The Most Important Skill Filip Chytil Can Learn From Connor McDavid – The Hockey Writers – Vancouver Canucks

There’s something fascinating about Filip Chytil watching Connor McDavid. It’s easy to assume Chytil is studying McDavid because he wants to become a better offensive player. Who wouldn’t? McDavid is probably the most entertaining hockey player on the planet, and there is always something to learn by watching him. [from “Canucks: Filip Chytil knows he has to change his game,” Patrick Johnston, The Province, Sept. 10, 2026].

But that isn’t really what Chytil is looking for. He’s watching McDavid because he wants to understand how the best players in the world avoid putting themselves in vulnerable positions. That’s a very different kind of hockey lesson.

Chytil Has to Find a Way to Avoid Dangerous Situations

Chytil has had a difficult few years. Since scoring 22 goals for the New York Rangers in 2022-23, he has played only 78 games. Last season with the Vancouver Canucks, he managed just 12 games after suffering a concussion on a blindside hit from the Washington Capitals’ Tom Wilson and later a facial fracture when a puck caught him in the cheek.

The puck injury was simply bad luck. Chytil couldn’t have done much about that. But the Wilson hit has left him wondering whether he could have done something differently. Was he aware of where Wilson was? Was he prepared properly after moving the puck? Could he have put himself in a position where the hit wasn’t quite so devastating?

Those are uncomfortable questions for a hockey player. They’re also useful ones.

Chytil Hopes That Watching McDavid in Action Can Teach Him How to Stay Safe

Chytil has spent time this summer studying players such as McDavid, Martin Necas, and Nathan MacKinnon. He isn’t trying to copy their games. His point is that these players move at tremendous speed while somehow avoiding many of the dangerous situations that come with playing fast.

That’s the part worth noticing. Speed in hockey isn’t simply how quickly a player can skate. It’s also how quickly he can recognize what is happening around him.

McDavid doesn’t avoid trouble by avoiding traffic. He avoids a lot of trouble because he seems to understand what is happening before it happens. He knows where the pressure is coming from. He knows when to move the puck. He knows when to accelerate, when to slow down and, perhaps most importantly, when not to put himself in a bad position.

Gaining Hockey Intelligence Might Also Prevent Injuries

For Chytil, learning that may be just as important as improving his skating or shooting. The difficult part is that hockey is played on instinct. Players spend their entire lives reacting to situations almost without thinking. Trying to change those instincts after you’ve been injured isn’t easy.

But Chytil understands that staying healthy isn’t separate from playing better hockey anymore. It has become part of playing better hockey. That might be the most important lesson here.

We often talk about players becoming faster as though speed is purely physical. Skating coaches work on acceleration. Players work on their first few steps. Strength coaches work on explosiveness. But there’s another kind of speed: the speed of recognition.

If Chytil Can Improve His Recognition Speed, He Might Extend His Career

The player who sees the danger half a second earlier doesn’t necessarily have to skate faster. He simply has more time to make the right decision. That’s what makes Chytil’s summer of watching hockey so interesting. He isn’t just studying stars to become a better player.

He’s studying them to become a player who can stay on the ice. And after the last three years, there probably isn’t a more important skill he could develop.