‘He’s a leader’: Canucks backing Hronek’s impact through rebuild

VANCOUVER – As the Vancouver Canucks search the market for Plan B in the trade of Tyler Myers, it would be heartening for many of his experienced teammates to know management has a list of untouchables.

Unfortunately, the only veteran we know for sure is on it is defenceman Filip Hronek.

In his Thursday appearance on the 100% Hockey podcast with hosts John Shannon and Daren Millard, Canucks president Jim Rutherford made it clear that Hronek, the 28-year-old who became the team’s No. 1 defenceman with December’s trade of Quinn Hughes, won’t be going anywhere ahead of the National Hockey League trade deadline next Friday.

No other veteran Canuck was given the same endorsement.

Rutherford went ever further, confirming that Hronek is one of the front-runners to succeed Hughes as the team’s captain.

“We haven’t got to that point yet; that will be a discussion in the summer,” Rutherford said. “But in my opinion, he would be on that very short list (of candidates) for sure. He has all the qualities to be a very good captain. What you see on the ice is what you see off the ice. He’s a leader.”

Fiercely competitive, Hronek is one of those players who leads by example in both practices and games. Earlier this week, he cuffed and admonished Nils Hoglander after being angered by his teammate during a practice battle drill.

Hronek’s word count during that skirmish probably exceeded his output with reporters all season, which could complicate his captaincy if the Canucks actually want the face of their franchise to, you know, speak.

This is the player, after all, who proudly went 1,000 days in Detroit without an interview earlier in his career.

In his interview with Sportsnet on Friday, Hronek said he was unaware of Rutherford’s remarks (“I’m not following media”), hadn’t been worried about getting traded (“no, not really”) and hadn’t considered being captain (“I haven’t thought about it”).

Those answers, by the way, have not been edited for brevity. He responded to three questions with 12 words, which surely puts him at the top (or bottom) in some analytics category per-60.

And how would he like having to speak to reporters every day as captain?

“Yeah, that would be cool,” he deadpanned.

Whether the decorative letter on his jersey front changes from an “A” to a “C” is actually irrelevant to the Czech’s status on the Canucks as a powerful leader.

Before Hronek went to play in this month’s Winter Olympics, rookie teammate Zeev Buium offered a fascinating observation: “You know you can’t get through a day not being at your best because you’re going to hear about it from Fil. I think that’s a good thing. I think the best teams usually have guys like that, where you can’t get around them. You’ve got to go through them, and you’ve got to live up to their standard. He’s trying to push everyone to be their best.”

And coach Adam Foote loves that.

“I mean, Zeev’s a young guy; welcome to the world of work,” Foote told reporters before the Canucks flew to Seattle for Saturday’s game against the Kraken. “We all have people holding us all accountable, right? That’s the way it works. But I get his point where, yeah, that’s what you want. Accountability, that’s all you’ve got.

“It’s so huge, and Fil’s one of those guys that recognizes that. And I’m glad Zeev said it, because it’s not going to stop. For example, Zeev didn’t have to have good gap-ups (against opposing forwards) where he came from because of his mind, his ability, his talent. And what I love is … maybe 10 per cent, 15 per cent of that, is still in his game, so he’s come a long way just from the accountability of, you know, our coaching staff and his leaders — a guy like Fil saying, ‘gap up, gap up, gap up, move your feet.’ And, you know, that’s what we need. You need a core group to lead and continue to help our youth to speed up their growth. So it’s a nice relationship that has to continue for us building for the future. And I’m just so glad that he recognized that and, you know, both guys are doing their part.”

For his part, Foote also hadn’t heard what his hockey-operations boss said about Hronek.

Veteran teammate Jake DeBrusk, whose name pops up daily in trade conjecture about the Canucks, said he has seen a growth in Hronek’s leadership since J.T. Miller was traded to the New York Rangers 13 months ago.

“Obviously, him and J.T. were pretty tight, and I think once that (trade) happened, he kind of took it upon himself,” DeBrusk said. “You’ve got to do (leadership) by committee. I think it’s hard to try to just mold yourself into being a captain or trying to get into captain material. You can’t do it. I’ve been with enough pretty good captains in my day where they all say the same things: you need more, everyone around you, or else it doesn’t really get through.”

On this point, Hronek offered an oration.

“You always need more guys than one or two,” he said of leadership. “Just need a group. I mean, like, everyone has to hold each other accountable. I don’t think it’s just older guys to younger guys. They have to get in that, too, that we have to hold everyone accountable.”

Nobody can say which Canucks over the age of 25 will be around next season to help Hronek with leadership. Rutherford assures us there will be experienced leaders during the rebuild in Vancouver to help mentor and guide the team’s growing number of young players, but not necessarily the guys who are already here.

The names of nearly all senior Canucks seem to be fodder for trade discussions.

“That shocked me when I was getting texts about it yesterday,” long-serving winger Brock Boeser said. “But it’s not a trade deadline if my name’s not in there.”

As for Myers, who was held out of Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets due to a trade offer for the defenceman — widely reported to be from the Detroit Red Wings — the 36-year-old did not practise with teammates on Friday but was scheduled to accompany the Canucks to Seattle in case he is needed. With only six other defencemen on the roster, Myers will play if someone gets sick or injured.

According to sources, the Canucks are not exactly being flooded with offers for their players, although this situation is not unique in the NHL, with seven more sleeps until the trade deadline.

Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin is trying to either improve the return on the initial offer for Myers or, more likely, see which other teams may be interested now that the senior Canuck has agreed to consider waiving his no-movement clause for the right destination.

Foote doesn’t know how long he must plan the lineup without Myers.

“I can’t even answer that as far as the coaching part,” he said. “Mysie and I had another good chat last night, so we’re good. We talked about this, it’s part of the game and, you know, it’s unfortunate. But for us being ready as coaches, you know, every day is different, and you just keep going, keep putting it together and keep going out there.”

The only change Saturday to the Canucks’ lineup could be in goal, where Kevin Lankinen may replace Nikita Tolopilo as the starter after returning from the Olympics on Tuesday. The extra skaters are expected to be Myers and forwards Max Sasson and Aatu Raty.

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