The Vancouver Canucks' strong start to the 2017 Young Stars tournament became a distant memory after a 6-2 loss to the Calgary Flames prospects on Sunday afternoon in Penticton.
With Mike DiPietro playing the entire game in net, the Canucks fell behind 2-0 by the six-minute mark of the first period and were ultimately outshot 34-27. Defenseman Aaron Irving started the game on the top pairing with Olli Juolevi and opened the scoring for Vancouver.
Irving didn't make it out of the period in one piece though. After the game, coach Trent Cull simply said he had an upper-body injury and would be evaluated before today's final game against Edmonton.
Irving's absence also left Cull with just five defensemen to rotate for the rest of the game. That meant big responsibility for Juolevi, who was thrown out with different partners and asked to play both sides. In a tournament where players don't know each other well, that added to the challenges for a player who's dealing with high expectations as a fifth-overall draft pick.
Utica coach Trent Cull felt he likely overplayed #Canucks Juolevi today after his d-partner Aaron Irving left mid-first period with injury
The Canucks standout on Sunday was forward Yan-Pavel Laplante, a 22-year-old who was originally drafted out of the QMJHL by the then-Phoenix Coyotes in the third round in 2013, then was signed by the Canucks as a free agent in May of 2016.
Laplante spent most of last season in the ECHL, collecting 20 points and 39 penalty minutes in 38 games with the Alaska Aces. He also saw 13 games during three separate stints with the Utica Comets, where he collected one assist and nine penalty minutes.
"First year pro, it's up and down," said Laplante when asked to describe last season. "I had an injury so it was not easy for me at first. I was lucky to play 13 games in the American League so I got a chance to play at that level. Hopefully, I'll get the chance next year to play more games and a full season."
Laplante didn't draw into the lineup for the Canucks' first Young Stars game against Winnipeg, so he was determined to make a strong showing on Sunday—and he did. With a fight and a goal, he was only one assist away from a Gordie Howe hat trick!
The fight came against Calgary's hulking 6'7" forward Hunter Smith, shortly after Smith rode Zack MacEwen hard in the first period. Smith drops the gloves and looks like he's about to go after Olli Juolevi before Laplante steps in here.
"I'm there for for my teammates," said Laplante, who describes himself as an energy player.
"I saw MacEwen is a different type of player and I'm that kind of player. I'm just there to step up for my teammates."
Utica Comets coach Trent Cull, who ran the bench on Sunday, identified Laplante as one of his standout players on Sunday.
"I thought he was moving his feet. Physically, you know he got in that fight. I thought it was good, especially because I thought they were kind of a physical team with us. In the end, we talked about moving your feet and stopping at netfront. He did that and was hard on the forecheck, then got rewarded for it. I thought he had a really strong game."
Laplante was the recipient of a nice pass on his goal, but the Canucks initially got that offensive zone time because he skated in on a breakaway to get things started.
As well as Aaron Irving, Zack MacEwen was also unable to finish the game. Not sure if he was roughed up on that incident with Hunter Smith?
With the possible injuries, it wasn't clear if Trent Cull would be able to rest his star players Juolevi and Brock Boeser today—often in these tournaments, the top prospects who are heading on to main camp later in the week won't dress in all the games.
Cull did say that Thatcher Demko would start on Monday against Edmonton but it wasn't clear if he'd play the whole game.
On Sunday, I hung out in the comment section and basically liveblogged the game. My plan is to do the same again today against Edmonton, so please join me and we can watch together! Faceoff, once again, is at 2 p.m. as the tournament concludes in Penticton.
Back in Vancouver, the veterans are spending plenty of time together off the ice.
Tomorrow, it's physical testing for the veterans and the first-round of media availability for the vets, then the on-ice sessions start Wednesday at Rogers Arena. Those sessions are free and open to the public:
If you missed it, today's topic du jour is Daniel and Henrik Sedin's open letter in the Players' Tribune, attempting to quell speculation that they might be looking for trade-deadline deals or a chance to win a Stanley Cup with another team:
"Dear Vancouver, before this season begins, we wanted to write a letter to the city."
Smart of them to try to get ahead of the story, and to clearly articulate their intentions, while also reminding fans in Vancouver and observers from other markets of how their careers have unfolded and what they have meant to the franchise.
As I mentioned last week, when I looked at this year's crop of upcoming unrestricted free agents, Daniel and Henrik actually compare pretty favourably, even though they're older than most of the other players. Knowing that they're planning to stay the year, I do hope that they come out strong this year, rejuvenated by the new coaching style of Travis Green and the new additions to the roster. As for the future beyond this season, they seem content to address that issue once we see how things go this year.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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