Training camp should be fun this year!
After the dust settled from free agency, I took a crack at how the Vancouver Canucks' opening-night roster could look back on July 3.
Click here to take a look.
I gave the edge to players that wouldn't need to clear waivers and came up with this:
FORWARDS
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin, Loui Eriksson
Sven Baertschi - Bo Horvat - Anton Rodin
Markus Granlund - Brandon Sutter - Sam Gagner
Reid Boucher - Alex Burmistrov - Derek Dorsett
EXTRAS: Jayson Megna, Michael Chaput, Brendan Gaunce, Brock Boeser
YOUNG FORWARDS WHO COULD PUSH FOR JOBS: Jake Virtanen, Nikolay Goldobin, Jonathan Dahlen, Griffen Molino (all waiver exempt)
DEFENCE
Alex Edler - Troy Stecher
Michael Del Zotto - Chris Tanev
Ben Hutton - Erik Gudbranson
EXTRAS: Patrick Wiercioch, Alex Biega
YOUNG DEFENSE WHO COULD PUSH FOR JOBS: Olli Juolevi, Andrey Pedan, Jordan Subban, Philip Holm
Now that Development Camp has come and gone, I'm finding myself hoping that Boeser and Virtanen push hard to make the starting lineup. And I'm eager to see if Zack MacEwen can build off his strong showing at Development Camp to maybe get into that 'first callup' type category.
Nikolay Goldobin has kind of slipped under the radar but he could be another wild card—getting a fresh start with a new coach.
Earlier this week,
Jason Botchford of
The Province wrote about how Travis Green is looking for competition for jobs.
“Whenever you say ‘This guy is on the team no matter what. This young guy or this vet is on the team no matter what,’ you aren’t promoting the necessary ingredients for the right culture to have a really competitive group,” Green told Botchford.
“I think it’s different for each organization because of where they’re at. You come off a Stanley Cup win you probably know who is on the team.
“When you don’t, and you have to get better, you need competition.”
Botchford still has a bee in his bonnet about how Troy Stecher had a solid training camp last fall but was assigned to Utica to start the season. I didn't have a problem with that move at the time, and I still don't. It was just a numbers game—sending Stecher down was the safe play because he didn't have to clear waivers.
As it turned out, he was called up just two weeks after being assigned to Utica and made his NHL debut in the seventh game of the season on October 25. He stayed with the team for the rest of the year and was healthy scratched just once all season—the game after he took that beating from Matt Martin in Toronto.
Alex Biega, who had stayed with the Canucks instead of Stecher, did get into the lineup first. But he played just one game on October 23, as a seventh defenseman, then didn't see action again until December 8.
Year-end stat lines?
Stecher: 71 GP, 3-21-24, 19:59 average ice time
Biega: 36 GP, 0-3-3, 13:10 average ice time
At training camp, Stecher was a completely unknown entity in the organization—a college free agent who had been signed just six months earlier and who had only been seen on the ice by the team at last summer's Development Camp.
I think the Canucks did reward Stecher for his strong training camp and good start in Utica—recalling him early and immediately playing him in key situations. So let's bear that in mind this year, too—even if a player like Boeser or Virtanen is sent down for opening night, it doesn't necessarily mean that he won't prove to be a key contributor by the end of the season. Patience!
Here's Stecher's latest offseason workout video—having some fun with Brendan Gallagher!
For your reference, here's Botchford's opening-night lineup.
Daniel Sedin-Henrik Sedin-Markus Granlund
Sven Baertschi-Bo Horvat-Brock Boeser
Loui Eriksson-Brandon Sutter-Sam Gagner
Brendan Gaunce-Alex Burmistrov-Jake Virtanen
13th man: Derek Dorsett
DEFENCE
Alex Edler-Troy Stecher
Michael Del Zotto-Chris Tanev
Ben Hutton-Erik Gudbranson
7th-8th men: Patrick Wiercoch-Philip Holm
I see his point, putting Granlund with the twins over Eriksson.
I still expect Derek Dorsett will start the season—even with the new coach, I think he's owed that after his long year of rehab after neck surgery. I could see him being a part-time player as the season wears on but I think he'll be in the opening-night lineup.
I'm also hopeful that Anton Rodin will prove to be 100 percent after spending the last year and a half dealing with his knee issues. He looked good in training camp last year and if he can stay healthy, I feel like he could have the inside track on a roster spot over the younger players.
As for Brendan Gaunce—though Botchford slots him onto his fourth line, he admits "There have been some questions about how healthy Brendan Gaunce will be following off-season shoulder surgery."
Gaunce will need to come out like a house on fire if he wants to start the year in Vancouver. If Green is looking for physicality, Dorsett has him beat, and any number of the younger players could hold the edge if Green opts to try to generate some offense out of his fourth line.
On the blue line, Botch and I are fully aligned with both the top six and the pairings. I wonder if Green will end up surprising us with how he deploys his players?
To close today, another cool offseason partner workout, this time by Anders Nilsson:
How'd they get like that?
Judging from the tattoos on his right arm, looks like 6'6" Nilsson is the anchorman here, in the downward dog position.
In addition to taking over Ryan Miller's roster spot, it looks like Nilsson will also be able to match the cuteness that Miller brought when interacting with his own young son. This is awesome!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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