We'll start off today with the latest
ranking from The Score, which shows the Aquilini Group at No. 20 on the list of NHL owners. That's the second-highest rank the team has received on The Score's lists this week, just below No. 18 on Monday for the farm system.
Over in Michigan at the World Junior Summer Showcase, Wednesday's games were a bit of a dud for Canucks followers, as neither Guillaume Brisebois or Brock Boeser got into their teams' respective lineups.
Both Wednesday games had a degree of intrigue, though, as Finland rallied late to beat Canada 2-1 in overtime and the U.S. bounced back from a 3-0 deficit for a 4-3 win over Sweden.
Game action resumes on Friday, with Canada facing Sweden and the U.S. playing Finland.
Today, Brock Boeser has been handed the keys to the Team USA Instagram account for a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life...
Still on the topic of prospects, NEWS 1130 caught up with Olli Juolevi in Finland on Tuesday, and summed up the conversation in a few tweets.
Though most of the other top picks from his draft class have already signed their entry-level contracts, Juolevi's comments on his situation line up with what Trevor Linden said last week.
Looks like there's no need to worry here.
It's a long shot, but Juolevi continues to insist that he's going to try to crack the Canucks lineup out of training camp.
I'm certainly looking forward to watching him try!
Training camp should be very interesting and entertaining this year, with plenty of competition for jobs.
Brendan Gaunce also checked in with NEWS 1130 on Wednesday. He turned 22 in March, so the upcoming season is probably make-or-break time for him on whether or not he'll have an NHL career.
For evidence of how quickly the NHL dream can slip away, Gaunce just needs to look across the family dinner table, at his brother Cameron. A defenceman, Cameron was drafted 50th overall by Colorado in 2008. He got 11 NHL games with the Avalanche in his first pro season in 2010-11, then got stuck in the minors for three years before his next chance at the big leagues—nine games with the Dallas Stars in 2013-14.
Cameron has been back in the AHL for the last two seasons—with the Texas Stars in 2014-15, then the Florida Panthers' farm team, the Portland Pirates, last year. Now 26, he signed another one-year, two-way deal for the league minimum this summer, this time with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Four years younger, Brendan Gaunce is coming into the last year of his entry-level contract and has gone all-in on his offseason training.
Brendan played 20 games with the Canucks last season, so he has already matched his brother's total NHL games. Hopefully he can use his experience from last season as a springboard to a more impactful role in 2016-17.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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