After failing to stay in the National Hockey League during his first five pro seasons, the minor league scoring star changed his game. Sherwood learned to check and strike. He uses his speed and hockey IQ to make himself a miserable opponent.
But Sherwood never lost sight of his offensive skills. He never forgets how to score.
The undrafted winger from Columbus, Ohio, who leads the league in hits at age 29, scored his first NHL hat trick in the Vancouver Canucks’ 3-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. All scored.
Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet questioned the emotional investment of “four or five” players after the Canucks lost 5-1 to the Boston Bruins on Saturday in what was a nerve-wracking game. A stunning comeback, but one of their most impressive performances of the season.
Perhaps this will be a starting point for the Canucks to escape a month of inconsistent and sometimes exasperating hockey. But it’s certainly something of a new arrival for Sherwood, who has set a career-high (in the NHL) with 11 goals in 30 games and drew roars from a sold-out crowd on Monday. .
“I just wanted to take it all in and have the whole arena (chanting). . . . It’s something you dream about as a kid,” he said. “These are the moments where you work so hard and just kind of manifest and imagine. So I’m really grateful and grateful.”
Last spring, when Canucks general manager Patrick Alvin was so impressed with Sherwood’s explosiveness and effectiveness against Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs, he hoped it would happen, and he set his sights on the Nashville Predator. free agent for the team.
In an autumn marked by instability, often volatile markets and extremism, Sherwood has been one of the most consistent and reliable players.
So far, he’s looking like a pretty good deal after betting on himself and signing a two-year deal worth $1.5 million per season with Vancouver.
“From the conversations I had with my agent, they had a vision for me,” Sherwood said after his main press release dispersed. “Whichever team has the vision, that’s where I want to be. I’m just looking for opportunities. That’s what sold it to me.
“For me, I’m just focused on opportunities – trying to get opportunities. I mean, when you’re in the minors, that’s all you can ask for. There’s a lot of great players in the (American Hockey League), But if you don’t have the opportunity, sometimes you can’t perform. I just try to get that opportunity and then I think you can use whatever skills or tools you have.”
The player who led the league with 184 hits and scored 68 goals in 109 AHL games over his final three seasons in the minor leagues showed off all his facets against the Avalanche.
Sherwood opened the scoring at 16:14 of the first quarter, completing the all-in, game-winning, rebounding transition Tocchet had been asking for.
Sherwood protected the puck along the boards against two Avalanche players, then passed the puck to Pius Suter, who passed it to Denton Heinen in front of the net. Henin was tightly stopped by Colorado goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, but Sherwood followed up and hit the puck twice, scoring on the rebound.
This goal requires all your strength and effort. His next move was pure skill.
With the Avalanche leading 1-0 late in the second quarter, Sherwood anticipated a pass from Nathan MacKinnon at the Canucks blue line. Colorado defenseman Kyle Makar was caught slightly off guard by a turnover and Sherwood pushed the puck forward, past one of the NHL’s fastest players, then fired a shot into the top corner behind Blackwood at 15:04. Scored a breakthrough goal.
With 2 minutes and 35 seconds left in the game, he scored from behind his own blue line and shot into an empty net to complete his hat trick.
And “Ke-V Sher-Wood! Ke-V Sher-Wood!” Christmas carols rang from the benches at Rogers Arena.
“Winning games with a guy like that, so it’s a great addition for us,” Connor Garland said. “He fought his way through the minors (through the minors) and went through a lot. So that’s cool. Like a lot of guys here who have been through the minors, undrafted or cut, they enjoy every day and respect this league. And They’re always fun together.”
What should have been a near-perfect rebound game for the Canucks was only slightly dampened by Avalanche Valeri Nichuskin’s six-on-five goal with 46 seconds left. . That cost Thatcher Demko, who was in his third game back from a serious knee injury, a chance to play.
Demko finished with 30 saves. The defensive line of Garland, JT Miller and Brock Boeser neutralized the Avalanche’s MacKinnon defense, and Canucks center Elias Pettersson was at full strength, dishing out a few hits and winning the puck battle and faceoff and had four shots on target.
The Canucks’ penalty killers neutralized the Avalanche’s high-powered offense for eight minutes. McKinnon, the NHL’s leading scorer, didn’t score a point.
“I think everyone here is calm,” Garland said. “Maybe the market overreacted, but I don’t think we really overreacted. Our effort was poor (Saturday) and we weren’t happy with it. But we went to work the next day and kept going.”
The Canucks have four games left before the Christmas break, including back-to-back games in Utah and Las Vegas starting Wednesday.
“Every win is a step, though,” guard Carson Soucy said. “We’re going to try to take advantage of what we had tonight – just a little fire. It sucks to have to live with that after losing a game, but it does give you momentum sometimes. Hopefully we can stick with what worked tonight. “
