Curtis Douglas and the Comeback of The Enforcer

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The Canucks had an abysmal season, but Curtis Douglas was a joy to watch.

Douglas is a huge player coming in at a whopping 6’9” and a subtle 242 pounds. He is a giant. Unlike previous big guys we’ve had in the past (Myers), Douglas isn’t afraid to use his whole body in checks.

Douglas had a long career in the OHL and AHL. After getting drafted 106th overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, he would play 3 seasons in the OHL for the Windsor Spitfire. Douglas played 166 games with 72 goals and 69 assists during his time in Windsor. He showed solid progression through the seasons ending with a 60 point season in 62 games.

His AHL stint is a little messier. He was moved to the Belleville Senators where he would only play 11 games of the 2020-21 season. Then he was moved to the Toronto Marlies. Here he was still a productive scoring player. In 2022-23 Douglas went through the last move in AHL as he settled with the Tucson Roadrunners, after being signed by then Arizona Coyotes (now Utah Mammoth).  Here his role might have changed a bit. Lets just say his size started becoming more of a factor in his game. In the 3 seasons and 170 games he accumulated 68 points and 384 PIM (Penalties in Minutes).  That’s roughly 6.5 full games in the box.

Douglas wouldn’t play his first NHL game until the 2025-26 season when the Tampa Bay Lightning would claim him off waivers. Here he role as big man does strong things kinda solidified as in his debut game he would fight Kurtis MacDermid . He would play 29 games averaging 6 minutes of ice time a game and 92 PIM. Averaging at around 3 PIM a game. Tampa would put him back on waivers as of March 5th 2026 and the Canucks would pick him up the next day.

On the Canucks, the big man stereotype did not stop. Nor did the fans want it to. Douglas is now seen as the protector of the team. You wanna mess with anyone, you gotta go through the great wall of Curtis Douglas. And their dynamic seemed to be working. In the last 14 games he played this season the team looked stronger on the ice. Any time anyone would mess around after the whistle he would come in flying to stand ground.  Douglas would also score his first NHL goal with the Canucks which is really cool.

At the end of the day, I’m glad the Canucks were able to claim Douglas off waivers. He is a solid guy and helps support the team by making them stronger on the ice. I hope he gets to stick around.

The Canucks need someone who can change the game with a big hit or a fight and Douglas can be the one to do it.