Conor Garland to take on much bigger role with the Canucks

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Cooper Godin
October 24, 2024 (8:34)

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Forward Conor Garland is ready for bigger role on the Vancouver Canucks roster beyond the third line duties he's held over the last couple of seasons.

The Vancouver Canucks have a special player in Conor Garland, who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes back in the summer of 2021. Since joining the Vancouver Canucks, Garland's game has taken big strides forward, even though at points in recent years some have been calling for him to be traded.

Garland used that as fuel last season and helped form one of, if not the best third lines in all of the National Hockey League alongside Dakota Joshua and Teddy Blueger.

Six games into their 2024-25 campaign, Garland is looking like he could be on his way to a career year and has likely outgrown that third line role he has been in.

Because of his strong play so far this year, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has decided to move Conor Garland up to the team's second line with Elias Pettersson and Nils Hoglander while also featuring on Vancouver's first powerplay unit.

Tocchet was full of praise for Conor Garland during a recent media availability according to Rob Williams of Daily Hive, saying that while his offence is a big part of his game, he's grown into a strong defensive player for the club.

"I had him in Arizona (from 2018-19 to 2020-21), he's totally changed," said Tocchet. "Over the last year, as much as everybody talks about his offence, he's really turned out to be a good defensive player. Maybe three to four years ago, you probably wouldn't have said that."

It's going to be interesting to see how Conor Garland adapts to being in a top-six role going forward. He has all the tools needed to play a bigger role and should have no issues adapting to being in the top-six on a full-time basis. Garland's playmaking abilities could also help Elias Pettersson, who has struggled so far this season and has yet to find the back of the net.

Garland and the Canucks return home to Rogers Arena on Saturday night after a four-game road trip to take on Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Saturday's game marks the first of 18 nights where the Canucks will don their black Skate alternate jerseys, with puck drop set for 7 pm PT on Hockey Night in Canada.