 14.7 | 13.9 | 38.5 | 81.5 |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | D | 76.5 | 6.2 | 25.5 | 31.7 | -0.3 | 50.7 | 2.2 | 10.9 | 156.5 | 4.0% | 22.7 | 0.0 | 71.5 | 115.9 |
| Vasily Podkolzin | LW/RW | 79.7 | 13.1 | 14.3 | 27.4 | 3.3 | 27.5 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 122.1 | 10.7% | 13.1 | 6.5 | 32.9 | 86.2 |
| Nils Hoglander | LW/RW | 71.3 | 13.5 | 13.3 | 26.8 | -4.1 | 24.8 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 149.1 | 9.1% | 13.8 | 0.3 | 21.9 | 44.8 |
| Tyler Myers | D | 81.2 | 4.3 | 17.5 | 21.9 | 2.8 | 62.5 | 0.3 | 3.5 | 137.9 | 3.1% | 21.5 | 0.0 | 127.4 | 119.2 |
| Curtis Lazar | C/RW | 71.7 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 16.6 | -3.1 | 14.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 84.7 | 9.9% | 12.1 | 178.4 | 42.7 | 160.4 |
| Jason Dickinson | C/LW | 72.5 | 7.4 | 9.1 | 16.5 | -0.3 | 18.9 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 80.7 | 9.2% | 13.5 | 161.8 | 53.3 | 103.9 |
| Luke Schenn | D | 70.0 | 4.9 | 10.8 | 15.7 | 7.5 | 76.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 92.7 | 5.2% | 17.2 | 0.0 | 88.3 | 267.3 |
| Travis Dermott | D | 73.0 | 3.3 | 7.6 | 10.9 | 6.3 | 27.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 66.7 | 5.0% | 15.9 | 0.0 | 63.6 | 77.0 |
| Tucker Poolman | D | 67.9 | 1.9 | 5.9 | 7.8 | -0.1 | 15.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 78.0 | 2.5% | 17 | 0.0 | 92.9 | 77.6 |