Saturday October 8 - Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers - 6 p.m. - Sportsnet 360
Vancouver Canucks: 2-2-2 in preseason
Edmonton Oilers: 5-2-0 in preseason
The Vancouver Canucks close out their preseason schedule with their first-ever visit to the brand new Rogers Place arena for a rematch with the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
Note the early start time for a Saturday: the game is on at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on Sportsnet 360.
The Canucks beat down the Oilers by a score of 5-3 on home ice last week, but Edmonton has made some important changes in the meantime. On Thursday, the Oilers named their new leadership core, including the NHL's youngest captain ever, Connor McDavid.
On Friday, the Oilers finally pulled the trigger on the long-rumoured Nail Yakupov trade, sending the first overall pick from 2012 to the St. Louis Blues.
It's a stunningly low return for a player that had Yakupov's pedigree when he was drafted. It is worth noting, however, that scouts in general had a tough time in the first round in 2012.
Click here to revisit the draft order from four years ago.
• I think the Oilers would have been almost as frustrated if they'd picked Ryan Murray as they have been with Yakupov, with all the injury issue he has had.
• Edmonton now has fourth-overall pick Griffin Reinhart in their organization, but he has been sent down to Bakersfield to start the season in the AHL.
• Pittsburgh's Derrick Pouiiot, Winnipeg's Jacob Trouba and Tampa Bay's Slater Koekkoek all have yet to realize their potential out of a defense-heavy draft class. Filip Forsberg is a star now, but was traded out of Washington for a bag of pucks. Out of the top 10, only Alex Galchenyuk, Morgan Rielly and Hampus Lindholm have shown themselves to be blue-chippers so far.
I love an underdog story but I'm a little skeptical that Yakupov, with his lack of commitment to defense, will thrive in the St. Louis environment under Ken Hitchcock. I wish him the best of luck but fear this is his first step down the path forged by other former Oilers first rounders like Magnus Paajarvi and Sam Gagner...
One other note from Oilers-land—on Friday night, the team announced that it has signed defenseman Kris Russell to a one-year contract.
Russell is expected to be in the lineup tonight against Vancouver, while Cam Talbot looks to start in net.
As for the Canucks, here's how the lines looked at practice on Friday:
Not many extra players remain in camp, so almost the full crew should be making the trip to Alberta today.
Key items to watch at forward:
• Can Tuomo Ruutu do enough tonight to crack the roster?
• Will Jake Virtanen do enough to stay up with the big club? He got a vote of confidence from Willie Desjardins on Friday.
• Is Emerson Etem destined for Utica? The man he was traded for last season, Nicklas Jensen, was cut by the New York Rangers earlier this week.
Anton Rodin didn't skate on Friday or Saturday and won't make the trip to Edmonton as he continues to rehab his knee injury.
Not sure what's up with Gudbranson. Hopefully nothing serious.
Ben Kuzma of
The Province has the lowdown on Rodin's status. After playing in five preseason games, he has experienced some swelling in his knee, so the team has elected to give him some time off.
The good news for Rodin—after tonight's game, the Canucks don't open the regular season for a full week, until October 15 against Calgary. I'm speculating that he could be part of the 23-man opening roster, then be put on injured reserve, which would open up another roster spot.
Rodin has been good in preseason. My main hope is that the time off is enough to get him back on track. Otherwise, perhaps he spots in and out of the lineup during the season.
On the blue line, Troy Stecher will get one last chance to show his stuff tonight. He's right on the bubble in terms of making the team, but he's still the easiest defenseman to send to the minors, since he doesn't have to clear waivers.
Some pretty honest answers from Stecher here, giving a bit of insight into how the preseason experience has been for him so far:
To wrap up today—a quick check on the Canucks prospects from Friday night.
Nice goal from Olli Juolevi in his return to the London Knights:
Third-rounder William Lockwood also scored in his debut with the University of Michigan.
And Brock Boeser picked up where he left off, with a goal and three assists in his season opener with North Dakota.
Enjoy tonight's game! We'll have plenty more time to analyze and break things down before the Canucks' 2016-17 season gets rolling for real in a week's time.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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