By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer
Editor’s note: stats are taken from November 22, 2024.
After a remarkable playoff run in the last season, the Vancouver Canucks got off to a shaky start by losing their first three games this season. Since then, the team has accumulated nine wins, six losses, and three overtime losses, good for a 9–6–3 record. The Canucks have had a lot of success under coach Rick Tocchet, who managed to take a middling team into the playoffs. Tocchet won the Jack Adams Award in the 2023–24 season, a trophy given to the best coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
The team is filled with offensive players who score important goals, but also create high-quality chances for their teammates. J.T. Miller currently leads forwards in points with 16, followed by Conor Garland, who has 14. Prolific goal-scorer Brock Boeser, while currently out due to an injury, is tied for the team lead in goals with six. Miller led the team in points last season (103), while Boeser led in goals with 40 in 81 games. Along with Jake DeBrusk, this offensive line is ranked second in the NHL in expected goals for.
Another standout player is Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, an offensively-talented defenceman. Hughes has scored four goals and assisted on 15, making him the current leader in points (19) for the team. The former seventh overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft is considered one of the best defencemen in the NHL alongside Cale Makar and Roman Josi. Hughes won his first James Norris Trophy last season, and has been compared to the likes of legends like Bobby Orr. In a 5–1 win against the Anaheim Ducks on November 5, he became the third-fastest NHL player to tally 300 assists in his career.
The Canucks have just begun their season, having only played 18 games so far. An NHL regular season is 82 games long (excluding playoffs), so there will be plenty of opportunities to catch the Canucks live.
The Whitecaps battled hard for a chance at advancing in the playoffs, but unfortunately lost their series against Los Angeles FC on November 8. They finished their season with a record of 13–13–8.
Vancouver is fairly new to Major League Soccer (MLS), having joined in 2011. The MLS hosts teams from all across America and Canada. Despite their newcomer status, the Whitecaps have managed to win four Canadian Championships, which is the highest level soccer tournament in Canada. The winner of the championship receives the Voyagers Cup. The Whitecaps won their first Voyagers Cup back in 2015 and followed that up with a three-peat, winning consecutively in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In their most recent win back in September, they beat Toronto FC in a close game which ended up going to penalty shootouts. Ultimately, the Whitecaps secured another championship in their home arena, BC Place.
Some notable players include striker Brian White, who scored 15 goals in the 2024 regular season and assisted on two, and Ryan Gauld, who is not only the team’s best player, but top-three in the category of left winger/midfielder. Gauld, who is an attacking midfielder, managed to score 10 goals and assist 15 times in the regular season. Gauld is also currently the captain of the team.
The Whitecaps have wrapped up their 2024 season (a total of 34 league games are played), and will pick back up in 2025, when the next MLS season starts.
