Canucks defenseman Jordan Subban isn’t the most famous hockey player in his family, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t close to making the jump to the NHL.
Jordan, who is the younger brother of Nashville’s P.K. Subban, is entering his third professional season, but he still hasn’t played a game in the NHL yet.
The 22-year-old put up some impressive numbers with AHL Utica in 2016-17 (16 goals, 36 points in 65 games), and he’s hoping it’s enough to get him a spot on the Canucks roster this season.
“My goal is going into camp and making the team. That’s my only goal now. That’s my main focus,” Subban told Sportsnet.ca.
“Obviously there’s a rebuild going on, and I know there’s spots open. My mind’s not occupied with who they signed or who’s competing for a job. I’m here to compete for a spot.”
During the summer, Vancouver brought in Michael Del Zotto and Patrick Wiercioch in free agency, which definitely doesn’t help Subban’s chances of sticking around. But as he mentioned, the Canucks are in a rebuild, so there’s a chance they could opt to give a younger guy some added opportunity.
One thing going for Subban, is that Vancouver’s new head coach, Travis Green, is pretty familiar with him. Prior to being named head coach of the Canucks, Green served as the bench boss for their minor league team. On the flip side, Green also knows every hole in the young defenseman’s game.
It’ll be interesting to see how Subban’s season unfolds.