Will Filip Hronek Be the Canucks New Captain?
The Vancouver Canucks haven’t had a captain since they moved on from Quinn Hughes back in December, and it’s left a pretty big leadership gap in the room. That isn’t what derailed their season, but everyone around the team has been waiting for the next name to surface. The team needs someone steady, respected, and capable of handling the pressure that comes with wearing the “C” in a Canadian market.
The name that seems to have surfaced is Filip Hronek.
And over the last few days, one frontrunner has separated himself from the pack. On Donnie and Dhali, Rick Dhaliwal reported that he’s been hearing the same thing from multiple corners: Filip Hronek is the guy. Not just a candidate—the likely choice. When Dhaliwal says a player is gaining momentum in the room and in the organization, people around Vancouver tend to pay attention.
It makes sense why. Hronek’s arrival from the Detroit Red Wings back in 2023 wasn’t just a trade—it was a statement. Vancouver gave up serious draft capital to get him, and he’s delivered exactly what they hoped for. He’s logged huge minutes (second only to Hughes the last two seasons), pushed offence from the back end, and played the kind of reliable, heavy-shift hockey coaches trust in every situation. With Hughes gone, that trust has only grown. He’s leading the team by a wide margin in ice time and still producing at a top-pair pace.
Hronek’s international play has helped him gain traction.
His international play hasn’t hurt either. At the Olympics in Milan, Hronek has been one of Czechia’s most important players, averaging over 25 minutes a night and piling up assists. For a player trying to show he can handle the responsibility of being the guy, that sort of performance stands out.
Right now, the Canucks are rotating four alternates—Hronek, Brock Boeser, Tyler Myers, and Elias Pettersson. But the team can’t go captain-less forever. If Hronek does get the nod, he’ll become the 16th captain in franchise history, following Hughes’ short but productive tenure.
Nothing is settled, but expect Hronek to get the call.
Nothing’s official yet. But the smoke around Hronek is starting to look a lot like fire. If the Canucks want a captain who plays big minutes, brings consistency, and has earned respect on and off the ice, the decision might already be made.