The Canucks hope Jake DeBrusk will be the key to success on the power play this season
As in, Horvat is one of the best in the NHL in the bumper spot, and there’s just no getting around that standard.
Miller invoked his old teammate Friday when asked about how the Canucks’ new power play should work.
The key, he said, will be having the left-shooting Jake DeBrusk in the bumper, standing in the slot ready for one-timers off the left boards where Miller prefers to set up, also ready to chase after loose pucks and rebounds.
“Horvat’s one of the better guys in the league as a bumper,” Tocchet said. “Jake’s a guy that can fill that spot for us. I mean, it’s hard to put a righty in there … that’s what J.T.’s saying.”
DeBrusk shooting left makes a big difference. The Canucks didn’t have a player who could truly fill that role last season. The hope is that DeBrusk will.
“When you have a threat there, it’s no different than when you’ve got a wide receiver who’e unreal at stretching the field. But you know, if your team that doesn’t have a stretched field, then, it’s the same thing (in hockey). He knows that bumper position is so big for us.”
It’s an interesting point, but when we turn to the Canucks’ actual power play record, the truth is a little more nuanced.
Horvat was traded to the New York Islanders Jan. 30, 2023. In the 3.5 seasons that Miller and Horvat were teammates, the Canucks scored goals on 22.4 per cent of their power plays, 10th-best in the NHL over that time frame.
In the season and a half since, the Canucks have acually scored on 22.6 per cent of their power plays — slightly more often than they did with Horvat in the lineup, but also good for just 12th-best in the league.
Overall, power plays have improved. The Canucks have regressed towards league-average.
Whether that’s down to having a Horvat-style player may not be as important as the Canucks think: but one thing is for certain, they just need to find a way to score more often on the man advantage.
But as has always been the case, can this bevy of talent finally be more than its own sum?
BACK ON ICE
Akito Hirose, who suffered a concussion last Saturday in Calgary, joined Friday’s practice later on, in a regular practice jersey to boot. He didn’t participate fully, but him being on the ice was a clear sign that he’s making progress in his recovery.
“Get a little more pace to see how he feels after,” Tocchet said.
In the return-to-play protocol, Hirose has to go 24 hours without symptoms before stepping up to more participation in practice. One supposes that if he has no symptoms on Saturday, he could be a full participant in practice and if he has no symptoms on Sunday, he’d be able to be cleared and could be re-assigned to AHL Abbotsford before Monday’s NHL opening-day roster deadline.