Rick Tocchet Sends Strong Warning to Nils Hoglander Amid Performance Issues
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Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet didn't hold back when he called out underperforming left winger Nils Hoglander.
Rick Tocchet, the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, is not hesitant to voice his opinions or criticize his players in public. However, this time, he is doing so in a much more subdued yet equally effective manner, which is likely to annoy Nils Hoglander.
It is not surprising that Rick Tocchet has a tight ship with the Canucks; regardless of your performance, he can give you more ice time as quickly as he can take it away. This is evident with Nils Hoglander.
Hoglander, who signed a 3-year extension in early October, was projected to be among the top six forwards going into the 2024-2025 campaign, particularly following a stellar season the previous year. However, it appears that Tocchet is sending a harsh message because Hoglander has fallen to the bottom six and spends most of his time on the fourth line.
Given that Arshdeep Bains is currently receiving a lot of ice time on the top line with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, Rick Tocchet must adore the rookie prospect, but this could cause problems for Hoglander.
Although Hoglander's total of 24 goals and 12 assists for 36 points in 80 games last season may not seem very impressive, scoring 20 goals or more is no small accomplishment in the NHL. Furthermore, Tocchet must have a reason for not having any players on the fourth line who score 20 goals or more.
During their October 28th game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Tocchet was up with the top lines and had already expressed his disapproval of Hoglander's performance.
One of those that got split up as the night went on was the trio of Elias Pettersson, Conor Garland and Nils Hoglander and they weren't used much at 5-on-5 in the first two periods. "We'll obviously when you change it, you don't like it right? So I didn't like a couple of things there. Didn't like Hoggy [Hoglander] at all....listen, I'm not going to pick on that line. I just felt that I wanted to make a couple of changes." Tocchet said.
Tocchet's lack of confidence in Hoglander against the top lines of the opposing teams 5 on 5 is the only reason why the team does not have a young, 24-goal scorer with the top lines and receives enough ice time. For whatever reason, Hoglander will need to do much more to win back the head coach's trust.
| POLL | ||
3 NOVEMBRE | 58 ANSWERS Rick Tocchet Sends Strong Warning to Nils Hoglander Amid Performance Issues Do you think Nils Hoglander should be on the top-2 lines for the Vancouver Canucks? | ||
| Yes | 37 | 63.8 % |
| No | 21 | 36.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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