Talk about bad timing!
Just one day before the Vancouver Canucks prospects hit the ice for their first practice in Penticton ahead of this weekend's Young Stars tournament, the team has announced that coach Willie Desjardins won't be in attendance at the tournament—or at training camp—after undergoing hip surgery.
From the Canucks press release:
"Willie has been dealing with the chronic discomfort for a long time and our medical staff has been monitoring it since he joined us last year. Unfortunately his hip deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks and it required immediate attention," said General Manager Jim Benning. "Willie's expected to recover quickly and will be connected every day until he's ready to be back in person."
The press release goes on to remind us that the Young Stars event is typically run by Utica Comets head coach Travis Green—who will be dealing hands-on with far more of the participating players this year than Willie will.
Desjardins' convalescence is expected to last all the way through training camp, though. While modern technology and GoPro cameras can probably do wonders for keeping Willie feeling like he's in the heart of the action, I can't help but feel like this situation might make it even tougher for a young player to crack the lineup—or for any player, really, to alter preconceived expectations about himself.
Of course, Willie seems to be the guy who's set in his ways and doesn't like to alter his course of action too much. Maybe I'm totally wrong and we will see players get more leeway under the guidance of assistant coaches Doug Lidster, Glen Gulutzan and Perry Pearn.
The Canucks are expecting to see Willie back on the bench by opening night on October 7.
While we're on the subject of injuries, a reminder that two of the Canucks' top Young Stars, Jared McCann and Cole Cassels are still officially question marks for this year's tournament.
No—I'm not re-hashing last year's news, when both players were sidelined with mononucleosis.
This time around, McCann is recovering from the shoulder sprain he sustained off that bruising open-ice hit that knocked him out of Team Canada's Summer Showcase tournament in early August, while Cassels continues to rehab an abdominal injury that bothered him for most of last season.
On September 4,
Iain MacIntyre of the
Vancouver Sun reported that "The two centres haven’t yet been cleared to play in Penticton, but Canucks general manager Jim Benning said both are expected on Vancouver’s prospects team."
We'll have to wait and see whether Cassels and McCann hit the ice for Vancouver's first practice at the South Okanagan Events Centre, Thursday at 2 p.m.
All practices are free and open to the public, so if you happen to stop by, let us know who's on the ice and what kind of line combinations Travis Green is working with.
It sounds like Oiler fans are coming out in droves for the tournament, for their first chance to see Connor McDavid in a game situation. The 2,000 available six-game ticket packages for the tournament were sold out by the end of July, and there's not a hotel room to be found in Penticton this weekend.
I sure hope Cassels is good to go for the Canucks' game against McDavid and the Oilers on Friday night—renewing old acquaintances from last year's OHL playoffs.
For those of us who won't be in the Okanagan this weekend, all three of Vancouver's Young Stars Games will be livestreamed on Canucks.com.
Friday, September 11 vs. Edmonton 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 13 vs. Winnipeg 2:00 p.m.
Monday, September 14 vs. Calgary 3:30 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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