Conor Garland doesn’t mind swimming in the NHL’s shark-infested waters. He actually prefers it. The Vancouver Canucks ’ mighty mite right winger, who gained a fascination with sharks and the movie Jaws while growing up near the Atlantic Ocean in Scituate, Mass.
, knows apex predators like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl possess power, speed and strength to put the bite on your Stanley Cup aspirations. Same with others who know the defending Pacific Division champions have become the hunted instead of the hunters following a 109-point season and nearly advancing to the Western Conference final last spring. And when the Canucks start playing for keeps on Oct.
9, they’ll rely on Garland’s ability to adapt, create, finish and frustrate the opposition after putting up 20 goals and 47 points in 2023-24. It came with chemistry on a popular ‘Meat and Potatoes Line’ with Dakota Joshua and Teddy Blueger . Joshua was the meat, Blueger the potatoes, and Garland the gravy.
However, with Joshua recovering from a testicular cancer diagnosis and Blueger returning after an off-season lower-body ailment, it’s possible that Garland will have Nils Hoglander as his left winger. Garland has skated with Aatu Raty and Hoglander in camp and the pre-season, so he’ll be called upon to do what’s expected from a third line — forecheck and contribute. And when Joshua, 28, does return, a reunion with Garland, 28, and Blueger, 30, could be in the cards.
In the interim, it’s about su.