Demitra effective (and Prab Rai - prospect)
November 17th, 2008 by thewordbirdPavol Demitra was certainly effective in his first game back after missing a chunk of the schedule with a rib injury. Despite his three assists, I might say that his 6 for 8 faceoff wins were the most impressive stat tallied on Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada game. I was unable to watch said contest, as my sister was married that night. It looks as if I missed quite a game-the Canucks were outshot 30-15 and managed to win what must have been a very oportunistic game. Demitra is a very skilled player and while he is more comfortable on the left wing, it is nice to see that he can pile up some points and be effective at the dot as well. Speaking of opportunities seized, Kyle Wellwood grabbed his early and has been doing so at a very good clip since being acquired with his 7th goal as a Canuck.
In reviewing much of the video and looking at the sheets to get a handle on the game, it seems like the crowd was digging the play of Roberto Luongo as usual and his heroics early on kept Vancouver coiled and ready to strike. Wellwood won his draw and the point pass went to Demitra who fed Wellwood who has offensive instincts aplenty. Wellwood converted the first shot of the game for Vancouver and Vesa Toskala may have been muttering under his breath all night. Alexandre Burrows’ play on Willie Mitchell’s goal to make it 3-0 was absolutely gorgeous. People are starting to tout Ryan Kesler as a Selke Trophy candidate, but consideration should go to Burrows as well. Lawrence Nycholat made the most of his call-up, with good possession of the puck and a nifty little pass to Daniel Sedin for the fourth goal for Vancouver.
Vancouver was oushot 2-1 in this game and getting a win that way is all well and good. Ian White broke the shutout and his moustache broke the deal. His passing later on from the blueline was instrumental in setting up Matt Stajan’s tip-in goal with over 2 minutes left and kept a steal within sight. Stajan has been outstanding this season and has emerged as a bonafide leader in Toronto. Nice to see. It seems like there was a certain amount of rough play and I am interested in hearing how that all panned out, drop me a line….
Prospect update:
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Prab Rai (5′11, 191 lbs)
Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL), selected 131st in 5th round, 2008
Prab has kept a point per game average in the hard-nosed WHL this season with a weaker team in the US Division. Prab leads Seattle with 23 points and 13 goals. Rai’s +5 is one of the more impressive numbers, ranking him among the leaders with LA’s Thomas Hickey (+9) and Ottawa’s Jim O’Brien (+6). The Tunderbirds seem to be coming around and could make a mid-season charge to the playoffs next annum. I am sure that Rai’s strong play on the left wing will be needed to maintain his production if that is to happen.
17 November 2008
Robin Keith Thompson
Posted in Canucks
2 Responses to “Demitra effective (and Prab Rai - prospect)”
By Jason Chen on Nov 17, 2008
Rai was every bit of a disappointment in camp. He’s not a big guy, but his unwillingness to fight in the corners is a little alarming. He’s not good enough to be a perimeter player.
I doubt very much this guy will become a NHL regular some day.
How about Hodgson though, eh? The kid was recently named the OHL’s first star.
By thewordbird on Nov 17, 2008
Yes, I agree. Cody Hodgson is the real deal and I highlighted that in my previous post.
I truly believe that the future of the franchise rests with the decisions made with Cory Schneider. He is their BEST prospect as of right now and is worth the most in a trade.
I am high on the shutdown game of Taylor Ellington and the prospects of Taylor Matson and Mats Froshaug personally.