Nils Hoglander | #21 | LW

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

I wonder if an AHL stint would help him regain his confidence.

I know being demoted would suck, but I think he could gain some valuable minutes playing in all situations down in Abbotsford. Average 10-11 minutes a game doesn't seem to really help him get going. I think he would benefit logging some big minutes in key situations for Abbotsford. He is still waiver exempt and young to bring about some refining in his game.

 

He just doesn't seem hard enough on pucks and makes some really poor decisions in all three zones with or without the puck. I would tell him its not a punishment, its a chance for you to get a lot of playing time, recalibrate some parts of your game, and get some confidence back.

[-AJ-]

2 hours ago, CRAZY_4_NAZZY said:

I wonder if an AHL stint would help him regain his confidence.

I know being demoted would suck, but I think he could gain some valuable minutes playing in all situations down in Abbotsford. Average 10-11 minutes a game doesn't seem to really help him get going. I think he would benefit logging some big minutes in key situations for Abbotsford. He is still waiver exempt and young to bring about some refining in his game.

 

He just doesn't seem hard enough on pucks and makes some really poor decisions in all three zones with or without the puck. I would tell him its not a punishment, its a chance for you to get a lot of playing time, recalibrate some parts of your game, and get some confidence back.

He strikes me as the kind of guy who could dominate the AHL, much like Sven Baertschi. Might be good for him to flex his skills a bit more. That said, I do think he's struggling with just how little time and space you have at the NHL level, so it one sense, it may not be good for him to adjust down to the AHL level. It could end up working out though.

[Gino Gino Gino]

I actually noticed a number of good defensive plays from Hoggy the last 2 games.  I feel like his all around game is starting to come around.  

The last two games he has shown that hunger to get the puck back that made him so good last year.

[Boudrias]

9 hours ago, -AJ- said:

He strikes me as the kind of guy who could dominate the AHL, much like Sven Baertschi. Might be good for him to flex his skills a bit more. That said, I do think he's struggling with just how little time and space you have at the NHL level, so it one sense, it may not be good for him to adjust down to the AHL level. It could end up working out though.

He would never clear waivers.

[johngould21]

9 hours ago, Gino Gino Gino said:

I actually noticed a number of good defensive plays from Hoggy the last 2 games.  I feel like his all around game is starting to come around.  

The last two games he has shown that hunger to get the puck back that made him so good last year.

sophomore jinx??? The try is there, the effort is there, the skill is there.

[-AJ-]

3 hours ago, Boudrias said:

He would never clear waivers.

He's exempt from waivers.

[Nuck1991]

he gets traded in offseason i think, bruce is not high on him

[Fred65]

This is a very young kid hockey wise. A trade is a trade we'd regret ( some thing like NYR trading away JTM) I hope he stays. Coaches want results now not next year that's the chasim between a GM and a coach

[Bobby James]

While he hasn't put up points so far this season, I do think he's still played some really solid games. Generating scoring chances and forechecking hard. His finish just needs some work and then the points will come. 

 

I still have hope for this kid and think the Canucks should stick with him (unless a great trade is offered). 

[lmm]

Why does Hogs not get sent to the minors?

His development is starting to mirror that of Jake V. or Adam Moon Crystals Gaudette

Hogs is waiver exempt for 1.5 years yet

1.5 years in Abby could produce a good player

 

I have to say I am happy Rathbone has not been a yoyo this season

[-AJ-]

19 minutes ago, lmm said:

Why does Hogs not get sent to the minors?

His development is starting to mirror that of Jake V. or Adam Moon Crystals Gaudette

Hogs is waiver exempt for 1.5 years yet

1.5 years in Abby could produce a good player

 

I have to say I am happy Rathbone has not been a yoyo this season

It's close, but there are a few notable differences I think:

 

- Gaudette had a strong year in 2019-20, his 2nd full NHL year, at 23 years of age. Offensively, this was a bit better than Hoglander's rookie year.

- Virtanen has never had the work ethic of Hoglander

- Virtanen also had a strong 2019-20 year at 23 years of age with better offense than we've seen from Hoglander

 

- Hoglander's strongest year was his rookie year, unlike the other two, and was at 20 years of age. He's currently 21, an age at which Gaudette hadn't fully established himself as an NHL player and Virtanen finally broke back into the NHL with a mediocre season. I think this is probably the biggest difference.

 

All that said, it's clear Hoglander is struggling this year and I don't totally disagree with the idea of him in the AHL. Still, I do tend to think he's almost too good for the AHL and I'm not sure how much he'd learn by scoring over a point a game there. There's a chance it might improve his confidence I suppose.

[lmm]

6 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

It's close, but there are a few notable differences I think:

 

- Gaudette had a strong year in 2019-20, his 2nd full NHL year, at 23 years of age. Offensively, this was a bit better than Hoglander's rookie year.

- Virtanen has never had the work ethic of Hoglander

- Virtanen also had a strong 2019-20 year at 23 years of age with better offense than we've seen from Hoglander

 

- Hoglander's strongest year was his rookie year, unlike the other two, and was at 20 years of age. He's currently 21, an age at which Gaudette hadn't fully established himself as an NHL player and Virtanen finally broke back into the NHL with a mediocre season. I think this is probably the biggest difference.

 

All that said, it's clear Hoglander is struggling this year and I don't totally disagree with the idea of him in the AHL. Still, I do tend to think he's almost too good for the AHL and I'm not sure how much he'd learn by scoring over a point a game there. There's a chance it might improve his confidence I suppose.

what Hoglander needs to learn is defense and sound play without the puck

they could start by having him kill penalties

or where you go after you send TyMy that shiiite pass like he did last game

hint, it is not blow the zone and leave you d-man hi n dry

 

and given his offense has dried up a few easy ones might help his confidence

 

Bruce spoke earlier about "If you (hogs) are not scoring a point a game, you need to be useful in other ways"

Hogs needs a lot of work on that aspect of the game least he follow Gaudette and Goldobin out of town and possibly out of the league

 

there is only  a 3 year window before the minors becomes a whole lot riskier

[-AJ-]

5 minutes ago, lmm said:

what Hoglander needs to learn is defense and sound play without the puck

they could start by having him kill penalties

or where you go after you send TyMy that shiiite pass like he did last game

hint, it is not blow the zone and leave you d-man hi n dry

 

and given his offense has dried up a few easy ones might help his confidence

 

Bruce spoke earlier about "If you (hogs) are not scoring a point a game, you need to be useful in other ways"

Hogs needs a lot of work on that aspect of the game least he follow Gaudette and Goldobin out of town and possibly out of the league

 

there is only  a 3 year window before the minors becomes a whole lot riskier

I think I can agree that he could use some improvements in defense, but would he learn that on the 1st line in Abbotsford? There, he'd be relied on to score a point per game and lead the dynamic offense there. They could force him into a bottom six role, but that would seem a bit odd for a player of his skill in the AHL.

 

I think here in Vancouver, he's already on the 3rd line (with splashes of top 6 time), so he already has a chance to learn. I would like him to get some more looks on the 2nd PK, as he barely plays on the PK currently. His shot blocking also leaves a lot to be desired. That said, he is quite strong at puck possession and has strong CORSI and solid takeaway numbers. He has some good defensive attributes, but he's definitely lacking in some of the core ones like shot blocking and PK experience.

[bigbadcanucks]

Hoglander needs to simply go back to number 36.  The stench of underperformance  that has been left over from the previous player wearing it is weighing Hogs down.

 

Seriously, Hoglander is going to be fine.  He's still finding his game.  Still has some things he needs to work on (like not blowing out of the d-zone when the team is clearly hemmed in) and needs a little puck luck.  Kid works hard and plays with passion. Boudreau has probably figured out that Hoglander is the type of player who needs a little tough love. 

 

And for those who think he's out of favour with Boudreau, here's another perspective: Boudreau cares enough about Hoglander that he's willing to be on his case to make him a better player.  In my mind's eye, if Hogs was not one of Bruce's favorite guys, we probably would hear peep about what Bruce thought about him, and simply throw him up in the press box or send him to the minors.  The fact that Bruce is on public record about the things Hogs has to get better at tells me that he cares about the kid.

 

Now, I'm just waiting for that Swedish Meatball poster to post how unfairly Hogs is being treated by Boudreau.  May even hear the Meatball say something like Hogs is having a tough time because Boudreau is bullying him.

[DownUndaCanuck]

Great jump all night against the Islanders and hopefully that goal helps, but he's playing with two incredibly skilled and hard-working forwards in Garland and Pettersson right now which will hopefully stick and help him to get going a bit more. Even if he's not scoring, he's helping the other 2 out because they've been brilliant as a line in the past and now present too.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[Boudrias]

With  his experience from this year he will come back next fall and be a solid producer. To much skill not to do so.

[DownUndaCanuck]

Certainly hope Hoglander doesn't get traded, his value is an all time low but still you want to draft and develop your own players, even secondary and tertiary ones.

 

2 points in his last 17ish games is pretty brutal though, I do wonder if it's time he gets a few healthy scratches just to shake things up and hopefully in the off-season he changes his jersey number.

 

He works too hard and is too skilled to be a flop, this is just a classic sophmore slump, I hope we stick with him in the long-run because he could easily be a 20 goal scoring 2-3rd line winger next year.

[Captain Canuck #12]

On 3/4/2022 at 8:25 AM, -Vintage Canuck- said:

 

That's a funny spin by the agent.  I don't think anybody assumed Hoglander was asking for a trade.  More likely the Canucks were putting out feelers to see what they might get for him and/or Judd Brackett was hoping the Canucks were willing to sell low and send him to the Wild.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Captain Canuck #12

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

I wonder what the summer holds for someone like Nils Hoglander.

 

I sorta had the thought at the beginning of the 2020-2021 season, he probably could've used a year in the AHL with Utica to iron out the kinks in his defensive game and overall decision making. Yet he made a great rookie season.

 

He seemed sorta lost out there this season. Hoping he comes back stronger and more engaged in the defensive zone. However, does management see him as a long term piece moving forward?