12/16/2023 – Page 2 – CanucksBanter

By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter

December 16, 2023

Vancouver Canucks announced Friday, December 15 that they acquired defenceman Nick Cicek and a 6th round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft from the San Jose Sharks for Jack Studnicka.

“We would like to thank Jack for his time with the Vancouver Canucks,” said Allvin.

“We wish him the best moving forward and are pleased to add another depth defenceman for Abbotsford to work with and develop.”
Patrik Allvin GM Vancouver Canucks

411 on Nick Cicek

Cicek, 23, appeared in 18 games with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) this season, registering 3 points (1-2-3) and 21 penalty minutes.
In 108 career AHL games, all spent with the Barracuda, Cicek has accumulated 31 points (7-24-31) and 121 penalty minutes.
The 6’3”, 201-pound defenceman has played in 16 NHL games for the San Jose Sharks, collecting four points (0-4-4) and 15 penalty minutes.
The Winnipeg, Manitoba native originally signed an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks as an undrafted free agent on April 11, 2022.

The undrafted Cicek has played with the Barracuda on an AHL contract all season but has clearly shown his NHL potential to the San Jose Sharks.

Both Bob Boughner and Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer have raved about Cicek’s leadership and energy, Sommer comparing him to Mario Ferraro.

Pro scouts from other NHL organizations like Cicek too. They like his size, he’s 6-foot-3, and his all-around ability.

He’s smart, skates well for his size, and can move the puck.

He’s seen right now at a future NHL bottom-pairing defenseman, but considering he’s just 21, there’s a lot of room to grow here.
Sheng Peng SJHOCKEYNOW April 12, 2022

Source: nhl.com

🆚 Minnesota Wild
⏰ 11:00 AM. PST
📍 Excel Energy Center
📺 Sportsnet
📻 Sportsnet 650

MATCH-UP INFO

Tonight marks the second of three meetings between the Canucks and Wild this season: Dec. 7 (2-0 W, home), Dec. 16 (road) and Feb. 19 (road).
Vancouver is 48-37-5-11 all-time against Minnesota, including a 22-23-2-4 record on the road.
The Canucks are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games against the Wild (1-3-1 in their last 5).
J.T. Miller leads all active Canucks skaters in scoring against Minnesota with 14 points (7-7-14) in 20 career games.
Brock Boeser has eight points (2-6-8) in 14 career games against the Wild.
Thatcher Demko is 0-3-2 with a 3.40 GAA and a .900 SV% in five career games against the Wild.
In five career games (5-0-0), Casey DeSmith has a 1.78 GAA and a .943 SV% all-time against Minnesota.

QUICK NUMBERS

Quinn Hughes has registered 16 points (4-12-16) in his last 15 games, totaling 39 points overall (9-30-39). He is t-4th in the league for points and ranks t-1st for assists.
J.T. Miller has 43 points overall this season (15-28-43) and has 20 points (6-14-20) in his last 15 games. He ranks 2nd in the league for points.
Brock Boeser has scored 22 goals this season, ranking 2nd in the league. His 36 points (22-14-36) this season places him 5th in the league among primary right wingers. Boeser is currently on an nine-game point streak (9-5-14).
Elias Pettersson has six points (1-5-6) in his last five games.
The Vancouver Canucks are currently 2nd in the Western Conference and 2nd in the league. They also have the highest goal differential (+41) in the league. The Canucks currently have the most wins (17) when leading after two periods and have scored the first goal of the game 20 times, 1st in the NHL. They also have the most wins (16) when scoring first.

MOVING UP THE LIDST

After recording three assists in a 4-1 win on Dec. 12/23 vs TBL, Quinn Hughes (245 assists in 312 GP) became third all- time in assists amongst defencemen in Canucks franchise history, passing Doug Lidster. Hughes completed this feat in 354 less games than Lidster (242 assists in 666 GP).

2023.24 TEAM RANKS

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Nick Cicek and sixth-round pick (2024) acquired from San Jose in exchange for Jack Studnicka, Dec. 15
Pius Suter activated off IR, Dec. 14
Linus Karlsson reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 9
Matt Irwin reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 2
Nikita Zadorov acquired from Calgary in exchange for a fifth-round pick (2024) and a third-round pick (2026), Nov. 30

VANCOUVER’S 2023.24 RECORD WHEN…