Troy Stecher should never have been the Vancouver Canucks’ best defenceman.

He was too undersized, undrafted and inexperienced.

But there he was, a slice of hope at the end of a dim season being feted last spring as the Canucks’ top blue liner at 23 years of age.

He won the popular vote and he had earned it. His engine never died even as the Canucks’ doors https://www.vancanucksfans.com/bo-horvat-jersey-c-16.html, bumpers and wheels popped off all around him , and were left strewn along the littered roadside.

Stecher played nearly every shift like it just might be his last. He finished fifth in the NHL among rookie defencemen with 24 points. He played 71 games, averaged 20 minutes in ice time, and was among the Canucks’ leaders in positively impacting shot attempt differential.


His season was so impressive, in fact, people wondered if he could help carry a top pairing, if not now then in the near future.

After so many had dismissed his chances of an NHL career https://www.vancanucksfans.com/markus-granlund-jersey-c-17.html, and counted him out, Stecher had made it.

Not so fast.

The NHL doesn’t quite work like that. Progression and development is rarely linear. A few months after “making it,” Stecher had a new coach, a new role and new obstacles.

He was off the power play, had his minutes cut dramatically. He was left trying to figure out what had gone astray. It didn’t happen overnight. It just felt that way.

“As a young guy, it was kind of hard to adjust Henrik Sedin Jersey,” Stecher said. “I’m still trying to find my way in this league. Early on it was tough.

“I had always been on the power play in college and juniors. I want to be on the power play here. But it’s not my role https://www.vancanucksfans.com/daniel-sedin-jersey-c-15.html this year and it is what it is. The power play has been good. I’m not going to complain about it. I understand if I’m not on it, I have to do something else better.”