Right on schedule, a few snowflakes are starting to mix in with the rain outside my window as I type this on Christmas Eve morning. So let me begin today by wishing you and yours all the best for the holiday season.
Thanks for hanging out for another year — I always appreciate you reading and commenting!
The Canucks have given us hope that there are good times on the horizon in 2022. It might be a lot to ask, but I'm hoping that's true for life in general in the new year, not just in hockey.
Let's start today with some holiday wishes from your Vancouver Canucks:
“Worst on the team at decorating would definitely be...” 🤔
Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Favourite holiday movie?
Some of the guys answer hard-hitting questions as they get into the holiday spirit 🎁🎄🎅 pic.twitter.com/nfAR2sJ9zI
No surprise to hear that the guys don't have a lot of faith in Quinn Hughes' holiday decorating skills. A little surprised to hear Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Travis Hamonic get mentioned as potentially strong Secret Santas!
On a somewhat darker note, I was saddened to hear about the passing of former Canucks head coach Bob McCammon at age 80 on Thursday.
#CanucksAlumni are saddened to hear the passing of longtime member and amazing man, Bob McCammon. Thoughts and prayers are with Bob’s family and friends 💙 pic.twitter.com/talUrszfFY
McCammon was at the helm from 1987 to 1991, in the transition period while Pat Quinn moved in to take over the team, before Quinn eventually took over behind the bench.
McCammon's tenure began at the same time as Kirk McLean, who was traded to the Canucks in September of 1987. His time behind the bench also included the introduction of rookie Trevor Linden in the 1988-89 season and coaching veteran defenseman Jim Benning for three seasons from 1987 to 1990.
In the 1988-89 season, McCammon finished as runner up to Pat Burns of Montreal for the Jack Adams award as coach of the year. The Canucks improved from 59 points in 1987-88 to 74 points in 1988-89, finishing fourth in the Smythe Division and making the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Then, they pushed the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Calgary Flames to seven games before Joel Otto's infamous kicked-in goal ended the series in overtime.
One quick snapshot of the discrepancy between the two teams: the Canucks had a regular-season goal differential of minus-two that year — and were last in the entire league in goals scored. The Flames were second in scoring behind another Smythe Division foe, Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings — and had a league-leading goal differential of plus-128!
One of McCammon's assistants during this time was Jack McIlhargey, who passed away in July of 2020. Those two men were among the most gregarious, outgoing personalities around the Canucks press box during my time — McIlhargey on scout's row, working for the Flyers, and McCammon grabbing pre-game dinner before holding court in the nearby alumni suite.
Around the time that I arrived in 2010, even Pat Quinn was working as a scout. 'Senior advisor' to the Oilers, officially.
Those are some big personalities that we've lost. Thank goodness Punch McLean and his wife Fran are still regular press-box fixtures!
Now — shifting gears — did you get a chance to watch the World Juniors pre-tournament games on Thursday?
We don't get full stat sheets for the pre-tournament games, so I can't tell you anything about Canucks prospect Dmitry Zlodeyev of Russia, except that he was listed on the roster as the team's fourth-line left winger. I didn't notice him at all during Russia's 6-4 loss to Canada, and I didn't hear Gord Miller say his name. Other than a couple of goals from 17-year-old phenom Matvey Michkov, it wasn't a great night for Sergei Zubov's group. The Russians fell behind 4-0 before making a bit of a game of it after Canada swapped out starting goaltender Dylan Garand (Victoria native/Kamloops Blazers goalie) for Sebastian Cossa.
It was a good night for Kent Johnson, though. The Michigan sophomore finished with a goal and an assist, skating on Canada's top line. And while he's obviously more skilled, Kent from Port Moody was reminding me of another B.C. boy, our old pal Troy from Richmond, in terms of his appearance.
Do you see it? Or is it just me?
Port Moody’s Kent Johnson had a goal & an assist in 🇨🇦’s 6-4 exhibition win vs. 🇷🇺 ahead of the 2022 IIHF World Jr. Championships. His marker was potted off an impressive pass from Mason McTavish | #PortMoody@TriCityNewspic.twitter.com/LFeG7THavq
It's a small sample size, but my first impression is that Canada should be the team to beat this year. They've got a ton of talent, some experience, and should be OK on the goaltending front. The only weird thing is that they don't have a single right-shot defenseman.
I won't be surprised if the defending champion Americans finish out of the medals. Their goaltending is a big question mark, and they further shook my faith when they blew a 3-1 third-period lead against Finland on Thursday, ultimately falling 4-3 in overtime.
I expect the Finns will give their opponents fits again this year, as usual. And I'm expecting a strong performance from Sweden, which looks like it has the deepest top-to-bottom roster in the tournament, including high-end finisher William Eklund, star defenseman Simon Edvinsson and a nice goalie trio of Jesper Wallstedt, Calle Clang and Jesper Vikman.
Though the Swedes had their decade-plus preliminary-round winning streak snapped last year, I'm looking at them to come out on top in Group B in Red Deer, where they'll be playing Russia, USA, Switzerland and Slovakia. Keep an eye on the Slovaks, too — they've got a deeper talent pool than usual this year.
in Group A, I expect Canada to come out on top in the group that also includes Finland, the Czechs, Germany and Austria.
The pre-tournament game between the Czechs and Switzerland was cancelled on Thursday after one player tested positive — although there was no word which team he's on. So we may have to keep an extra-close eye on those teams as we head toward the official tournament kickoff on Boxing Day.
On that note — please be safe this holiday season, with the highly transmissible Omicron variant raging in many areas including my Vancouver Coastal Health region. I'll mostly be hunkering down, and cross my fingers that it'll be safe for everybody to get back to NHL hockey on the 27th, when the Canucks are set to host the Seattle Kraken.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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