In what was a tough news day around the Vancouver Canucks missing Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson from Friday’s practice – and later would be ruled as doubtful for Saturday’s matinee game – Head Coach Rick Tocchet had a positive item to share about defenceman Filip Hronek:
“Yeah, he’s been skating,” Tocchet said. “I talked to Alex – our head guy – he’s really pleased with his progress. He’s been skating. We aren’t going to rush him, but I think it’s on course. With a guy like Fil, he came into camp in really good shape, he’s got good skating legs, and he’s skating now. So, that’s a positive for us.”
Hronek got injured on November 27th in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Trailing 5-4, the Canucks were pushing late in the third period to find the equalizer. That’s when Hronek fell awkwardly into the boards, injuring his shoulder.
Although the injury was to his shoulder, he would not require surgery for his upper-body injury. Instead, he would take the time to get a lower-body procedure done while his upper-body heals. Hronek was given an eight-week timeline for his injury back on December 3rd.
The Czech defenceman was having a solid season, scoring one goal and eight assists for nine points with a plus-14 rating. On an 82-game pace, Hronek would be on pace to score four goals and 31 assists for 35 points, which is a drop-off from last season’s breakout campaign.
In 2023-2024, Hronek had the best season of his career, scoring five goals and 43 assists for 48 points with a plus-33 rating in 23:26 minutes of average ice time. These efforts earned him an eight-year, $58 million contract, paying him $7.25 million annually.
In his absence, Tyler Myers has done an admirable job stepping up on a pairing with Quinn Hughes. He has three points over that span but has an impressive plus-five rating and has logged 21+ minutes of ice time in every game but one.
It’s an encouraging sign to see Hronek back on the ice. On an eight-week timeline, Hronek won’t be ready to return to the Canucks lineup until Wednesday, January 29th, when they take on the Nashville Predators.
