Few players were less heralded heading into Canucks鈥� 2016 training camp than Jack Skille. The former Blackhawk/Panther/Blue Jacket/Avalanche was signed to a professional tryout, so he had no contract for the coming season.
What he did have, however, were colourful colloquialisms. 鈥淚鈥檓 willing to chew through rope to be here,鈥� Skille said on the first day of camp and, while he was never asked to do that, he did do enough during camp and preseason to earn a one-year deal. It was unexpected, as the Canucks had made it clear they were looking to get younger and the 29-year-old Skille didn鈥檛 fit the profile.
Skille was a stalwart presence on the fourth line, averaging less than 9 minutes per game. He was third among Canucks forwards in hits per game and played a quiet, risk-free brand of hockey that endeared him to the coaching staff and got him occasional looks higher up the lineup when injuries occurred.
In fact, Skille was part of the Canucks鈥� best puck-possession line with Brendan Gaunce and Michael Chaput. When that trio was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Canucks controlled 59.38% of the shot attempts, . You can credit Gaunce, who was solid defensively all season, but he got his best results when he was matched up with Skille and Chaput.
Where Skille surprised everyone, however, was when he pulled off a skilled move befitting of his name. These seemed to occur about once per game, where his usual grinding fourth-line shifts were interrupted by one shining shift where he reminded everyone why he was picked 7th overall in the 2005 draft.
Seriously, look at some of those goals and assists. His first point as a Canuck was a slick saucer pass through the crease to Sven Baertschi. His first goal as a Canuck featured a ridiculous behind-the-back take of an off-the-mark pass from Erik Gudbranson, then a power move to the net to shelf the shot past Ben Bishop.
There are perfectly-placed wrist shots that ping off the post and in, a couple legitimately pretty assists, and some great hand-eye coordination on a bouncing puck in front.
The most ridiculous goal came against Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers, about one minute into the above highlight video. He skates the puck through the neutral zone, tosses aside Colton Sceviour like he didn鈥檛 weigh 200 lbs, then sifts through two defencemen before roofing the puck past Luongo on the short-side.
That鈥檚 an absurd goal for a 29-year-old, journeyman, fourth-line forward to score.
On top of it all, he grew arguably the best beard on the Canucks last season, a full and luscious red-tinged beauty that gave him a rugged look befitting a fourth-liner.
Regrettably, Skille鈥檚 season ended in a painful way. After scoring his final goal of the season against the Minnesota Wild, he took a hit from Charlie Coyle and awkwardly twisted his ankle. He was seen on crutches after the game and, with just a couple weeks left in the season, it was clear he was done.
Skille remains an unrestricted free agent this summer and there is little chance the Canucks will be interested in bringing him back, considering the . Still, Skille performed admirably in a thankless role in 2016-17 and gave Canucks fans some highlight-reel moments in his one season in Vancouver.
