Which Canuck has most exceeded your expectations so far?

[BrockBoester]

In my opinion, we've had several surprises and bright spots in this season so far.

 

There are many players that, one could claim, have had a much better start to the season than was expected in the summer. And it's great to see that some of our newcomers are among those names.

 

These are the players I see fitting that description, in one way or another:

 

 

Myers - SO many people were crying about giving this guy 6 mill with term - and again, in my opinion, he's been an excellent addition to our top 4 defense. Yes he has his off nights, but he puts in great minutes and has that massive height/reach advantage going for him. I say, well worth the contract we offered him.

 

Benn - This guy is ferocious. What a great, cheap signing. Love seeing him dish out the punishment on the back-end (and he's got a mean beard to boot)

 

Hughes - Man. Can anyone really have expected that this guy would be THIS good, right off the bat? I have to say, I underestimated him just a little.
 

Leivo - Another great mid-six forward on a nice cheap contract that produces more than a dozen Erikssons. I really hope we re-sign this dude because he's great in his role.

 

Miller - Holy hell how stupid must all the people that were complaining about giving up a 1st rounder for this guy feel today. Just take a look at the JT Miller trade thread - it's a hilarious, albeit long, read. What a great acquisition this was!

 

Demko - Also a player that's been having his bad nights here and there (like Myers), but when he's on his game, wow, what a treat to watch. And he JUST turned 24 years old. Let's lock this guy up long-term, GMJB.

 

Gaudette - From training camp, to a frustrating stretch of sitting out games in the NHL, to finally hitting the ice and continuing to play UNREAL in the big leagues - Adam Gaudette better be here to stay because the sky is the limit for him, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Sutter - Expectations for ol' Brandon Sutter were pretty low considering his recent injury history. But he's been "real good"!

 

Eriksson - How this guy is not leading the voting for Pacific all-star team captain is mind boggling. His work ethic and pure hockey skill are unmatched league-wide!

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

If I could pick only one I'd have to say JT Miller although I had high expectations for him to begin with - so to surpass that, for me, is a very pleasant surprise.

 

Benn and Demko have been way better than I thought they'd be too, and Gaudette and Hughes have even surprised me a little (although they are both very high-potential guys so maybe not as surprising).

 

 

So, I ask you all, which one of these players do you think has MOST exceeded your personal expectations from the off-season?

Edited December 10, 2019 by BrockBoester

[73 Percent]

For me it would be between hughes gaudette and pearson. I wouldnt be suprised if any of them took a dip in production.

 

Prove me wrong boys.

[48MPHSlapShot]

It kinda depends on what you mean by “overachiever”.

 

If we’re merely talking about players that have exceeded expectations, then Miller and Hughes would be at the top of my list. I figured Miller would be able to put up more points in a bigger role here, but I’m shocked at how seamlessly he’s integrated himself into the lineup. He’s probably been our best forward all season.

 

Hughes could very well be a borderline generational talent. We all expected him to be good, but the kid is legit having one of the best rookie seasons a defenseman has ever had. Somehow @Alflives was the only person with the foresight to predict just how good Hughes would be 

 

I’d consider Gaudette and Leivo to be in the running as well.

 

If we’re talking about players that I don’t think have performed overly well, but are statistically “overachieving”, then I’d nominate Boeser and Pearson. Boeser really hasn’t been passing the eye test much this year, and yet he’s somehow statistically on pace for his best season yet.

 

Pearson has just been incredibly inconsistent, but if he were to continue his pace, He’d have his best season ever as well.

 

 

[captainhorvat]

Gaudette

[IBatch]

Voted Miller but it could just have easily been Hughes.  Lot of hockey yet hopefully everyone on this list is worthy by the end of the season.

[J-23]

Close one between Hughes and Miller. Have to go with Hughes, knew he was going to be good but didn’t expect him to be this good right out the gates. 24 points in 29 games, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Still fairly early, but it’s so nice to have a defencemen with so much offensive upside.

 

Miller would be the runner up, point per game right now. Looking like an absolute steal, just does everything right.

 

Also would throw in Gauds, putting up solid numbers. I probably sound like a broken record when I say this but fans need to remove that “Future 3C Label” from him. Showing he can be more than that as of now.

[DonaldBrashear]

Leivo

[Toni Zamboni]

Hughes and Miller.

[Ghostsof1915]

Overachieving implies they are doing better than what was thought possible. It also gives the impression that it's unsustainable.

 

Gaudette won the Hobey Baker Award for a reason. It's just took him a bit to transition to the NHL level. You could see from the start he had the defensive side down. 

Now the offence has kicked in. With experience his face-offs will improve too. Pretty damn good for a 5th round pick. 

 

JT Miller has been one of the best trades this team has seen in years. But he had 56 points with the Rangers in 2016-17, and 47 Points last year. In addition to being a solid team guy. I have rarely seen a guy that plays so well in every zone on the ice. And he will be the guy that goes into the boards and comes out with the puck. He's also a great role model to guys like Virtanen, Gaudette and even Boeser to a degree. Now is he overachieving saying he will get 80 points? Maybe. He's just a joy to watch much like Petey.

 

Hughes. The only thing that is surprising is much like Pettersson last year, he seems to have transitioned to the NHL so well, and looks more like a 10 year vet than a rookie. 

He might hit a wall 2/3's into the season, much like Petey, I don't think he's used to playing so many games. I low balled my expectations for him as it was his first year. 

But truly the sky is the limit for Huggy Bear. 

 

Pretty sure Benning is lighting up a cigar somewhere saying. "I love it when a plan comes together". 

[Spitfire_Spiky]

Going with the Hockey Gaud on this one. Don't get me wrong Miller and Hughes have played unreal however that was somewhat expected with the expanded role(Miller) and the hype(Hughes).

 

Coming into the season Gaudette he was expected to be in Utica as there was simply no place for him on this roster. He showed up at camp and proved he belonged just to sit and watch. After sitting so much they end up sending him to Utica, where shows up scores a bunch of points and is instantly recalled. Finally with some injuries he gets some playing time and has shown he belongs in the NHL. Putting up points, hounding opponents on the forecheck and causing turnovers. The kid has blown all expectation out of the water and is overachieving the most at the moment.

 

Plus his celly's are awesome. You can tell he's having a blast out there.

[Chickenspear]

I said Leivo. He was 13th forward or in the minors in a lot of people's books in the offseason, but has proven he can play up and down the lineup when injuries hit, solid defensively, and he's 2 points away from a career year 30 games in.  I tip my hat to you Sir!

[luckylager]

Think I expected Hughes to be great. He looked be thinking the game very well at the end of last season and he carried that momentum into this year.

Miller has been a bit of a surprise, but not as big of a surprise as Gaudette actually sticking with the club.

 

Gaudette

[Rindiculous]

As much as I want him to continue his 1.5 goal per game pace, I have to say Roussel. 

[diesel_3]

Voted Gaudette. His 2 way game just keeps improving. A 5th rounder (only 4 years ago) who hasn't yet reached 100 NHL games being plugged into the lineup and playing like a 10 year vet. He does a lot of the little things right and his play away from the puck is what I like. Every time he scores it's like it's his 1st NHL goal. Might be biased because I really love me some Adam Gaudette hockey.

 

Didn't vote Miller because I felt he was going to have a great opportunity to really showcase his game, and he has done that! Well worth the pick!

[zombieksa]

I'll say Gaudette as hes already eclipsed his point totals from last year, in 36 less games to boot.

[Bob.Loblaw]

Obviously Antoine Roussel he is going to win the Richard at this rate

 

Allez

[Maginator]

I dont think anyone is "overachieving".

 

IMO everyone is producing at a rate I expected them to, even Gaudette. Albeit Miller being a pleasent surprise, but still not "overachieving". We know hes a good player.

[JM_]

nice that we actually have to think about an answer to this. 

 

For me its Hughes, we knew he'd be a great skater but I don't think anyone saw him as a projected 60 pt d man, PP QB just yet. And its not like he's being gifted o-zone time either, he's only at 53%. 

[smokes]

I have to put my vote in for Hughes. His brother is first overall and I would argue that Quinn is better thus far. Second up would be Sutter before he got hurt. I remember Sutter all but being out the door on this forum during the offseason but he ended up beating out a lot of players and proved to be in valuable on the defensive side of things.

[-AJ-]

Went with Hughes, but Miller was a close second. Gaudette would probably be my third option, since I had him in Utica for most of the year, which he's clearly too good for.