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Towel Power, Pettersson a Calder Finalist, Stecher to Worlds, U18 Wrapup |
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Beefs with NHL playoff officiating: a story as old as time itself.
Do you remember this moment, from 37 years ago today?
The NHL has been uncharacteristically contrite about the Cody Eakin major that turned Game 7 of the San Jose/Vegas series this year, offering an apology to the Golden Knights and pulling the refs from that game out of further assignments in this postseason.
Despite the huge impact of the Eakin penalty, I respect the fact that George McPhee isn't making a big fuss about the call. I tend to agree with those who have said that the Golden Knights had their chances to close out that series after taking a 3-1 lead—and even had a shot to win Game 7 after they forced overtime.
A little heartbreak fills out the spectrum of the sports experience for Vegas fans after the astonishingly great ride they've had through their first two NHL seasons.
After the weekend's games, I'm mostly happy that all the series are up in the air. Three series are tied, and while the Hurricanes won both their road games against the Islanders, they're losing the war of attrition as far as injuries go. I'm not writing off the Islanders just yet.
Broadcasters may be lamenting the lack of Canadian teams or the absences of the traditional big-name stars, but I'm very much enjoying the matchups we're seeing. Glad some new faces are getting a chance to show their stuff on the big stage, and to see players like Matt Duchene step up and get a chance to be the hero.
Seven players have scored two game-winning goals already in these playoffs, and the list looks almost nothing like what you'd expect: Barclay Goodrow (SJ), Brock Nelson (NYI), Oliver Bjorkstrand (CBJ), Jaden Schwartz (STL), Jordan Staal (CAR), Nathan MacKinnon (COL) and Mikko Rantanen (COL). Of that group, only MacKinnon and Rantanen really came into the playoffs with reputations as game-breaking scorers.
Over the weekend, the NHL continued to roll out the announcements of its award finalists. To nobody's surprise, Elias Pettersson was among the top three in Calder Trophy voting for rookie of the year, along with goaltender Jordan Binnington of St. Louis and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin of Buffalo.
Now that Miro Heiskanen is getting national exposure and is through to the second round with Dallas, there's lots of chatter that he should have had a spot in the top three, but the Stars tend to fly under the radar during the regular season. I'm not surprised he got overlooked by a good chunk of the PHWA voters.
My superstitious side is a bit concerned about this, but the B.C. Lottery Corporation/Sports Action is so convinced that Petey will be the Canucks' first rookie of the year since Pavel Bure in 1992, they're paying out now on bets that he'd win the award.
I don't normally pay much attention to Sports Action. Is this a common practice?
Next—followup on a few items that were mentioned in the last couple of blogs.
• Hockey Canada just released its full roster for the World Championship. As expected, Troy Stecher is on the list.
Stecher is one of four players who will be suiting up for Team Canada for the first time, along with fellow defenseman Brandon Montour and forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Jonathan Marchessault.
• Nikolay Goldobin's future for next season remains up in the air, with word today that he has parted ways with his agent, Igor Larionov.
• Also from Rick Dhaliwal — Jannik Hansen confirms his retirement, and suggests that fans in Vancouver should keep an eye out for him in Vancouver in the coming months and years.
I wonder if we'll see him in the alumni box at Rogers Arena next season, or out running with the Sedins?
Come to think of it...Didn't one of the Sedins say he was training for the Vancouver Marathon? That goes next Sunday—something to watch for.
Finally—the World U18 Tournament wrapped up on Sunday with the host Swedes taking gold in a 4-3 overtime win over Russia, while the U.S. earned bronze with a 5-2 win over Canada.
2020 draft eligible forward Lucas Raymond had the hat trick for Sweden in the gold-medal game, while draft-eligible Vasili Podkolzin had a goal and an assist for the Russians.
In the bronze-medal game, Jack Hughes and Cam York each had three-point nights, while Cole Caufield was limited to a single assist.
Here's your All-Star Team:
Of that group, only the two Russians are 2020 draft eligible. The rest will be in the mix in June.
Should the Canucks be taking a look at defenseman Cam York? He was the top-scoring defenseman in the tournament, with 7-4-11 in seven games, and is ranked 12th among North American skaters in the final Central Scouting rankings—steady from his mid-term rank, and third among North American defensemen behind Bowen Byram (2nd) and Thomas Harley of the Mississauga Steelheads (11th). Harley had 1-3-4 in seven games for Canada in the tournament.
On the European side, Philip Broberg is ranked fifth among European skaters and is the third defenseman on that list, behind fellow Swede Victor Soderstrom (3rd) and Ville Heinola of Finland (4th).
Soderstrom suffered a concussion during the tournament and was limited to just four games. Heinola had 1-3-4 in five games for Finland, which was shut out 6-0 by the U.S. in the quarterfinal.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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