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PENTICTON, BC – Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally worrying the Vancouver Canucks.
Now the former Nashville Predators winger is wearing a Canucks jersey.
After signing with Vancouver in free agency, Sherwood is in training camp in Penticton, BC, against the players he frustrated in the first round of the playoffs last season.
His former enemies have welcomed him with open arms.
“I try to be tough to play against and try to hate the other team and play with that hate and that fire. But at the end of the day, it’s a business and it’s a game of respect,” said Sherwood. “You don’t go after guys if you don’t respect them, right? So now that we’re teammates, it’s just respect. “
The 29-year-old Sherwood’s path to Vancouver was not a straight line.
A six-foot, 194-pound forward from Columbus, Ohio, he went undrafted before signing with the Anaheim Ducks as a free agent in March 2018, and played 50 games for the team during the 2018-19 campaign.
But Sherwood struggled to stick in the NHL, bouncing back and forth between the minors during stints with Anaheim, Nashville and the Colorado Avalanche.
Ultimately, he realized he needed to find what made him special to solidify his place, and he landed at speed.
“It’s definitely something I had to learn and an integral part of myself and training. I think the saying is adapt or die,” Sherwood said. “At the end of the day, you can light up the minors all you want, but you want to be here in this league.”
To hone his speed, Sherwood added more dynamic movement to his training routine, trying to create a new level of explosiveness in his skating.
That explosiveness is the key to winning puck battles, he said.
“I want to hunt. I want to start at the front, I want to create time and space for my team-mates,” he said. “And ultimately, it’s a game of possession as well. So I want the puck on our tape and get it to guys who can make plays. We value the puck, we value possession, we value plays. And if we dump it in or forecheck, I want it back.”
When he can’t get the puck back, Sherwood wants to wear down the other team.
“It’s kind of the game within the game,” he said. “And that fire I really focus on bringing every night.”
Last season marked a career-best campaign for Sherwood, who had 10 goals and 17 assists in 68 regular season appearances for Nashville.
He also appeared in all six of the Predators postseason games and contributed a goal before the team was eliminated by the Canucks.
“I’ve had to look inward a little bit and try to figure out what it’s going to take, and dig deep,” Sherwood said of his career. “And then from there, keep refining and growing the identity that I need to play night in and night out.”
His speed and tenacity have not gone unnoticed in his first Canucks training camp.
“Even the precautions are practicing, he’s always moving his feet. His effort is high,” said head coach Rick Tocchet.
“I thought some of the one-on-one drills, he made some nice moves with the puck. That’s the stuff I want to see. But he’s a high-energy, big-motor guy. Guys like that, they’re all over the top.”
Playing against Sherwood in the playoffs last spring, Canucks captain Hughes heard that Sherwood’s style of play meant that the opposition needed to be aware at all times when the winger was on the ice.
“He’s a very good player.” said Hughes. “I think he’s got more game than people give him credit for. I’m not the coach, but I think he can play anywhere in the lineup. And I think he’s a great addition.”
Tocchet also believes Sherwood could have more of an offensive side to his game, noting that the Canucks coaching staff has identified some places they want the new addition to work on his game.
“There are times when he has (the puck), he can slow it down a little bit to make a play,” the coach said. “But … I’d rather he had the motor going, and I’d worry about the other things. And he’s a guy you can bounce around on different lines too. So it’s a luxury.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 21, 2024.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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