To start things off today, some followup on the Tweet from earlier this week that showed Brandon Prust skating in his new Canucks colours.
Word is that the shot was taken at Budweiser Gardens in Prust's hometown of London, Ontario. Makes sense.
Here's more evidence that Prust is having some fun with family—and getting pumped about his new gig:
As an Ontario boy who was well loved during his past stints in both Montreal and Calgary—not to mention with the New York Rangers—I wonder if Prust's presence this season will help shake off some of that "most-hated" energy that still seems to surround the Canucks?
Burrows Feeling Good
As long as Alex Burrows is a Canuck, though, a certain reputation will probably always linger.
Burrows was on TSN's "That's Hockey" on Friday.
Click here to watch the TSN crew's rather head-shaking assessment of Vancouver's chances for the upcoming season.
The good news: Burrows says that he broken rib he suffered during the playoffs against Calgary is now fully healed and feeling good.
Though the TSN crew identifies Vancouver's new guard of young players as one of the team's most significant identifying features for the upcoming season, panelist Dave Reid gives the group only a 10 percent chance of making a significant impact.
He gives Bo Horvat gets a great review and a favourable comparison to Sean Monahan, but his credibility takes a hit when he suggests that Sven Baertschi's going to start the season in a fourth-line role. Wha??
Reid follows up by saying that Jared McCann will start the year in the AHL, which is definitely not happening. McCann is still 19 so if he's healed up from his summer concussion, he either needs to make the Canucks full time or return to Sault Ste. Marie for one more year of junior.
Over to Dave Poulin—who gives the young core a 50 percent chance of impressing, based primarily on the sheer number of young players who will crack the lineup. But he also makes an immediate error, stating that players like Frank Corrado are coming off a Calder Cup championship with Utica—when, in fact, the Comets got toasted by the Manchester Monarchs in the Calder Cup final.
Dave Reid also doesn't think that Radim Vrbata can score 31 goals again. But according to Reid, he plays with the "Sundins." Make of that what you will.
Dave Poulin thinks there's an 80 percent chance that Vrbata will get 30 goals again. He gets the Sedins' name right, but he's assuming that Vrbata will be back on their right side on opening night—something that's not guaranteed after he was bumped out of that role during the late stages of 2014-15.
The interesting point that Poulin makes—the fact that Vrbata doesn't play a heavy game means there's not a lot of wear-and-tear on his 34-year-old frame.
Click here to watch Alex Burrows' interview.
When Kelcey Brade asks Burrows if he prefers playing with the Sedins to playing on a different line, Burrows is deferential. He says it doesn't really matter to him where he plays and admits that Vrbata's right-handed shot is an asset that he doesn't bring to the table when playing with the twins.
Burrows also brings up the fact that he and Vrbata played junior hockey together and says the most important thing is, at the end of the day, that they both want to win.
Burrows also pumps up Jacob Markstrom—especially his size—and believes that Markstrom will benefit further from working with one of the best goalie coaches in the league, Rollie Melanson.
Expectations for the upcoming season? Burrows names Dallas, L.A. and Edmonton as teams in the Western Conference that he thinks are going to be better. Once again, he talks about parity and says the Canucks need to prepare the right way—there will be no easy games.
Sedins Omitted From The Hockey News' Top 50
There was a time when the Hockey News' annual yearbook was one of my bibles when preparing for upcoming hockey pools. My new issue arrived this week—and it still psychs me out that they use regional cover images to make local fans happy. "Look! The Sedins!" I thought proudly as I pulled the magazine out of my mailbox.
But it's all a bait-and-switch. Even though Daniel finished tied for eighth in league scoring last season and Henrik was tied 10th, neither twin appears on the magazine's list of the Top 50 players for next season. Jiri Hudler, who tied Daniel with 76 points, is listed at No. 49 while Claude Giroux, who tied Henrik with 73 points, is all the way up at No. 18.
Fifty spots really isn't many for 30 teams. And of course, the rankings are about more than just scoring. But it's disappointing that after all their years of success, the Sedins still don't get the respect around the league that I think they've earned.
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