By james art 
Photo credit: Sportsnet
While several of the Vancouver Canucks’ star players haven’t been scoring at the rate fans and the team would like so far in 2024/25, Conor Garland has continued to prove his worth to the team with 4 points in 5 games.
But Garland’s impact doesn’t end in the offensive zone, in fact his two-way presence has led to VERY early Selke Trophy buzz for the wing.
Adam Kierszenblat of Hockey News pointed out that the Massachusetts native’s play thus far should make him an early favorite.
After five games, Garland leads the Canucks’ front group in most defensive categories. He also has some of the best defensive analytics among forwards in the league… If Garland can continue his strong play at both ends of the ice, he should receive a lot of votes for the historic (Selke) trophy at the end of the season.
Among forwards at 5v5 per 60 minutes, Garland is currently 4th in shots against, 23rd in goals against, 15th in scoring chances against and 15th in big danger chances against.
He’s also been an effective penalty killer for the team, with the Canucks surrendering just one shot against him in 2:34 on the kill this season — even managing to keep the puck in the offensive zone for 57 percent of that time on short shots.
So far, Garland’s average ice time is up nearly 4 minutes from last year and nearly a minute more than his previous career high.
Last year, Sasha Barkov won his second Selke Trophy, while Jordan Staal and Auston Matthews joined him as nominees.
Garland will be hard-pressed to earn a nomination, but if he keeps up this level of play, he can’t be overlooked.
Source – The Hockey News: Why Canucks Conor Garland should be in 2024-25 Selke Trophy conversation
Previously on CanucksDaily
Last 10 stories