The Vancouver Canucks are hoping to improve on their breakout 2023-24 season. The club won the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record and went to Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In order to improve on last season, the team needs other players to step up along with their core group. The club made multiple additions to their roster this season, with players hoping to play their best hockey with the team. Additionally, a young player must take the next step in their development and show they belong in the NHL full-time. Here are three breakout candidates for the 2024-25 season.
Vasily Podkozlin
Vasily Podkolzin is a returning breakout candidate for the Canucks, but this very likely will be the last season he makes the list. The organization selected the Russian forward with the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
He spent the following two seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League before making his NHL debut during the 2021-22 season. Podkolzin scored 14 goals and posted 26 points in 79 games but struggled to remain in the NHL for the following two seasons. He played 39 games in the NHL during the 2022-23 season, playing 28 games in the American Hockey League (AHL). In 2023-24, he started the season in Abbotsford, playing 44 games, scoring 15 goals and posting 28 points. He returned to Vancouver and played 19 games, registering two points.
Podkolzin is 23 years old and needs to get more NHL games. To do so, he needs to earn the trust of head coach Rick Tocchet and the rest of the coaching staff. He has shown he can score in the NHL but lacked consistency in his rookie season. Podkolzin has a power-forward build, standing at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, and if he can combine his size and skill, he will become a successful player. However, that needs to happen sooner than later. Otherwise, his days as a Canuck could be numbered since he is a solid trade piece.
Danton Heinen
Canucks signed multiple former Boston Bruins this offseason, including Danton Heinen. He signed a two-year deal with a cap hit of $2.250 million. The club brought him in to provide the team with scoring and speed.
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The Langley, B.C. native has spent eight years in the NHL, five with the Bruins, two with the Anaheim Ducks and two with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has 87 goals and 212 points through 487 games. Additionally, over the last three years, he has had two great seasons, scoring 17 goals and posting 33 points in 76 games with the Penguins in 2021-22 and scoring 17 goals and posting 36 points in 74 games in 2023-24 with the Bruins.
At 29 years old and headed for a potentially bigger role as a top-six forward with the Canucks, Heinen could see an uptick in his stats. He has the tools to post between 40-50 points with the Canucks, something he has done once in his career. He scored 16 goals and posted 47 points in his first full NHL season in Boston during the 2017-18 season. He had a career-high 15:01 time on ice, a number he could near with the Canucks this season.
Daniel Sprong
The Canucks made a late add in Daniel Sprong in free agency. The right-shot sniper signed for one year at $775,000.
The 2015 second-round pick has impressive scoring ability, recording a career-high 21 goals in 66 games with the Seattle Kraken in the 2022-23 season. Additionally, he is coming off an 18-goal season with the Detroit Red Wings while posting back-to-back 40-point seasons. Sprong hoped for a bigger payday but admitted his game needs work, and joining Tocchet and the Canucks will help him grow. The head coach asked the forward what kept him out of the game for the final five minutes despite his offensive skillset.
“I just think I take advantage of my opportunities and the situations that I was in,” he said. “I think sometimes my defensive game can be a little bit of a weakness, and it’s the coach’s trust in certain situations that affects my ice time. And that’s something we talked about, and we’re going to work on in Van, to gain the trust and be reliable in those situations, and I’m working on it over the summer to work on those details.
The Canucks only have two right-shot forwards in their top nine, Brock Boeser and Conor Garland. Sprong will likely get an opportunity to play in the top six along with an elite centre in Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller. If the forward can improve his game outside of his offensive play under Tocchet, he is headed for a breakout season.
Multiple Wingers With an Opportunity to Make Their Mark
The Canucks have three wingers who are make-or-break candidates. Podkolzin will need to show he can play in the NHL, or it might be the end of his tenure with the organization. Meanwhile, Heinen is returning to his hometown team and is a player who has shown that he can put up 40-50 points in his past. Also, Sprong is a forward who has impressive goal-scoring ability, but the rest of his game needs work, which is why he joined the Canucks. He is a valid breakout candidate for the club.
