When talking about our leaders I think we have to look no further than hulking winger Dick Skillstedt. The Swedish power-forward leads the Whalers in hits with 79; Only two players in the league have more than the young winger from Skellefteå, Sweden. Dick only has 17 points in 33 games but he is 4th on the team in total shots but seems to be suffering the effects of a bad date with lady luck. Skillstedt is burying less than 7% of his shots despite having arguably the best shot on the team.

One of the more underrated aspects of Dick's game is his puck moving ability; he has taken only 17 hits while lugging the puck ,which the least among all regular Vancouver skaters. The big body of the Swede appears to scare many skaters off which allows him to move the puck in the right direction. Skillstedt is tied for second in +/- among forwards on the Whalers and considering how the team has been performing I think this classifies him as a good contributor.

I have no problem saying that Skillstedt and his physical prowess makes him one of our top players this season and once his unlucky streak is over and the points come flowing in he will be considered a top skater in the entire league!