The Vancouver Canucks are getting the "31 in 31" treatment today over at NHL.com.
That means a series of articles, looking at the team from a number of different directions.
Kevin Woodley's three questions are topics that we've spent plenty of time pondering during this long offseason:
• Can the Sedins bounce back after they sputtered offensively in 2016-17?
• Will Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson be able to carry the load in net?
• Will the power play finally get back on track?
Rob Vollman's statistical analysis doesn't yield any big shockers, either. The Canucks give up a lot of shots, don't shoot often enough themselves and the power play is weak. I was intrigued to see Vollman note that the only goalie in the league who played at least 25 games and got less goal support than Jacob Markstrom last season was Cory Schneider over in New Jersey.
At this point, the most interesting article is Kevin Woodley's ranking of the Canucks'
Top 5 Prospects, with their projected arrival dates in the NHL:
1. Brock Boeser - this season
Boeser's currently making the rounds at the NHL's Rookie Showcase in Toronto.
2. Elias Pettersson - next season
Pettersson continues to impress in Champions League play. Over the weekend, he was named Player of the Game in Vaxjo's win over Davos HC.
3. Olli Juolevi - next season
Juolevi will be one of the most interesting players to watch at Young Stars and into training camp. He has made it clear that he wants to earn a spot with the Canucks this year. If that doesn't happen, his options are to return to the London Knights for third season or to head over to Europe.
Juolevi just turned 19 last May, which is why he isn't eligible to play in the AHL this season. His strong performance on the way to a gold medal for Finland as a 17-year-old at the 2016 World Junior Championship makes it seem like he has already been knocking at the door of a pro career for awhile. There's no rush to get him onto the Canucks roster—and the team hasn't left a spot open for him—but I think he'll do enough at camp this year to trigger some tough decisions for Vancouver management.
4. Jonathan Dahlen - next season
Woodley points out that Dahlen, who turns 20 in December, is AHL-eligible this season. He also has a clause in his contract that would allow him to play in Sweden if he prefers that option.
Unlike Pettersson, Dahlen's not on the ice yet. He is expected to suit up at Young Stars next week, which makes me think it's more likely that he'll land in Utica this year.
5. Thatcher Demko - projected arrival 2019-20
Woodley's a goaltending expert, and he thinks Demko will need another two years of AHL experience before he's ready to make the jump to the next level. He points out that Demko's performance improved during the second half of last season and says "It's all part of the process for the 21-year-old, whose save percentage climbed from .919 to .925 to .935 over three seasons at Boston College."
During a conversation at a charity tournament in New Jersey last month, Demko told
Adam Kimelman of NHL.com that he has no intention of waiting around:
"There's been some movement with the goalies in Vancouver this summer," Demko told Kimelman. "I just want to go in [to training camp] and put my best foot forward. I'm still young but I still have the mindset of going in and cracking the lineup and showing the coaching staff and everyone else what I can do. Hopefully I'll be able to do that."
Demko spent a few days with the Canucks at one point last season, when Ryan Miller was injured. "Really good experience," he said. "Guys were all really welcoming, which was nice for me. Hopefully I'll be up there a lot more this year."
Though injured, Ryan Miller did take time to share some veteran wisdom with Demko. "He talked to me about how things were going in Utica. He's just a great guy. There's a reason he's been in the League for so long and why everyone says great things about him. … Just being around him for those few days was a great experience."
Miller's playing style has also influenced Demko's current areas of focus in his training.
"On the ice, just trying to be a lot more efficient, use my size a lot more," Demko said. "All the best goalies in the league tend to not move too much. That was another thing Miller talked to me about. I watched a lot of his film and he's really efficient with his movement. Pucks really just hit him. That's something I'm working on this summer, and hopefully continue to work on."
While the kids get ready to show their stuff at camp, other members of the Canucks organization have headed north for one of the team's biggest fundraising initiatives of the year, the Fishing for Kids tournament in Haida Gwaii.
The kickoff reception took place on Saturday night:
Participants landed on Sunday. They're out on the water on Monday and Tuesday.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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