The Emergence of Granlund Affects Horvat
Willie Dejardins has options.
Coming into this year, fans and pundits alike had Bo Horvat penciled in on the second line along with fellow youngster Sven Baertschi. The duo played a majority of last season together and after a rough start, they formed what was the Canucks best line on most nights. Their chemistry was undeniable as they both loved to attack off the rush, often times Horvat streaking in around the net and setting up Baertschi. Other times, the two would set up a fancy passing play to gain entry and end the sequence by burying the puck in the net.
When the lines at the latest Canucks practice were revealed, many were surprised to see Sven Baertschi skating with Markus Granlund and Jack Skille while Horvat was centering Alex Burrows and Derik Dorsett. What gives?
First of all, arguing about line combinations is often a fruitless practice. Players are regularly inter-changed and what we see at the beginning of the season very rarely is the same by the end. But, seeing these lines shows that the coaching staff have questions needing to be answered heading into this season.
Markus Granlund has something to prove this year following a pedestrian first showing since being acquired from Calgary. In the pre season, he was one of the Canucks top scorers tallying 5 points in 5 games. The Canucks are very clearly trying to see if he can translate his offensive success from the pre season into the regular season by playing him with Baertschi.
On the flip side, the Canucks are looking to see how Bo Horvat performs in more of a defensive role. During his junior days, Horvat was heralded as one of the top two-way pivots in the CHL but since he has entered the NHL, it's clear that his offensive game has leapt passed his defensive. His 5v5 corsi last season was 45.9%, and while it is understandable for this number to be low as a rookie who was matched up against some of the games best, the Canucks would love to see that number improve. Pairing him with a veteran in Burrows will hopefully further develop his play in his own zone as he is continued to be matched up against some of the toughest centres in the game such as Anze Kopitar or Ryan Getzlaf.
Horvat is hardly playing a fourth line role on the team regardless of who his line mates are. Granlund will also likely not be getting second line minutes even though his line is projected to be the second scoring line.
If there is one thing to know about Willie Dejardins it's that he loves to roll four lines and it doesn't seem like that will change this year. And this year, he has players that can fit in multiple roles which is a positive more than anything. If Granlund doesn't produce in the first couple games? No problem. Willie knows he still has a winning duo in the waiting.
