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Nils Hoglander, Vancouver Canucks (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)

Canucks 2025-26 Player Previews: Nils Hoglander

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Matthew Zator | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 1:34 PM ET

With the 2025 NHL Draft and the initial free agency frenzy in the books, we now turn to previewing the 2025-26 season for the Vancouver Canucks. Instead of doing report cards, I thought I would change things up and do previews instead. In this ongoing offseason series, I will endeavour to dive into every player that should compete for a roster spot and do a recap of last season, what their expectations are going into this season, and finally, predict what their final stat line could look like.

In the most recent edition of the series, I discussed the newest Canuck, Vitali Kravtsov. Next up, one of the players that needs to bounce back this season: Nils Hoglander.

Nils Hoglander

Age: 24
How Acquired: Drafted 40th overall in 2019
2024-25 Stats: 8 goals and 25 points in 72 games
Career Stats: 58 goals and 115 points in 293 games
2025-26 Contract Status: Year one of a three-year contract worth $3 million average annual value (AAV)

2024-25 Season Recap

After scoring a career-high 24 goals in 2023-24 and signing a new three-year contract extension, everyone was expecting Hoglander to take another step forward in 2024-25, or at the very least, stay at the same level. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and he regressed to eight goals and 25 points – his lowest full-season goal total since 2021-22, when he had 10. While his average time on ice (ATOI) stayed relatively the same, he couldn’t generate the same level of offence and went multiple stretches without hitting the back of the net. At one point, he was on a 34-game goal drought and saw his ice time drop to single-digits, hitting rock-bottom at a career-low 6:28 on Nov. 29 against the Buffalo Sabres.

Hoglander still provided his trademark energy and work ethic on the forecheck, but the goals just seemed to elude him. The good thing is, he did start having success at the end of the season, scoring four goals and adding nine assists for 13 points in his final 19 games, so maybe that is a sign of things to come.

2025-26 Season Role & Expectations

Hoglander is just entering his prime at 24 years old and should still have more 20-goal seasons in him. Now signed to a more lucrative contract, he will be expected to produce and return to the highly effective forward that was one of the top 5-on-5 goal scorers in the league in 2023-24. I am projecting him to start in the top-nine with Aatu Raty and Kiefer Sherwood, which should cater to his high-energy forechecking style that has brought him success in the past. He might get more time on the power play now that Pius Suter is in St. Louis and J.T. Miller is in New York, which could also increase his goal total.

Hoglander has all the tools to be a consistent top-six scorer in the NHL, and the fact that he’s done it before and found a way to turn things around at the end of the season bodes well for a bounce-back campaign. Speaking on the Canucks Insider Podcast, he reflected on that turnaround and pointed to developing his game to cater more to the coach’s system as a key to taking the next step in his development.

“The tough start I had, I’ve got to think back, I’m pretty proud that I turned it around. It wasn’t that easy to do. It felt like I had a lot of games [where] I was struggling and [had] no energy, and couldn’t really play my game. I kept grinding and did small things over and over again, and I didn’t quit. I turned it around at the end,” Hoglander said. “I’ve got to talk to the coach about working on my game system-wise. I have that quickness, that grind in me, but to take the other step for me, it’s to be like more of a system guy. Know the system better, know when I’ve got to make a play or not, I think that’s the biggest part for me to move forward for next year.”

Hoglander has butted heads with coaches in the past, notably Bruce Boudreau and, at times, last season, Rick Tocchet. He seemingly hit his stride with Tocchet in 2023-24 (as did many Canucks), but eventually fell into his doghouse last season, either getting banished to the press box or stapled to the bench. Hearing from him that he needs to dive into the nuances of his game to hit the next level is a good omen for the future. That’s the sign of a maturing player, someone who recognizes it’s not all about simply being quick on the forecheck and grinding out shifts; he’s realizing that it’s the decisions you make, both with and without the puck, that separate the fourth-line grinders from the top-six scorers. If he can refine that part of his game, he will not only return to the player that wowed everyone a season ago, but also become more of a dual-threat offensively, akin to Alex Burrows or Jannik Hansen when they thrived next to Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

Final Stat Prediction

I have a good feeling about Hoglander this season, so I am predicting a return to his 20-goal form and a career-high 25 goals and 40 points. He will also see consistent time on the second power-play unit and stay in the good graces of his head coach, with zero healthy scratches. If he can do that, the Canucks will be one step closer to returning to the playoffs, as he will add another threat to the top nine that will need all the help it can get to push the team back into the upper tier of offence in the NHL.