By james art Forward Connor Garland is ready for a bigger role on the Vancouver Canucks roster outside of the third-line duties he’s held the past few seasons.
The Vancouver Canucks have a special player in Connor Garland, who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in the summer of 2021. Since joining the Vancouver Canucks, Garland’s game has taken great strides forward, although at times in recent years some have called for be traded.
Garland used that as fuel last season and helped form one of, if not the best third lines in the entire NHL along with Dakota Joshua and Teddy Bluger.
Six games into their 2024-25 campaign, Garland looks like he could be on his way to a career year and has likely outgrown the third-line role he was in.
Because of his strong play so far this year, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet decided to move Connor Garland to the team’s second line with Elias Peterson and Nils Hoaglander, while also participating in Vancouver’s first power unit.
Tocchet was full of praise for Connor Garland during a recent media availability per Rob Williams of the Daily Hive, saying that while his offense is a big part of his game, he has grown into a strong defensive player for the club.
“I had him in Arizona (from 2018-19 to 2020-21), he’s completely changed,” Tocchet said. “Over the last year, as much as everybody talks about his offense, he’s really turned out to be a good defensive player. Maybe three or four years ago, you probably wouldn’t have said that.”
It will be interesting to see how Connor Garland adapts to the top six role going forward. He has all the tools needed to play a bigger role and should have no problem adjusting to being a top-six player full-time. Garland’s playmaking ability could also help Elias Petersson, who has struggled so far this season and has yet to find the back of the net.
Garland and the Canucks return home to Rogers Arena on Saturday night after a four-game road trip against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Saturday’s game marks the first of 18 nights the Canucks will wear their alternate black skate jerseys, with puck drop set for 7:00 PM PT on Hockey Night in Canada.
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