It's July 11—Deadline Day.
This was the day that Trevor Linden said if season ticket holders weren't happy with the new direction of the Vancouver Canucks, they could apply for a refund on their tickets.
Considering new seat assignments for next year have already taken place, I guess they're not expecting anybody to take them up on their offer. But for the record:
My expectation is that, once prospect camp wraps up today, things are going to get a lot quieter on the news front. We can probably speculate all summer about acquiring Evander Kane or Ryan O'Reilly. What else would you like to talk about?
We've made it through three months since the Canucks wrapped up their regular season and I have to admit, they've given us lots of fodder for debate. From here on out, we're going to need to be a bit more creative to pass these dog days of summer till the Young Stars tournament in September.
Prospect camp wraps up today with the four-on-four tournament out at UBC.
Here's a look at a few of the more interesting pieces on the prospects that have floated around the media this week.
Jason Botchford of
The Province takes a look at 6'5" 237-pounder seventh-rounder Mackenze Stewart.
Stewart turns 19 next month but didn't start playing hockey till he was 12 due to medical issues. Six years is a pretty swift ascent from nothing to the Junior A level, which he just reached last season.
According to Botch, Willie Desjardins says prospects camp isn't a good place to evaluate talent, but it can be a good place for players to gauge themselves against their fellow prospects. All things considered Stewart feels positive, and sounds pretty realistic, about his experience:
“I feel like I fit in,” Stewart said. “I feel like I can keep up, and excel past some. I know that I’m not the best in the group. But I can definitely make it there.
Meanwhile, Canucks.com shows us that sniper Dane Fox also has the gift of the gab as he interviews Bo Horvat and Miles Liberati.
Liberati has been popping up a fair amount in the Canucks media this week. In case you're wondering, he's a defenseman who was Vancouver's seventh-round pick in 2013. Liberati played with Horvat on the London Knights before being traded to the North Bay Battalion partway through the 2013-14 season.
Speaking of Horvat, here's Ben Kuzma's
interview from earlier this week. Due to his age, if Horvat doesn't make the Canucks out of training camp, he'll be headed back to the London Knights for another season—he's not yet AHL-eligible.
Horvat will have a tough time finding a spot for himself on the Canucks roster. Jim Benning certainly sounds like he's taking a wait-and-see approach:
He’s going to have to earn a spot and then we’ll have to make some tough decisions. He’s good on faceoffs and a good penalty killer. He’ll block shots is good defensively and wins battles. If he goes back (OHL), he’ll be one of the better players in the league. If that’s what ends up happening, that’s not the end of the world either. He’s going to be a very important guy for us and we want to make sure we’re developing him properly.
For his part, Horvat says he feels like he's close:
I’ve had three years of junior and won two OHL championships and have been to three Memorial Cups. And I’ve played at the world junior. I’ve met all the Canucks staff and their mindset is positive. It’s all up to me now. Willie wants me to work my way on to the roster and that’s something I have to take control of.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»