More details have trickled out about the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase, a week-long event that kicks off next Friday, July 28 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.
TSN has covered this event in the past but it doesn't look like they'll be broadcasting it this year.
Hopefully we'll have access to some live streams, or at least some highlights, as the Canucks will be quite well represented.
As we've previously discussed, goaltender Michael DiPietro and forwards Kole Lind and Jonah Gadjovich are all part of team Canada's group of invitees.
On the European side:
Jonathan Dahlen turns 20 on December 20, so he is 11 days too old to play at World Juniors this year.
As for Finland...
Juolevi doesn't turn 20 until May, so he is eligible, but it's quite rare to see players appear in three World Junior tournaments. Prospects who crack their team's lineup at 17, like Juolevi did, are usually good enough to be in the pros by their last year of eligibility. He has moved past the "Summer Showcase" phase of his development—another sign that he'll take a real run at making the Canucks main roster in the fall.
He has a ton of incentive, too. Because of his age, Juolevi isn't AHL eligible. He'd have to go back to the OHL's London Knights for a third season if he doesn't stick in Vancouver.
Now, continuing on with my look at the 2017-18 schedule.
If you missed it,
click here for Monday's blog, which looks at total travel miles, a lighter dose of back-to-back games this season and some of the key schedule notes for the first three months, up till the end of December.
As for the rest of the year...
January: 11 games: 4 home, 7 road
• a relatively light month, with the Canucks' five-day break falling between January 15-19 and a four-day break for the All-Star Game between January 26-29
• bye week breaks up a stretch of seven straight road games—which could be very beneficial
• the January road trip kicks off with back-to-back games in Toronto and Montreal, followed by Washington, Columbus and Minnesota; after the break, they'll reconvene for a back-to-back in Edmonton and Winnipeg before finally heading home
• the All-Star break falls in the middle of a five-game homestand that stretches into February
February: 14 games: 6 home, 8 road
• once upon a time, we would have had a two-and-a-half week Olympic break in February—the Games in PyeongChang take place from February 9-25
• during that time, we'll be squeezing in Olympic hockey viewing—of whatever variety—around eight Canucks games, part of a busy month that sees three sets of back-to-back games, all with travel
• a tough four-games-in-six-days trip early in the month has the team starting in Florida, then hitting Tampa Bay and Carolina in back-to-backs before finishing off in an afternoon game in Dallas
• Vancouver will also play three games in four nights at the end of the month—starting with their first-ever game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, then followed by back-to-backs in Arizona and Colorado
• notable home games in February include Chicago (Feb 1), Tampa Bay (Feb 3), Florida (Feb 14), Boston (Feb 17) and the Rangers (Feb 28)
Per the CBA, the trade deadline falls at "3:00 p.m. New York time of the fortieth (40th) day immediately preceding the final day of the Regular Season."
Last year, the season wrapped on April 9 and the trade deadline was March 1. This year, the last day of the regular season will be Saturday, April 7, so that means the trade deadline should be Tuesday, February 27.
Look forward to talk about the Canucks trading the Sedins reaching a fever pitch by then!
March: 15 games: 8 home, 7 road
• another busy month, where the Canucks will continue to play nearly every second day, on average
• March kicks off with a four-game homestand, then continues with what is essentially a seven-game road trip—the team plays three-in-four on the road, comes home for one, then heads out for another three in four. The back-to-backs are Arizona/L.A., then St. Louis/Chicago straight after the team's second visit to Vegas on March 20
• Connor and the Oilers visit on March 29, and Torts' Columbus Blue Jackets roll into town on March 31 for an unusual 1 p.m. Saturday game. That'll be Vancouver's last game of the year against an Eastern Conference team and one of only two in March—the other will be at home against the New York Islanders on March 5.
April: 3 games: 2 home, 1 road
• as usual, the regular season wraps up with a series of interdivisional games
• the Canucks will finish off their home schedule against Vegas and Arizona—fighting for draft lottery positioning?
• the last game of the year will be on the road in Edmonton on Saturday, April 7—a night when 30 of the league's 31 teams will be in action.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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