It's September!
In 10 days, the Vancouver Canucks will host the prospects from the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets in Penticton for the Young Stars Tournament. It's also the weekend of Penticton's annual jazz festival, so the two events have basically filled the accommodations in town to capacity.
The Canucks released their roster for the tournament yesterday:
The tournament gets underway on Friday, September 11th, but the Canucks will hold their first practice in Penticton on Thursday, September 10 at 2 p.m. Only a few tickets are left for the games but admission is free to all practices, which are open to the public.
When I looked at the potential roster for this year's Utica Comets last week in
this blog and
this blog, I wrote snapshot profiles of a number of the players that will be in Penticton next week—guys like Brendan Gaunce, Jordan Subban and Cole Cassels, among others.
It is worth noting that Mackenze Stewart, who was drafted as a defenseman, is listed as a forward for the upcoming tournament—confirming his conversion.
Beyond that, here's a quick-and-dirty look at the players who are filling out the roster, most of whom don't figure in the Comets' plans for next season. Keep in mind, some of these players are little more than warm bodies being used to fill out the roster for the tournament. Others are draft choices or may have a legitimate chance to get themselves signed to a minor-league contract.
You may remember, walk-on Curtis Valk parlayed his strong play in last year's prospects tournament into an ECHL contract. He's not on the roster this year, which would lead me to believe that he's not in the Canucks' plans going forward.
Remember, we won't see Brock Boeser or Thatcher Demko in this tournament as both have now started their NCAA school years.
Defense:
Guillaume Brisebois: Drafted by the Canucks in the third round last June, Brisebois is an 18-year-old who will play his third season with Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL this season.
The junior preseason is already underway. Brisebois got three assists in his lone game to date as the Titans shut out Rimouski 6-0 last Friday.
Carl Neill: Drafted by the Canucks in the fifth round last June, Neill is a big 19-year-old right-shooting defenseman, now listed at 6'3" and 206 pounds. He plays with Sherbrooke of the QMJHL and is tied for the league lead among defensemen with an impressive 2-4-6 in three preseason games so far.
We haven't heard much about Neill since he was chosen in the draft. It'll be interesting to see if he's strong in Penticton as a power-play quarterback.
Tate Olson: Drafted by the Canucks in the seventh round last June, Olson is a wiry 18-year-old defenseman for the Prince George Cougars, listed at 6'3" and 174 pounds.
The WHL preseason is getting underway today, so I don't have any current stats yet on Olson. He was 5-19-24 with 69 penalty minutes in 68 games in his second season with the Cougars in 2014-15.
Forwards:
Rodigo Abols: This is an interesting name. Abols is a 19-year-old Latvian centre who spent part of last season with Riga of the KHL. His father is Dinamo Riga head coach Artis Abols.
Abols has a lot of big-league experience for someone his age. As well as having 14 games of KHL experience under his belt, Abols also played for Latvia in Prague at the World Championships last May, though he was pointless.
According to
Elite Prospects, Abols was drafted by Portland in the CHL import draft last summer, so he'll be playing with the Winterhawks this season.
Abols has decent size but is on the lean side at 6'3" and 179 pounds.
Reid Gardiner: Another undrafted 19-year-old center, Reid Gardiner is entering his fourth season with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. On the smaller side at 5'11",
Hockey's Future describes Gardiner as "an intelligent player who is quickly becoming a complete forward. Physically capable and very strong on the puck. Works hard. Responsible defensively."
Jonathon Martin: An undrafted 6'2", 20-year-old right winger, Jonathon Martin is scheduled to play his fifth season with the Kootenay Ice of the WHL this season.
I feel like I've heard of him, but it appears that I'm thinking of Jonathan Martin—the NFL offensive tackle who recently retired at age 26 after gaining notoriety as a bullying victim while he was with the Miami Dolphins a couple of seasons ago.
Kyle Pettit: Drafted by the Canucks in the sixth round in 2014, 19-year-old Pettit is a 6'4" center for the Erie Otters—who should get a chance to move up the depth chart this year now that Connor McDavid and possibly Dylan Strome are taking the next step towards the NHL.
Pettit put up 27 points in 60 games for the Otters last season.
Dmitry Zhukenov: Drafted by the Canucks in the fourth round last June, 5'11" Russian center Zhukenov has joined the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL for the 2015-16 season and is making an instant impression in his first season of North American hockey.
Zhukenov has three goals and three assists in his first five games with Chicoutimi, so it'll be interesting to see his offensive flair live when he suits up in Penticton.
Goalies:
Jackson Whistle: Now an undrafted 20-year-old, Whistle is a veteran of last year's prospects camp, and also went to the Memorial Cup Final last spring with the Kelowna Rockets.
He'll be playing an overage season with his hometown Rockets in 2015-16.
Clay Witt: A 24-year-old hailing from Brandon, Florida, Witt just finished up four years at Northeastern University, where he was a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award in 2013-14. Witt
was signed to an AHL contract by the Comets on August 21st.
I'm assuming he'll be Utica's third goaltender, though he may get a chance to pass Joe Cannata on the depth chart.
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