Canucks: Agitating, effective Kiefer Sherwood is the missing link

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Those who do the tough, relentless and unforgiving stuff seldom command or seek the spotlight.

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They know their place in the NHL game as grinding wingers, who will do anything and everything to retain ice time and prolong a career, and take to the task with heightened levels of determination.

Derek Dorsett was the poster boy for that mantra with the Vancouver Canucks, and Kiefer Sherwood is the newest face of being that guy who will frustrate on the forecheck and get in the face of the opposition.

The Columbus, Ohio native leads the league with 32 hits in five games — he had nine against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday to go with five shots and six attempts — and his five blocked shots speak to a presence on the penalty kill. And two points (1-1) and 11 shots prove he can play.

Add just two minors in that span and the 29-year-old Sherwood knows the fine line between playing and sitting in the penalty box. Not that he doesn’t push the limits with the odd jab and gift of gab. He will find the scrums to get players off their games.

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He jawed with feisty Flyers winger Travis Konecny on Saturday and gave goalie Samuel Ersson a whack on the pads to announce his arrival as he cut through the crease.

Run all this by Dorsett and there’s a level of appreciation because you never want to be an easy team to play against. Sherwood can play at pace to disrupt the opposition in its own zone and also hound on the penalty kill to eat up time.

“Kiefer has done a tremendous job of finding that niche role,” Dorsett, 37, said Monday from his home in Columbus. “I don’t want to say it’s a dying breed but everything now is more about the skill level. He has figured out what it takes to stick and be an effective player. You can make a good living being physical and finishing checks.

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“He has a long runway ahead of him. He had a great year in Nashville last year (10 goals, 27 points) and caught my eye. Every team needs a guy like that. And he’ll keep evolving with confidence. One thing I did is not getting pigeonholed into being that fourth-liner who fought all the time.

“I found a role on the penalty kill and being reliable late in games. You get a little bit of your offence back like I had I had in junior.”

Dorsett was no day at the beach but could also back it up on the scoresheet. He had seven goals in his first 20 games in the 2017-18 season before being forced to retire with a cervical-disc herniation. He worked in player development with the Blue Jackets and is now an assistant coach on his son’s Triple-A team.

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Dorsett labelled himself a “calm” coach and stresses team play and being a good teammate because everything else will fall into place. That’s what he did in 558 career NHL games.

“I got to play 10 years after being drafted as a 19-year-old, who never played junior until 18,” reasoned Dorsett. “I’m proud of the career I had and the relationships along the way. I have three healthy kids and I met my wife playing hockey. I’m a fortunate guy.”

The undrafted Sherwood feels the same way. He’s grateful for 200 NHL games and signing a two-year, $3-million US deal here on July 1.

“I’m willing to do whatever I can to give us a competitive advantage,” Sherwood told Postmedia. “It’s all about winning and I’ll do whatever it takes. Dorsett had to scrap and claw for everything he got out of the game and I always respected him from afar.

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“As I got my pro career going, I try to model my game after that feistiness and pit-bull mentality. It’s adapt or die, a quote I kind of came to live by. I needed to find a way to not just stick, but make an impact.

“I work with Dan Hinote (Predators assistant coach) and I picked his brains a lot on the details and the game within the game — the mind games. It’s a work in progress. He was an effective player in Colorado with Footy (Canucks assistant Adam Foote).

“There’s so much going on in the game and I just try to be a sponge. For me it’s about quickness and reacting those first couple of strides.”

Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet knows Sherwood can move up and down his lineup, depending on tempo and temperature of the game and who’s going or lagging.

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“I’m not scared to use him,” said Tocchet. “He’s like (Conor) Garland. If you need some juice, you can throw those guys in there. Motor guys.

“Sherwood gets under people’s skin. Garland does, too. When you win puck battles in the corner against 6-foot-5 guys, it pisses them off and it’s why they’re successful.”

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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