The Vancouver Canucks were in a transition period back in the 2016-17 season. Approaching the 2017 Trade Deadline and well out of the playoff picture, general manager Jim Benning traded two fan favourites and key pieces of the 2011 Stanley Cup run, Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows to the San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators respectively. In return, they got promising prospects Jonathan Dahlin and Nikolay Goldobin. The former never played for the Canucks, while the latter was both frustrating and exciting to watch (sometimes at the same time).
Let’s get our “Where Are They Now” series started with the enigmatic Russian who was once thought of as the potential ying to Elias Pettersson’s yang.
Goldobin’s Arrival With the Canucks
A former first-round pick of the Sharks, the Canucks thought they were getting a skilled prospect with a lot of potential to become a top-six winger in the future. He was only 21 years old at the time and had already showcased some creativity and offensive skills in the NHL with the Sharks. He hit the ground running in his Canucks debut, scoring his first goal – which ended up being the game-winner – against Ben Bishop and the Los Angeles Kings on March 17, 2017 in a 4-3 win. It was a pretty one too, showing off his speed and quick wrist shot as he beat Bishop just under the blocker. He only played a measly 5:51 but made the minutes count with not only his first as a Canuck, but his first of the season and fifth of his career.
Goldobin scored two more goals before the end of the season and finished with three goals in 12 games. The next season, he split his time between the NHL and the Canucks’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Utica Comets where he put up nine goals and 31 points in the AHL and eight goals and 14 points in the NHL.
Pettersson joined the team in 2018-19 and Goldobin clicked immediately with him in training camp. They started the season on a line together with Brock Boeser and made hay offensively with Pettersson scoring 10 goals in his first 10 games. The duo was particularly deadly at even strength where Pettersson at one point led the NHL in average scoring at 5-on-5 with 4.67 points per hour.
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Even though Goldobin only had seven points in his first 16 games with Pettersson, he complemented the uber-rookie perfectly with his playmaking abilities and offensive instincts. He was a lot like Andrei Kuzmenko, who had tremendous success with…
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