Vancouver Canucks

Edmonton welcomes Canucks to ice on Monday

The Vancouver Canucks ‘Team A’ will hit the Oilers’ ice in the first preseason game on Monday evening. Training camp was literally a cup of coffee long, with two days in Whistler.
Monday’s pre-season game against the Oilers can be watched in its entirety on www.canucks.com. Live stream begins at 6 p.m. PST.

Below is a list from the official website with the defensive pairings as well as what are the projected forward lines:

D.Sedin - Wellwood - Pyatt
Pettinger - Krog - Simek
Jaffray - Kesler - Gendur
Cowan - Rypien - Raymond
Labrie

Ohlund - Heshka
Mitchell - Baumgartner
Rahimi - Edler
Davison - Sharrow
Labrie

It is possible to read and gather some information on these.

1) The Canucks would like to see Cory Schneider go out (with a less than stellar lineup against a strong Edmonton prospect system that is bolstering a fast, skilled lineup for the Oilers) and show his mettle. Many of the Oilers forwards are fleet of foot, so Cory will need to be positionally sound. His outstanding second-half in Manitoba and this start should really solidify his confidence. I expect great things from him. Not in this game necessarily, but in a whole outlook.

2) Top Six- The twins are split up for now with Daniel Sedin, Kyle Wellwood, and Taylor Pyatt as a first line. Wellwood will be expected to hit Daniel with some good passes and make things happen with Pyatt throwing his body around. Speed is not an over-riding factor here. Playmaking should be and will be what I am keeping in mind while I watch. Juraj Simek has an opportunity here as a lesser-light in the prospects camp to skate with a pro centre in Jason Krog and grinder Matt Pettinger. I do not expect much from either of these three.

3) Bottom Six- Ryan Kesler is an amusing choice here as there is a valid argument that he may be the club’s second best centre. I do not believe that really, Wellwood can certainly push that notion aside. His left-winger is Jason Jaffray who is a decent playmaker and AHL threat. Dan Gendur (WHL) is a tidy prospect that had good chemistry playing with Cody Hodgson and Michael Grabner in the prospects tourney. It wil be interesting to see if he can adapt to different mates and impress further. Gendur could be a late-blooming depth player in the future.
Jeff Cowan and Rick Rypien are two players I would be disappointed in seeing make the final roster. Now, Rypien has speed and Cowan the grit, so we will see if Mason Raymond can elevate their games as well. Interesting.

4) Defense- Mattias Ohlund is a rock with Shaun Heska as a partner. Now, Heshka is a puck-moving dman and will be expected to feed the forwards and clear his zone. Keep an eye on how his skating holds up to the fast-pace of the Oilers. The coaching staff has got to have confidence in him and although he will not make the team, he could be impressing for the future.

Willie Mitchell provides that shut-down mentality the Canucks need. His partner is Nolan Baumgartner, so the Canucks are pretty certain what they have in this pairing. This is Baumgartner’s second tour of duty with Vancouver.

Daniel Rahimi is a large, physical defenseman who can really lay the body. He is not afraid to set his mitts down either. Alexander Edler will be expected to pull down some major minutes for the Canucks this year and provide a solid all-around game. It will be a good indicator for the year when viewing their interaction during the game, both against the opponent and with each other.
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The Edmonton lineup has not been announced online, at least not on the official site. Taylor Chorney’s blog sheds some light and I find the latest info that Robbie Schremp, Andrew Cogliano, and Erik Cole are skating on one unit quite a fantastic tidbit. That is a pretty slick line.

I am definately set to see how Chorney himself handles professional hockey. He is projected as a very good all-around defenseman with leadership values that are first-class. Chorney captained the American World Junior squad that won Gold in 2004/05 and Bronze in 2006/07. His career at the University of North Dakota is apparently at an end and there is a train of thought that does not see him at Springfield of the AHL very long.

Cheers, I’ll be updating the blog most likely on Thursday night after digesting all we’ll see after the two games vs. Edmonton.

21 Septmeber 2008
Robin Keith Thompson