Canucks’ Conor Garland’s value on upswing as winger injuries mount

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Conor Garland was asked to assess the progress of prize free-agent acquisition Andrei Kuzmenko in a post-game scrum Sunday at Rogers Arena.

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His short, concise Coles Notes response tells you everything you need to know about the versatile Vancouver Canucks winger because he always sees the bigger picture.

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Garland, who can thrive on both right and left wing and is even more valuable with Brock Boeser undergoing hand surgery Monday and Ilya Mikheyev nursing an upper-body ailment Sunday, does as much talking as watching a game from the bench.

And even though Kuzmenko teased of potential with lightning-quick releases and some long shifts while making his National Hockey League pre-season debut in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena, the focus for Garland was getting his own game right, both on and off the ice.

“Most of the time on the bench, I’m talking to Bo (Horvat) about stuff,” said Garland, who forced overtime Sunday with 1:31 remaining in regulation by getting to the net. “But he (Kuzmenko) is highly skilled, can skate fast and has an explosive shot. 

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“He had a lot of points in the KHL, and it’s one of the best leagues in the world, so I’m sure it shouldn’t be too hard and it will take some time — it’s an adjustment anytime you come to the NHL.”

Garland knows about adversity and adjustments. It’s what makes the diminutive, shifty, driven winger an asset because he’s and open book with many must-read chapters about adaptability.

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“Just working on stuff,” he added Sunday about playing both wings. “The goal we scored I was on the left to start because of the faceoff.

“We can do both. Pods (Vasily Podkolzin) is a versatile player and I can play both sides and played left my whole life until maybe until a couple of seasons ago because we had a lot of left-wingers in Arizona and I switched.

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“A lot of guys in the NHL switch positions, so it’s not a challenge at all.”

Garland is now developing chemistry with Horvat and Podkolzin in an intriguing alignment. His camaraderie with the captain dates back to last season.

Garland was in a major goal-scoring funk — no markers in 19 games between Feb. 27 and April 7 — and it took a reminder from Horvat that the centre had gone 27 games as a sophomore without finding the net.

Garland is also adept at drawing penalties and had seven-, eight- and nine-shot games during the drought, but couldn’t buy a goal. He could even recite the misses.

“A breakaway against Detroit (eight shots, March 16), that was a big miss for us as a team,” he started. “The one with Tampa (March 13) was a big miss for us and not burying the one in Buffalo (March 20) with a minute to go is a big miss.

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“When there are important plays that I don’t score on at this time of the year are the ones that matter.”

However, Garland would exit the funk with three goals in his next four outings because he owned his shortcomings. He was playing out of his element, pressing for goals and was willing to listen and heed some sage advice. It led to finishing with a career-high 19 goals and 52 points.

Garland, 26, has four more years left on his back-loaded contract that carries an annual salary cap hit of US $4.95 million and his max total salaries are US $6 million this season and the next. So if Horvat can get his extension done, the two could be linemates for some time.

“Me and Bo talked in the summer about if we would have a chance to play together and what we would do,” said Garland. “I talked about having a full summer to talk to guys and it has been awesome.

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“And with Pods, it’s talking about angles and where soft spots are and having chemistry with guys. Sometimes, you don’t have to look and Pods is such a powerful player.”

The inter-actions go beyond players. Garland was killing penalties Sunday and that meant some talkative teaching exchanges with assistant coach Trent Cull.

“He was great helping me with the PK and some stuff and obviously I had a lot of questions because I haven’t been on it at the NHL level — it’s nice to get help,” added Garland. “I ask a lot of questions and if I miss a read they’re very good about talking about it.”

OVERTIME — Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau didn’t have an injury update on Mikheyev post game Sunday, but expected to learn more Monday. The Russian winger was drilled along the sideboards in a second-period collision and didn’t return. The Canucks practise Tuesday and Wednesday and host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Abbotsford Canucks will hold their American Hockey League training camp at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre from Oct. 5-8 and conclude with a scrimmage Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend all sessions (Oct. 5, 6, 7 and 10 a.m.).

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