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Canucks get set to scrimmage as training camp hits Day 4, Rathbone signs |
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Here's a sentence I didn't think I'd be writing a couple of months ago: I'm heading to Rogers Arena tonight to watch the Vancouver Canucks.
As training camp continues, Travis Green is mixing things up on Day 4 with a game-day type simulation. As this is the point in a normal training camp when exhibition games would be beginning, the team took at morning skate at 10:30 on Thursday and will hit the ice for two 25-minute periods starting at 7 p.m.
I don't think it'll be livestreamed. I know there has been some concern around the league that teams don't want their opponents to have too much opportunity to get a look at practice details before the games begin.
Green rolled five lines and four D-pairs on Thursday morning:
No need to worry about special-teams units — they'll be using penalty shots for any penalties that are called. And it wouldn't be out of the question to see some additional defensemen in the mix. Green has said that there is an open competition for that eighth spot and has used a different Black Ace each day — Ashton Sautner on Thursday, Guillaume Brisebois on Wednesday, Brogan Rafferty on Tuesday and Jalen Chatfield on Monday.
Two other lineup notes:
• Brandon Sutter was missing from practice on both Wednesday and Thursday — and that's all we know about his status. He seemed chipper and upbeat and said he was feeling good when he spoke to the media on Monday, for whatever that's worth.
• On a more positive note, Micheal Ferland has skated with the second group, the Black Aces, on Wednesday and Thursday. Green said Thursday that he expects Ferland will be ready to join the main group soon.
Neither Ferland or Sutter will take part in Thursday night's scrimmage.
All things considered, the Canucks' roster seems to be holding together reasonably well so far and — knock on wood — camp is proceeding in a relatively drama-free fashion.
Other fanbases are freaking out to varying degrees about players who have been out of action, including David Pastrnak in Boston and Corey Crawford in Chicago. Vegas is reporting that Marc-Andre Fleury will get on the ice soon after missing the first three days of camp. Flames fans can't get a handle on why Johnny Gaudreau is skating in the team's second training group instead of with his usual linemates.
Meanwhile, the Canucks also put two blueline matters to rest over the past 48 hours — signing NCAA prospect Jack Rathbone and seeing Nikita Tryamkin elect to sign a new one-year deal to stay with Avtomobilist in his hometown of Ekaterinburg in the KHL next season.
Avtomobilist is losing leading scorer Nigel Dawes, who's on his way to Ak Bars Kazan next season, but still has Pavel Datsyuk. And the team's new coach next season will be Bill Peters, who landed there after being chased out of the NHL last season due to his past racist behaviour.
This was the resolution I've been expecting all along for Tryamkin — not just for cap reasons, but also for roster reasons. The Canucks have a lot more defensive depth now than they did when the big Russian was with the team during the 2016-17 season, and they got a little deeper still when they signed Rathbone on Tuesday.
Tryamkin's agent, Todd Diamond, told Rick Dhaliwal that the Canucks still retain Tryamkin's rights for one more year. So we could get a chance to see this dance one more time next summer. Or, perhaps Tryamkin's rights will be traded at some point, if Benning and the Canucks don't think they can find a spot for him.
Travis Green was asked today about a reported conversation that he had with Tryamkin earlier this spring. He didn't get into details about what was discussed, but said he enjoyed the conversation, that Tryamkin's English has improved significantly, and that Tryamkin now looks back on his earlier time in Vancouver as a learning experience.
As for Rathbone — there were rumours swirling that the Canucks weren't going to be able to get him under contract, but I stopped paying attention to those way back in the Thatcher Demko/Brock Boeser days. The Canucks haven't had an NCAA prospect slip through their fingers yet during the Benning regime, and Rathbone talked extensively during his media availability on Wednesday about the support that he received from the organization, particularly Ryan Johnson and Chris Higgins.
Rathbone also mentioned that he has personal relationships with two other Canucks — former Boston College student Thatcher Demko and another Boston-area prospect, Aiden Mcdonough.
Demko lit up on Thursday when I asked him about Rathbone's signing.
"Yeah, that was just awesome," he said.
"When I first moved out to Boston as a 17-year-old freshman — my mom played collegiate volleyball when she was younger and...I'm not too sure the relationship but it's Jack's mom. Her sister actually played volleyball too and somehow they got connected.
"It was kind of a thing where like, hey, if you ever need anything, give us a call, we're 20 minutes from campus. So I ended up going over there pretty often, just try to get away from school for maybe a night, have a home-cooked meal. Be around a family.
"So I played pond hockey with Jack, I played Xbox with Jack. I think he was a freshman in high school when I was a freshman in college and he's just a great kid.
"I have nothing but respect for him and I've always enjoyed being around them.
"He's very hard working. He understands that it's not easy. Every level he moves up in hockey, he's willing to to work just that much harder to make sure that he adjusts quickly.
"When I saw that he signed, I was just so excited for him and his family, knowing their background. And obviously I'm a little biased — I'm excited to see him around the rink too, so I'm just really happy for him and, and I think he's going to be a good fit for us."
While Rathbone is not eligible to play this summer, the Canucks are working on a plan to try to get him out to Vancouver. Coming from the U.S., he'd have to quarantine when he gets here, but they're hoping they might be able to keep him in Vancouver and work with him while the team is away in the bubble in Edmonton.
Oh yeah — one final note on defensemen, also. I almost forgot because it has been assumed for so long — congratulations to Calder Trophy finalist Quinn Hughes!
As far as I can tell, this marks the first time in nearly 50 years that one franchise has produced Calder finalists in three-straight seasons. The New York Rangers did it between 1969 and 1971 — but they didn't have a winner.
1969 - Brad Park (3rd)
1970 - Bill Fairbairn (2nd)
1971 - Gilles Villemure (3rd)
If Quinn succeeds Elias Pettersson as the Calder winner, it'll be the first time a franchise has had back-to-back winners since Bobby Orr (1967) and Derek Sanderson (1968).
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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