Canucks find Dorsett 2.0 in agitating, effective Roussel

GAME DAY: VANCOUVER AT ST. LOUIS, 12 P.M.

HAZELWOOD, Missouri — A year ago, a ripple effect from the forced retirement of Derek Dorsett was felt by the struggling Vancouver Canucks.

A year later, Antoine Roussel is having an effect on a transitioning club trying to find its way. And it’s not a stretch to suggest the Canucks have finally found their Dorsett 2.0 in Roussel because of the winger’s pace, playmaking and pugnacious persona.

“When I signed, I actually phoned him [Dorsett] to see how it went here,” Roussel recalled following a Saturday practice in suburban St. Louis in advance of a matinée today against the Blues.

“He pumped everybody’s tires and it confirmed what I was hoping from the team and the city.”

Roussel also knew what the Canucks are missing in Dorsett.

“He was hard to play against — it was not easy,” added Roussel. “A tough cat. We kind of play the same way and he was also a vocal guy, so we have a lot of similarities.”

Derek Dorsett was loud, proud, frank and funny during his NHL career.

The aggressive and productive Dorsett had seven goals in 20 games, but sustained a cervical disc herniation last fall — adjacent and separate to a previous fusion the previous year — and his absence left the NHL club emotionally gutted because Dorsett always played big and played hurt.

Dorsett officially retired Nov. 30 and then the Canucks won one of nine games (1-7-1) from Dec. 723. They didn’t initially search to replace the 30-year-old winger — hoping the answer might come from within in Darren Archibald — but never really filled the void. Now they have. Not only is Roussel coming off his first three-assist outing Thursday, his ability to match stride with Jake Virtanen and slip a perfect backhand, cross-ice feed to give the Canucks a 3-1 lead in a 5-3 triumph didn’t go unnoticed. Neither did the fact that Roussel, the league’s second most-penalized player, stayed out of the penalty box to not tax the 27th-ranked penalty kill.

In the past five games, the 29-year-old Roussel has four points and one penalty and with 12 points (3-6) in 26 games, he’s on pace to eclipse the career-high 29 he reached on two occasions with the Dallas Stars. Considering he was behind the conditioning eight-ball for six weeks after suffering an Aug. 30 concussion, and not playing until Oct. 13, we may finally be seeing the real Roussel.

Especially if he continues to play fast, hard and smart.

Roussel’s 67 penalties minutes are five behind league-leader Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins, but it’s not only Roussel putting the Canucks in a hole. After 31 games, only Anaheim (130) had taken more penalties than the Canucks (128). Then again, when push comes to shove in tough games, Roussel’s attempt to shift momentum sometimes spills over in utter frustration.

On Nov. 23 at San Jose, the Canucks lost 4-0. Roussel took elbowing and delay-of-game minors in the first, and with 40 seconds remaining in the game, he took roughing, crosschecking and minors and a 10-minute misconduct in a confrontation with Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

And on Nov. 19 in a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, he tried to turn the tide in the second period once the Canucks trailed 4-1. He slashed Brandon Tanev and also took a fighting major and 10-minute misconduct.

“It’s hard because sometimes you’ve got to play on that fine line,” reasoned Roussel. “And sometimes you have to be more careful and not have a bad stick position. That’s how we’re going to get our confidence back on the PK because you have to have short shifts.

“If you have one a minute long, then you’re not going to check with your legs as much and that’s a step we have to learn — rolling lines and being okay to change in the O-zone and keep the pressure on.”

Travis Green didn’t know Roussel but knew his game when the Canucks started talking to the unrestricted free agent in the offseason. He knew Roussel took penalties and that many stemmed from a compete level.

“The one thing about Roussel is his engine always runs hot and he’s always competing, and that reminds me a little bit of Dorse,” said Green. “They care about their teammates and want to win desperately. That’s part of the culture we’re trying to create.”