Dan Hamhuis had become a creature of habit. Never traded during a standout four-year junior career in Prince George followed by six seasons with the Nashville Predators—the NHL team that drafted him and the only pro organization he’d played with—the 28-year-old was a stay-at-home defenceman both at and away from the rink. So it was uncharted territory for Hamhuis when he found himself headed for unrestricted free agency last summer and about to go through change both on and off the ice.

Now two months into his first season as a Vancouver Canuck, the Smithers, B.C., native says the adjustment period is over. Looking back, he figures it has gone much smoother than even he expected.

“I came into camp earlier than normal this year to get things settled so that I wouldn’t have to deal with everything that goes along with moving and so that when the season started I was ready to go and focused on hockey,” Hamhuis told the Straight after a recent practice at Rogers Arena. “And that really helped. Being one of the first guys here, I got to meet the other guys as they came in, so I met a couple of guys each day instead of all at once, and that really made things easier.”

From relocating a wife and two young children to finding a new place to live to navigating his way around a city he wasn’t all that familiar with—he grew up a Canucks fan but never made it to town to see the team play—Hamhuis was quick to find his comfort level away from the rink. And as for the hockey side of things, he says the biggest difference between Nashville and Vancouver is the attention directed at the team and its players. But even that hasn’t presented any problems.

“It hasn’t been too bad. I think some people recognize you on the street, but so far I haven’t received any advice, just a few friendly hellos,” he said with a laugh. “There is more media, but I knew that coming in when I signed, so that was to be expected and I’m trying to embrace it and not get overwhelmed.”

A durable performer in his time in the NHL, Hamhuis says the toughest part of the transition was dealing with a foot injury just five games into the season. That kept him out of the Canucks lineup for three weeks and forced him to miss eight games just as he felt he was settling in.

“I was really happy with the way the start went. Unfortunately, the timing of the injury wasn’t very good, trying to get used to a new team and new system,” he explained. “And that’s a really important time to come together as a group, and to miss three-and-a-half weeks of that, it was tough.”

Hamhuis, who suited up for his 500th NHL game on December 5 against St. Louis, is the model of consistency. Not flashy, he’s a strong skater who thinks the game well, and although he is not the biggest defenceman on the Canuck blueline, his effective use of both stick and body positioning make him tough to play against. He doesn’t take needless penalties, and he’s got just enough offence to his game to be effective when the Canucks go on the attack.

Averaging about 22 minutes a game, Hamhuis has become a mainstay as a Canuck penalty killer and has given the team all it expected when the organization made him a lucrative six-year, $27-million offer on July 1.

“I’m really happy with my role here,” he said. “I’m getting a little bit more ice time here than I was getting last year, and I didn’t really get much power-play time at all in Nashville the last few years. So I appreciate the few looks I’ve been able to get and I’ve been pretty consistent on the second unit. But you earn what you get, so if I’m playing well enough to deserve to be there, that’s good, and if not, then I won’t be there. [Power-play time] is something that’s earned.”

With Alex Edler and Christian Ehrhoff ahead of Hamhuis on the power play, it’s highly unlikely he’ll see his role there increased. And with a healthy Sami Salo set to rejoin the hockey club early in the new year, Hamhuis may have his power-play time reduced.

But he said he’s not concerned about where he falls on the team’s depth chart. He just wants to make the hockey club better. As a free agent in the summer, Hamhuis could have signed anywhere he liked, and he admitted that he targeted the Canucks as much as they had their sights on him. He truly believes he’s in position to take a run at the Stanley Cup—something he knows was almost certainly never going to happen in Nashville, considering he never got past the first round of the playoffs.

“I think we’d have been a Cinderella story if we did,” he said. “Being part of a winner was one of the top things I looked at after last season. I made a list of all the things that were important to me, and then I looked at what the different teams could offer. Winning was one of the most important things I looked at. This team is very close. We have to grow together and get ready to play our best hockey in the playoffs.”

For a guy who hadn’t undergone much upheaval in his playing career, the move back to his home province and the chance to chase the biggest prize in hockey are two changes Hamhuis is glad he made.

Jeff Paterson is a talk-show host on Vancouver’s all-sports radio Team 1040. Follow him on Twitter.