[Article] Top 50 Canucks of All-Time – 40-31

[-AJ-]

Part two of the series covering our list! Read on my site for a nicer look to the article: https://hookedonhockeyhistory.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/top-50-canucks-of-all-time-40-31/

 

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Top 50 Canucks of All-Time – 40-31

MAY 23, 2020 / ANDREW SCHROEDER

In the first part of this countdown, we looked into the Canucks.com forum’s first group of ten (https://hookedonhockeyhistory.wordpress.com/2020/05/21/top-50-canucks-of-all-time-50-41/). The next ten touch on almost every era in Canucks history. Like last time, I will also place my personal ranking beside them as well.

 

40. Chris Tanev | My Rank: 35

Chris Tanev was an undrafted college free agent signing by the Canucks near the turn of the decade and began playing for Vancouver in 2010. By about his third year, he was gaining a reputation for extremely steady defensive play and began to build his resume on that. Tanev has received a few Lady Byng votes in two different seasons and was voted the best Canucks defenseman in 2014-15. He has 118 points in 514 games as a Canuck spread over ten seasons.

 

39. Darcy Rota | My Rank: 33

Like Tanev, Darcy Rota also struggled a bit with injuries during his time as a Canuck. Though he had 56 points in 80 games in 1980-81, it was in 1982-83 that Rota had his best year, scoring what was then a Canuck record 42 goals and adding 39 assists for 81 points despite missing seven games. Rota was at his best in the final three of his four and a half seasons and he scored 90 goals in just 183 games during that span. All in all, Rota played 289 games as a Canuck and scored 236 points.

 

38. Jannik Hansen | My Rank: 40

Jannik Hansen spent 626 games in the NHL and played 565 of them as a Canuck. Though Hansen wasn’t primarily known as an offensive player, his fierce fore-checking and limitless motor earned him the nickname “Honey Badger”. Though Hansen didn’t regularly pile up penalty minutes, he wasn’t afraid to get scrappy and even had a few fighting majors throughout his time in Vancouver. Despite not being known for offense, Hansen had 39 points in 2011-12 and late in his time with the Canucks, he began to be given more offensive opportunities and scored 22 goals and 38 points in 67 games in 2015-16. He scored 105 goals and 235 points as a Canuck.

 

37. Gino Odjick | My Rank: 46

If you ask Canuck fans who the toughest Canuck of all-time was, you will get a variety of answers, but a good bet would be on Odjick winning the vote. Drafted by Vancouver in 1990, Odjick came into the NHL one year earlier than Canucks legend Pavel Bure, and despite being very different players, they became fast friends. Odjick served primarily as the protector of both Bure and other Canucks during the early and mid 90s and enjoyed the thrill of fighting so much that he once tried to take on an entire team in the St. Louis Blues in the 1995 playoffs. Odjick peaked offensively in 1993-94 with 16 goals and 29 points in 76 games, but he was definitely more known for his physical play. Ojdick compiled 200+ PIM in six of his eight seasons with the Canucks and peaked at 371 PIM in 1996-97, which led the league. Odjick is the all-time leader in PIM for the Canucks with 2127 PIM.

 

36. Dave Babych | My Rank: 51

Dave Babych was an excellent offensive defenseman for the Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers in the 80s, but by the time he arrived in Vancouver in 1991, his offense was largely spent and he evolved his game to become more focused on defense and physical play. Babych also had a knack for playoff hockey, scoring 19 points in 47 playoff games for the Canucks and remaining a consistent strong defensive force on the blue line.

 

35. Dave “Tiger” Williams | My Rank: 44

Tiger Williams is so well known by his nickname, that not too many know his birth name is David. After establishing himself as a legendary physical scoring forward with the Maple Leafs in the late 70s, Williams joined the Canucks and in 1980-81, it was an instant success. Williams lead the NHL with 343 PIM and also scored 35 goals to go along with 27 assists for 62 points. To this day, Williams holds the NHL record for the most goals by an NHL PIM leader. Williams even got some Hart consideration that year. Williams wouldn’t approach numbers like that again, but still remained a solid offensive threat while continuing to be a menacing presence on the ice. In the 1982 playoffs, he had 10 points in 17 games and 116 PIM. Williams spent four and a half years as a Canuck with 312 games and 165 points.

 

34. Bo Horvat | My Rank: 38

The most recent captain of the Canucks makes the list in the mid 30s and is already a fan favourite. Horvat seems to be able to do everything a forward should do: score points, play defense, and be physical. While Horvat generally stays out of the penalty box, he’s had three career fights thus far and plays a hard game. He’s an excellent face-off man and is known for being defensively responsible. Offensively is perhaps where Horvat is most underrated, as he’s improved in every single season since his rookie year, now beginning to establish himself as a borderline top line talent in the NHL. Horvat tasted playoffs for the first time as a rookie and hopes to get another taste (or maybe gourmet meal) in 2020. Horvat’s been a Canuck for six years, has 446 games, and has piled up 275 points thus far.

 

33. Geoff Courtnall | My Rank: 32

It sometimes feels like Courtnall was a Canuck for longer than he was, and that was probably in part due to his impact with Vancouver while he was here in the early 90s. Courtnall came to Vancouver from the St. Louis Blues in 1991 and continued being the great offensive winger he had been earlier in the 80s. Courtnall peaked in 1992-93 with 31 goals and 77 points in 84 games and he wasn’t afraid to be physical if necessary too. Perhaps most of all, Courtnall was extremely good in the playoffs, scoring over a point-per-game in both the 1992 and 1993 playoffs for 28 points in 24 games. He had 19 points in 24 games in the 1994 playoff run to the finals and had 61 points in 65 playoff games with Vancouver in total. His regular season totals were 292 games and 246 points.

 

32. Petri Skriko | My Rank: 27

A 22-year old Finnish Skriko joined the Canucks in 1984 and by his second year, he was already one of the best players on the team, scoring 38 goals and 78 points. Skriko became one of the few positive points in a period of turmoil for the Canucks in the late 80s, scoring 30+ goals in four consecutive years. Skriko led the Canucks in scoring twice and spent 472 games as a Canuck over six and a half seasons, scoring 373 points along the way.

 

31. Orland Kurtenbach | My Rank: 39

There are many folks who were around in the 60s and early 70s that will tell you Kurtenbach was the toughest fighter in the league, and that was when it meant something to be the toughest in a league full of tough guys. Though Kurtenbach was tough, he didn’t have too many penalty minutes, as it’s rumoured many others were too afraid to challenge him. Kurtenbach joined the Canucks (in the NHL) near the end of his career at 34 years old and was named the first team captain. Kurtenbach experienced a career revival and scored over a point-per-game until an injury derailed both his and the Canucks season. Kurtenbach finished 7th in Hart voting that year. The captain had another strong season in 1971-72 despite the poor performance by the Canucks as a whole and would serve four years as captain for the Canucks. It wasn’t until Stan Smyl came along that the Canucks had another captain tenured for as long. Kurtenbach had 163 points in 229 games as a Canuck and is in the Canucks Ring of Honour.

 

[Coconuts]

[smithers joe]

the way i look at the history of the canucks is,  despite  how people write off those losing years as failures, we had some hard working players that we could get excited about. 

players try hard to win for themselves and for us fans, imo we  owe them our thanks. 

it is good to be reminded of the players and teams that took us on the journey with them. for me, sharing the joys in their winnings and sorrows in their loses is what being a fan is all about. i for one will never slag a player who gives everything they have but fails. 

AJ, thank you for the effort you’ve put out on this project. you make us more mindful of who we are as a franchise and fans.