I'm going a little off topic to kick things off today, but if you haven't been watching the Rogers Cup men's tournament from Montreal this week, there's still time to get on the Denis Shapovalov bandwagon.
The 18-year-old Canadian, ranked 130th in the world, is through to the semifinal after a thrilling week of competition that saw him come back from four match points in a tiebreak in his first round match against Rogerio Dulta Silva, then beat Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets before knocking off top seed Rafael Nadal in another three-set thriller on Thursday. Last night, he came back again from being down a set to beat Adrian Mannarino of France, who had eliminated Canada's Milos Raonic earlier in the tournament.
Here's the hockey connection: Shapovalov has been supported all week by none other than Wayne Gretzky. Obviously a good guy to have on your side!
Best of all, Shapavolov plays an exciting, agressive style of tennis that is extremely fun to watch. He engages with the crowd and has been feeding off the energy in Montreal—and he has made it clear that he'll never give up.
It'll be a battle of the young guns in the semifinal today as Shapovalov faces Germany's Sascha Zverev—the tournament's fourth seed, who's just 20 years old himself. The match is set for 5 p.m. PT on Sportsnet. In my book, it's must-see TV!
One other local connection:
I wouldn't say this is carved in stone right now, but Hollyburn Country Club is going to be crazy next week if Shapovalov rolls in for the Odlum Brown VanOpen!
Back on the ice, we've got a couple of pieces of Canucks content to ponder this weekend:
First, NHL.com caught up with Henrik Sedin in Sweden:
Henrik's acknowledging that, in their own way, he and Daniel have as much to prove this season as an up-and-comer like Brock Boeser or a prove-it player like Erik Gudbranson:
"We think about our future on a regular basis, and we've said we're going to take it year by year now," Henrik Sedin said at the European Player Media Tour. "This year, we want to prove we can still play at a high level, and that's up to us to do. And we know that if we do, it'll be easier to answer those questions later in the year. So that's our mindset."
Henrik says a lack of depth when injuries struck led to the team's undoing last season.
"We can't go through stretches with key players injured, not like other teams can do. We're thinner that way, but our young guys are getting better. For me and Daniel, it's just about being as good as we can. I think we should be able to fight for a playoff spot. That's our goal."
Henrik and Daniel are just over a month away from their 37th birthdays. It's not surprising that #TeamTank doesn't hold much appeal in their eyes—they'll be long gone by the time a 2018 draft pick is ready to make a meaningful impact.
Henrik also basically confirms what we suspected—that the Canucks' biggest names will be the ones who log the extra preseason miles to appear in the two games in China.
"I've never been there before, so it's going to be great," Sedin said. "We'll play the games, but I think the best part is going to see a different country and experience what that is about."
Meanwhile, looking forward—when was the last time the Canucks boasted a legit Calder Trophy candidate?
Matt Larkin ranks Brock Boeser seventh overall in what he acknowledges is "a more wide-open Calder field than we’ve seen in several seasons."
With the Canucks needing more scoring, Matt Larkin says Boeser "doesn’t have stiff competition for playing time on a rebuilding Canucks team." As we've discussed, though, the Canucks do have a glut of forwards signed, and Boeser can be sent to the AHL without needing to clear waivers. I hope he sticks with the big club, but he'll need to be good in camp to make sure that happens.
Larkin calls Boeser "a legit threat to lead Vancouver in goals as a rookie." That idea is both optimistic and pessimistic, I think. Hopefully some of the more established players will also be able to light the lamp this season.
The Canucks have had just one Calder winner in team history—Pavel Bure, who went 34-26-60 in just 65 games in 1991-92. According to
Hockey Reference, Bure earned a total of 222 Calder votes (only the top three candidates earned votes back then). He beat out Nicklas Lidstrom and Tony Amonte, who each received 183 votes.
The last member of the Canucks to earn any Calder votes was Bo Horvat, who finished 11th in 2014-15 with two fifth-place votes.
Let's wrap up today with another offseason training video. Looking good, Markus Granlund!
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