Vancouver Canucks Best by Number: 15-19

Picking the Vancouver Canucks best players by jersey number gets easier as we go. Finally, into the teens, the options increase as we get players with spots nailed by training camp. Or ones who were the last to wear it. Either way – easy call!

Thing is, two of these guys have really interesting stories. So this list is kinda about them, with the other really good players mentioned in passing. Even then, we’ve made it as brief as possible. Or as reasonable, anyway.

15 – Rich Sutter

There was a time when if you wanted to win hockey games, you needed a Sutter. It explains why Rich Sutter – not the most talented Sutter, but just as surly as the rest – played for seven teams in 14 seasons.

Rich played 291 games in a Canucks jersey, scoring 61 goals and 122 points and 533 penalty minutes over four seasons there. The penalty minutes certainly tell you he was raised with six brothers.

Not to throw shade on Rich, but this spot players try for a while and move on. Or coaches pick for players they’re trying out before they get moved on. In either case, Sutter is clearly the choice for the Canucks best at number 15.

16 – Trevor Linden

Taken second overall in 1988 and with no regrets. “Captain Canuck” Trevor Linden was the first to pass 1,000 games and 300 goals with the team. Always turned it up when it mattered, with 34 playoff goals and 95 points in 118 games, FAR higher than his season averages.

Not only the Canucks best in number 16, he’s also the reason only 11 players have worn it. No other player touched it after he was traded away, and no one will after he came back to finish his career.

17 – Ryan Kesler

The Canucks best ever number 17 is the only Canuck to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy. Not a hard choice, this one. Sure, Ryan Kesler didn’t leave under the best circumstances, but his decade with the team was excellent. His 655 games included 182 goals, 393 points and all the worst shifts.

Driving opponents insane was a gleeful habit, and his breakout season of 41 goals helped propel Vancouver to the President’s Trophy in 2010-11. The team couldn’t quite finish their Stanley Cup run, but his effort was never in doubt.

18 – Igor Larionov

There is an argument worth listening to for Darcy Rota taking this one. He played more games with Vancouver, had more overall points, and was on Vancouver’s top line for a few seasons. His stat line of 120 goals and 236 points in 289 games is rock solid. So why did we go with Igor Larionov?

Partly, it’s because The Professor was part of the wave of Soviet Union players finally allowed to come to the NHL. He didn’t come over until he was 29 because the Soviet Union didn’t want to lose younger talent. So there was plenty of risk in drafting Soviet players, but the rumours were in place.

The Canucks drafted two-thirds of the famous KLM line late in 1985 and 1986, getting Larionov and Vladimir Krutov in the 11th and 12th rounds. Both came to the team for the 1989-90 season, and Larionov stuck when Krutov decided one season away from home was enough.