Prospect Info: Nils Höglander

[logan5]

It warms my heart to see him rifle the puck like that because he is capable of getting into prime scoring positions, let alone set guys up. And his tenacious puck pursuit and fearlessness. This guy helps you win Stanley Cups.

 

[canuckking1]

His shot is good just need to work on accuracy and getting it off quicker. Definitely see a good top 6 forward moving forward.

 

[Wry n Ginger]

There is one thing that has defined the Vancouver market for the last 40 years, valuing grit and tenaciousness over skill. We love the underdogs that rise above and despise the gifted players that just don't try hard enough. Hoglander is a player that will obtain Burrows/Hansen like popularity in this market because he plays the game like it's supposed to be played...like every shift will be his last and there is something on the line. When I see players with talent sulk and float I want to throat punch the f***er for not realizing they are living the Canadian dream and make a minimum 10x the average Canadians salary.

Thank you for playing with heart and tenacity Hoglander, I hope you are wearing an A or C someday soon.

 

[VanJack]

Not sure how many posters caught that brief segment on HNC of highlights of Hoglander's workout routine. This kid's core strength is simply off the charts...not much wonder he can win so many puck battles....he's like an immovable object and can shift on a dime.

Without doubt the best story of this Canuck season, no matter how it turns out. I guess there are a few rookies in the league with more points, but none of them have had the day-in, and day-out impact of Hoglander on this Canuck lineup.

 

[M2Beezy]

W

 

[Fraser28]

If Podkolzin lives up to expectations, what an insanely good draft that will turn out to be. Two top-6 forwards from it with Podkolzin and Hoglander. That draft will allow this team to take the next step.

Miller-Pettersson-Boeser
Podkolzin-Horvat-Hoglander

**drools**

That has potential to be one of the best top-6 groups in the league and must be one of the youngest too.

 

[Chimpradamus]

Beauty of a goal tonight.

That's what happens if you put umlauts on his name correctly. They should try bolding his name on the next one.

His shot is good just need to work on accuracy and getting it off quicker. Definitely see a good top 6 forward moving forward.

Well, he has good people around him to learn that. Pettersson can even give pointers in his native language. Although Pettersson could also become a bit faster with his wrist shot.

edit: Ok, I'll give some hockey candy too, I really like him as a player. Here's a 25 minute conclusion why Nils Höglander isn't too small to play in the NHL, because he plays winning hockey:


And here's a video I would use to describe Nils Höglander as a player, formerly only posted when I tried to describe Mats Zuccarello - currently playing in Minnesota:


Höglander and Zuccarello are kind of similar. Short, fearless, and powerful players despite their size, with alot of skill and they never give up on a shift. Höglander might just be even more skilled than Zuccarello. Höglander has a higher ceiling and can hopefully become the next Theo Fleury. Probably my favourite player ever. What he managed to accomplish despite his obstacles are astounding.

So yeah, Höglander is a classic Scandinavian lemming. We have them in Sweden too.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Weird Hoglander fact - of all the players taken after him in the 2019 draft, only one has played an NHL game (and 1 game at that)

Weird Hoglander fact 2 - Of all the players taken in the 2019 draft, only the top 3 picks - Jack Hughes, Kaapo Kaako, and Kirby Dach - have scored more points in the NHL than Hoglander at this time.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

There is one thing that has defined the Vancouver market for the last 40 years, valuing grit and tenaciousness over skill. We love the underdogs that rise above and despise the gifted players that just don't try hard enough. Hoglander is a player that will obtain Burrows/Hansen like popularity in this market because he plays the game like it's supposed to be played...like every shift will be his last and there is something on the line. When I see players with talent sulk and float I want to throat punch the f***er for not realizing they are living the Canadian dream and make a minimum 10x the average Canadians salary.

Thank you for playing with heart and tenacity Hoglander, I hope you are wearing an A or C someday soon.

Have we? IMO the Nucks are terrible at acquiring Grit/Tenacity.

 

[sting101]

So incredibly rare for this franchise to have a non first rounder step in at such a young age and be an impact player.

Watching Hoglander reminds you of the Lightning with all it's insanely quick and tenacious smaller forwards who can drive the pace of play and control the tempo of the games.

The extremely fortunate part of the Podkolzin and Hoglander draft is both of them provide ingredients that our group of forwards needed more of.

And it may seem like i'm stating the obvious with ability to score and them being excellent players but i really feel like their styles provide 2 completely different but successful elements we sorely needed to add to Petey Boeser Horvat and Miller.

I'm obviously projecting with Pod a bit but i'm pretty confident he will be a huge piece for us going forward. Just may take him a bit longer than Hoglander to impose his impact.

Congrats to the scouting staff

 

[VanJack]

It's pretty incredible when you think about it, but this kid has been a staple in the top six since the opening game. He just never seems to take a night off, or see his performance slip.

NHL rookies, particularly those who are only 20-years old, follow a predictable pattern in their first season. They might have a strong exhibition schedule, then play well for 6-8 games, before the grind of an NHL season starts to take its toll. Then they start dropping down the lineup, and even get sat down for a couple of games.

The rest of the way, it's usually in and out of the line-up....a trip to Utica for a couple of weeks, and then some minutes in 'garbage time' if the NHL team is out of playoff contention.

But not Hoglander....since day one, he's been the most consistent Canuck forward.....making it impossible for Green to take him out of the lineup. And almost 30 games into the season, if anything he's getting stronger.

This just isn't supposed to happen to second round draft picks at Hoglander's age and size....but there you have it.

 

[CpatainCanuck]

So incredibly rare for this franchise to have a non first rounder step in at such a young age and be an impact player.

Watching Hoglander reminds you of the Lightning with all it's insanely quick and tenacious smaller forwards who can drive the pace of play and control the tempo of the games.

The extremely fortunate part of the Podkolzin and Hoglander draft is both of them provide ingredients that our group of forwards needed more of.

And it may seem like i'm stating the obvious with ability to score and them being excellent players but i really feel like their styles provide 2 completely different but successful elements we sorely needed to add to Petey Boeser Horvat and Miller.

I'm obviously projecting with Pod a bit but i'm pretty confident he will be a huge piece for us going forward. Just may take him a bit longer than Hoglander to impose his impact.

Congrats to the scouting staff

Since 1999 (21 drafts) the Canucks have only had 13 second round picks. 3 have successfully panned out: Höglander (2019) Demko (2014) and Raymond (2005) while 2 more are still in the prospect pool (Woo and Lind).

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Imagine if Woo and Lind pan out ? Canucks could have 4 of their own 2cnd rounders in the lineup at the same time. That'd be like a Vancouver version of the Miracle on Ice or something, i'm certain it'd be the first time ever in franchise history.

 

[RebuildinVan]

Imagine if Woo and Lind pan out ? Canucks could have 4 of their own 2cnd rounders in the lineup at the same time. That'd be like a Vancouver version of the Miracle on Ice or something, i'm certain it'd be the first time ever in franchise history.

Imagine what we could potentially have, had Jimbo not given away all those other 2nd rounders

 

[logan5]

Since 1999 (21 drafts) the Canucks have only had 13 second round picks. 3 have successfully panned out: Höglander (2019) Demko (2014) and Raymond (2005) while 2 more are still in the prospect pool (Woo and Lind).

To give some perspective here, if you look at 2nd round draft picks across the board, you will see that only 6 or 7 from each draft year become NHL regulars, and out of that group, it is rare to see a top 6 player. I mean, I'm not saying later round draft picks aren't valuable, but I was just giving some facts on 2nd rounders.

With that said, getting Hoglander in the 2nd round is like winning the lottery. If we were to do a (very premature) 2019 redraft, you could arguably have Hoglander in the top 10. Right now only 3 players from that draft have more points and played more games.

 

[deckercky]

To give some perspective here, if you look at 2nd round draft picks across the board, you will see that only 6 or 7 from each draft year become NHL regulars, and out of that group, it is rare to see a top 6 player. I mean, I'm not saying later round draft picks aren't valuable, but I was just giving some facts on 2nd rounders.

With that said, getting Hoglander in the 2nd round is like winning the lottery. If we were to do a (very premature) 2019 redraft, you could arguably have Hoglander in the top 10. Right now only 3 players from that draft have more points and played more games.

Canucks have done very well under Benning to acquire a largely homegrown top 6.

The lack of draft capital is showing, as even 1-2 more homegrown bottom 6 forwards would have made a big difference on team composition. Ditto on the back end.

 

[beachcomber]

Imagine what we could potentially have, had Jimbo not given away all those other 2nd rounders

No point living in the past.

 

[Wry n Ginger]

Have we? IMO the Nucks are terrible at acquiring Grit/Tenacity.

I didn't say anything about acquiring grit...I said the Vancouver market, (ie the fans) love players with grit and tenacity and often value those skills more than just high end talent. We loved Bure but he really stole the fans heart when he elbowed (Churla?) in the playoffs after getting roughed up for so long. (as an example)

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

Love Piggy! Guy has brought it and everyone who has to deal with him out there you can see they are on edge! Looks like he can burn you anytime he has the puck. He is definitely gaining attention amongst the Canadian teams. He is going to be a huge force in a few years, top 25 in scoring perennial.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

It's pretty incredible when you think about it, but this kid has been a staple in the top six since the opening game. He just never seems to take a night off, or see his performance slip.

NHL rookies, particularly those who are only 20-years old, follow a predictable pattern in their first season. They might have a strong exhibition schedule, then play well for 6-8 games, before the grind of an NHL season starts to take its toll. Then they start dropping down the lineup, and even get sat down for a couple of games.

The rest of the way, it's usually in and out of the line-up....a trip to Utica for a couple of weeks, and then some minutes in 'garbage time' if the NHL team is out of playoff contention.

But not Hoglander....since day one, he's been the most consistent Canuck forward.....making it impossible for Green to take him out of the lineup. And almost 30 games into the season, if anything he's getting stronger.

This just isn't supposed to happen to second round draft picks at Hoglander's age and size....but there you have it.

Yeah that part about him being the most consistent forward is remarkable.

Its so true. Hes had a few games where hes been less effective but hes still working hard to make things happen.

Its facinating to watch a game and think man this guy drove 3-4 good chances all while being responsible defensively.

 

[Chimpradamus]

Yeah that part about him being the most consistent forward is remarkable.

Its so true. Hes had a few games where hes been less effective but hes still working hard to make things happen.

Its facinating to watch a game and think man this guy drove 3-4 good chances all while being responsible defensively.

That's what's so impressive about him. He's like a small, skilled beast. I cannot believe how many puck battles he wins and that he doesn't care against who he fights for it. He's been up against Weber. Höglander doesn't care, he tries to go for the throat.

If you need him in a role to hold the fort and chip up the tempo, no problem. If you want him in a scoring role, I don't think you will be disappointed. He can excel on any line, because he just does his thing which is winning the momentum back. In the long run, he will probably be a two-way 1st line forward who every player likes to play with, because his play is a momentum changer on the ice.

At this point he has been used defensively - to great success. He has started 56% of his shifts with a defensive zone faceoff, while attending an offensive facoff 44% of the time. Pettersson is placed offensively 75% of the time. Rightfully so, he's bloody amazing offensively, but still, it tells the story of Nils Höglander. He could've produced more points at this time of his career being in a more offensive role. He's stuck to Horvat carrying the cement bag - for the team. But that doesn't matter, because we know he's awesome. When you see how he trains you understand why he already is so damn consistent in his performances. He's a training monster and he has great potential for producing points if you want him in that role. A very skilled pitbull who never gives up on a play.

Vancouver just robbed a clear high 1st round pick out of the 2nd round. Pure larceny. I mean, look at the prospect camp. He just smoked everybody:


Who the hell scouts Sweden for Vancouver? He should get a raise.

 

[F A N]

Weird Hoglander fact - of all the players taken after him in the 2019 draft, only one has played an NHL game (and 1 game at that)

Weird Hoglander fact 2 - Of all the players taken in the 2019 draft, only the top 3 picks - Jack Hughes, Kaapo Kaako, and Kirby Dach - have scored more points in the NHL than Hoglander at this time.

I wonder who was ranked before Hoglander at the end of Day 1 of the 2019 draft that Benning sought to move Hoglander past. A Dman?

 

[bossram]

I wonder who was ranked before Hoglander at the end of Day 1 of the 2019 draft that Benning sought to move Hoglander past. A Dman?

Weren't the reports it was Korczak that they had ranked higher initially?

Obviously much better they chose Hoglander. I was very high on him pre-draft and thought he should've been an easy 1st rounder anyway.

 

[lennor]

Smaller forwards are usually only effective nhlers when they play way past their listed heights. For all the Tyler Ennis’ Linden Veys, Kyle Turris’, Nic Petans you have you’re Brendon Gallagher’s, Martin St.Louis, Mats Zuccarellos and now hopefully Nils Hoglanders.

 

[F A N]

Smaller forwards are usually only effective nhlers when they play way past their listed heights. For all the Tyler Ennis’ Linden Veys, Kyle Turris’, Nic Petans you have you’re Brendon Gallagher’s, Martin St.Louis, Mats Zuccarellos and now hopefully Nils Hoglanders.

I think in today's game there's room for smaller forwards. Pre-concussion/injuries Ennis was a pretty good player. There's Gaudreau as well.

Turris is 6'1"