Welcome to the Vancouver Canucks 2022-23 report card series. In this series, we at The Hockey Writers look back at each Canucks player from the past season, break down how their campaign went and assign a letter grade reflective of their overall performance. This edition will focus on defenseman Christian Wolanin.
Wolanin’s Performance With Vancouver
After being signed to a one-year, two-way contract on July 14, 2022, Wolanin started off the season playing for the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Between October and early February, the 28-year-old spent time being sent up to Vancouver, being placed on waivers, and playing in Abbotsford. On Feb. 18, 2023, Wolanin made his debut for the NHL club. He only played 16 games with them, tallying three points (zero goals, three assists). Let’s take a deep dive into his statistics.
In short, he made little impact with the Canucks. Three points in 16 games is hardly anything to write home about. Despite the small sample size, he was at times more of a negative on the ice rather than a positive. He accumulated minus-1.0 goals above replacement, minus-2.1 even-strength defensive goals above replacement, and minus-0.2 wins above replacement. Keep in mind that the Canucks’ defensive core as a unit was poor, so it’s hard to blame Wolanin for the lackluster numbers. On the contrary, he had the fourth-highest Corsi for Percentage amongst all team defensemen with 51.05. All told, it’s hard to conjure up a true opinion on his time with Vancouver given the small sample size.
Wolanin Shined With Abbotsford
Despite the ho-hum numbers Wolanin racked up in Vancouver, his statistics and overall play with Abbotsford were the complete opposite. In 49 regular-season games with Abbotsford, he tallied a whopping 55 points (six goals, 49 assists). Frankly, he was Abbotsford’s version of Quinn Hughes. Like Hughes, Wolanin was a quarterback on the blue line, both in even-strength play and on special teams. He consistently found open teammates with his passing, used his edgework at the point to find shooting lanes for himself, and drove play to create for others. He even had a league-high 13-game point-streak, scoring 22 points in the process.
Wolanin’s Future With Vancouver
Since he was rewarded with an extension, it is clear that he is in the Canucks’ plans for the near future. His play in the AHL was too good for him to not be in those plans. He should be a valuable piece for the Canucks this upcoming season if he can come close to replicating the success he had while in the minors. As of now, the left side of Vancouver’s blue line looks pretty bleak.
Related: Canucks 2022-23 Report Cards: Phil Di Giuseppe
Obviously, Hughes will be a mainstay there. But after the recent buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Ethan Bear’s pending restricted free agency and shoulder surgery, the only left-side defensemen under contract by Vancouver, Wolanin excluded, are Travis Dermott, Guillaume Brisebois, Jack Rathbone, Akito Hirose, Elias Pettersson, and Kirill Kudrayavtsev. With all due respect to those listed, that left side of the blue line is wide open for the taking. If Wolanin can build off his success in the AHL, he should get plenty of NHL minutes for Vancouver.
Final Grade for Wolanin: B
Wolanin’s grade is brought up because of his remarkable play in the AHL. Any time a player wins a major award — no matter what league they are in — they deserve an A. However, his play in the NHL warrants an average grade since he was more or less average during his 16-game-spell with the Canucks. From both the Canucks and Wolanin’s perspective, they both were probably hoping for more impact than what he provided at the NHL level. At the same time, however, they both can be ecstatic with his play with Abbotsford and can only hope he rides that success into the 2023-24 season.
Analytics Provided By: MoneyPuck, Evolving-Hockey, Hockey-Reference
