Thursday, September 20, 2007
Preseason: Flames 0 Canucks 4
I wasn't surprised that last night's 4-0 win versus the Calgary Flames was as chippy as it was (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province). After all, we hate these guys almost as much as we hate the Leafs.
"It was crazy, I guess it's going to be a fun series against them this year," Jeff Cowan said. "It was intense right from the start to the end.What surprised me though was the collective play of the younger guys. Maybe it shouldn't have because of the praise we've been hearing about this group especially during training camp, but against a Flames team that iced a fairly veteran lineup, they certainly stepped it up a notch.
"Their style of play is real dirty and grinding and with Keenan there it's only going to get worse."
Michael Grabner, often-criticized for his soft play, didn't seem to mind going into the tough areas and scored a goal and an assist. Jason Jaffray scored a beauty when he knocked down a Grabner shot and then fired it into the net. Ryan Shannon was good again and scored a goal skating down the wing - more on Shannon later today. Alex Edler, Nathan McIver, Corey Schneider - all stood out in a tough game, albeit in the preseason, against a tough team.
More of today's links, including a chat with Mike Keenan and more rave reviews for the younger Canucks:
- Wannabe winners. (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- Schneider makes the perfect start. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Iron Mike's mettle tested. (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Keenan a favourite in Vancouver - thanks to Luongo. (Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald)
- Tense times again for Luongo, Keenan. (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
- Learning to love that new uniform. (Tom Mayenknecht, Vancouver Sun)
(Photo credit: canucks.com)
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Calgary+Flames
Labels: Flames, game recap, Grabner, Keenan, Schneider
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Stories From Prospects Camp - 09/08/2007
It's one day into Canucks Prospects Camp at Bear Mountain Resort, Victoria. Here are the stories coming out from camp so far:
- Prospects Camp Insider - Day One. (canucks.com)
- Prospects hard to tell apart for Canucks coach. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- One surprising Swede. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Canucks prospects on display. (Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist)
- Blue-line a tough nut to crack. (Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist)
- Teen brings cheering section. (Sharie Epp, Victoria Times Colonist)
- Bieksa sees no fall-off in future. (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
Friday, September 07, 2007
The Kids Come To Camp
Prospects camp starts today in Victoria and 25 kids are invited. Some of the names are familiar (Bourdon, Schneider, Edler, Grabner), some are not-so-familiar (Ash Goldie, Charles-Antoine Messier, Pierre Cedric Labrie), and some we'll be more familiar with by the end of camp (Mason Raymond, Jannik Hansen, Daniel Rahimi, Juraj Simek).
I can't remember the last time the Canucks had a group of prospects with this amount of skill level and potential to make the NHL. Of the current roster, only about a third consist of players drafted by the team. I'm excited to see what these kids can do and see if we can add to the list of "homegrown talent" in the near future.
Here are today's links, focused on the prospects in camp:
- Canucks Top 20 prospects. (Hockeys Future)
- Breath of fresh air. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Edler set to take it to the next level. (Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist)
- Here comes Mr. Excitement. (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Schneider plays waiting game. (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- They call him a prospect, but... (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province)
- Photos from yesterday's rookie fitness testing. (canucks.com)
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
Monday, July 09, 2007
A Quick Study
It's been a busy couple of weeks for Dave Nonis as he worked hard to shore up the Canucks roster for the '07-'08 season. Last week, he added some goaltending depth, signing Curtis Sanford to a one-year deal and top prospect Cory Schneider to his first pro contract (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun).
Especially compared to the recent follies in Edmonton and Buffalo, Dave Nonis continues to impress me. He obviously learned from the Ryan Kesler fiasco last year, and hence, the Krajicek and Bieksa deals. Combine that with the earlier Pyatt and Kesler re-signings (and how much they were for) and I can't help but gain an appreciation for how good Nonis has managed the team within the cap system.
Think of it this way, barring any movement, the Canucks' top-six defensemen, which in my opinion is as good a group as any in the league, will make a combined $13.625 million this season. And they're signed for just slightly more money for next season as well.
Except for a Trevor Linden re-signing or perhaps a rookie making the team out of training camp, the roster is pretty much set. In fact, the only other glaring need on the team is another scoring winger and Nonis still has a couple of months to find one.
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
Sanford, 27, signed for one year at $600,000 and will take Dany Sabourin's place on the end of the bench for all but a handful of games (all figures are in U.S. dollars).Then in separate deals, he signed Byron Ritchie and Brad Isbister to one-year contracts (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province).
Schneider, 21, agreed to a three-year entry level contract that will see him earn $924,200 at the NHL level and $70,000 in Manitoba, where he will be the go-to guy for the American Hockey League's Moose.
In Isbister, the Canucks get a 6-foot-4, 227-pound left-winger who doesn't always play to his size and takes too many nights off. In Ritchie, the Canucks get an undersized centre who has often irritated the opposition, but hasn't put up the offensive numbers.Finally, he solidified the defense core and rewarded Lukas Krajicek with a new two-year deal, extended Kevin Bieksa's contract for another three years, and added veteran Aaron Miller to the mix.
What does this all mean?
A big gamble that Isbister ($525,000 US) and Ritchie ($675,000) will give coach Alain Vigneault some needed fourth-line muscle and grit for anticipated physical encounters against Calgary, Anaheim and San Jose.
Especially compared to the recent follies in Edmonton and Buffalo, Dave Nonis continues to impress me. He obviously learned from the Ryan Kesler fiasco last year, and hence, the Krajicek and Bieksa deals. Combine that with the earlier Pyatt and Kesler re-signings (and how much they were for) and I can't help but gain an appreciation for how good Nonis has managed the team within the cap system.
Think of it this way, barring any movement, the Canucks' top-six defensemen, which in my opinion is as good a group as any in the league, will make a combined $13.625 million this season. And they're signed for just slightly more money for next season as well.
Except for a Trevor Linden re-signing or perhaps a rookie making the team out of training camp, the roster is pretty much set. In fact, the only other glaring need on the team is another scoring winger and Nonis still has a couple of months to find one.
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
Labels: Bieksa, Isbister, Krajicek, Miller, Ritchie, Schneider
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
More Schneider Trade Talk
I suppose it's only natural this time of year with teams trying to rebuild and reload and all, but the Cory Schneider trade rumors just won't go away. Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun) makes a case why Nonis should go ahead and pull the trigger.
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Cory+Schneider
Vancouver Canuck general manager Dave Nonis shook the hockey world a year ago when he acquired goalie Roberto Luongo on the eve of the National Hockey League draft in Vancouver. Nonis could rock the city again from Columbus later this week.The rest of the piece is here.
But he insisted Monday he has no plans to trade elite prospect Cory Schneider, which is too bad because the 21-year-old goaltender would fetch the Canucks far more than any of their picks in the 2007 entry draft.
There appears to be a perfect storm brewing to trade Schneider.
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Labels: Schneider
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Cory's Decision Coming
From Grant Kerr (Globe and Mail):
The flip side is that there is obviously no guarantee that Luongo will re-up after his current contract and Schneider should be ready for the bigs by then. The ceilings on McIntyre and Julian Ellis aren't as high as Schneider's, and if the Canucks trade him, they could be in a situation three years from now without a bonafide no. 1 goaltender. (Not that, pre-Luongo, we weren't used to this situation anyway.)
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Cory+Schneider
Cory Schneider plans to make a decision in the next week about his hockey future, choosing between staying at the collegiate level and becoming a professional in the Vancouver Canucks' organization.There are those who think that Schneider should be trade bait. With Luongo signed for the next three seasons and Drew McIntyre coming off a solid season with the Moose, the Canucks are set in goal for the next little while. If packaged in a trade, Schneider can fetch a top-six forward or at least a good offensive prospect in return. Already, Darren Dreger (on the FAN 590) initiated some chatter on this subject yesterday.
The prize netminder is torn between the two, having already played three seasons with the Boston College Eagles in Hockey East Association and twice reaching the championship game of the Frozen Four tournament, collegiate hockey's equivalent of playoffs in the United States.
Schneider, 21, is considered one of the top goalkeeping prospects outside the National Hockey League. He has watched intently the progress of Carey Price, who left major junior this spring to become the most valuable player in the American Hockey League playoffs.
The flip side is that there is obviously no guarantee that Luongo will re-up after his current contract and Schneider should be ready for the bigs by then. The ceilings on McIntyre and Julian Ellis aren't as high as Schneider's, and if the Canucks trade him, they could be in a situation three years from now without a bonafide no. 1 goaltender. (Not that, pre-Luongo, we weren't used to this situation anyway.)
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Labels: Schneider
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Game Day: Kings at Canucks
When the Canucks and the Kings met last week, Jack Johnson made his much-anticipated NHL debut. And Jan Bulis made sure it was a memorable one.
Tonight, the Canucks have a chance to clinch the Northwest Division title - a Canucks win and a Minnesota Wild regulation loss will do that - but that's just all gravy considering they have already guaranteed themselves a spot in the playoffs, exceeding all expectations at the start of the season.
Here are some of today's 'Nucks-related pieces:
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Los+Angeles+Kings
Tonight, the Canucks have a chance to clinch the Northwest Division title - a Canucks win and a Minnesota Wild regulation loss will do that - but that's just all gravy considering they have already guaranteed themselves a spot in the playoffs, exceeding all expectations at the start of the season.
Here are some of today's 'Nucks-related pieces:
- Say hello to Salo. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Canucks re-assign Tremblay to the AHL. (Vancouver Sun)
- Sedins provide a twin killing. (Jim Morris, Canadian Press)
- Luongo is most deserving of MVP award. (Ross McKeon, San Francisco Chronicle)
- BC's Schneider in Frozen Four focus. (Nick Tarnoff, The Heights Boston College)
Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Los+Angeles+Kings
Labels: Bulis, game day preview, Kings, Schneider
