Ever so slowly, the gears are starting to grind towards the beginning of the new hockey season.
The
Vancouver Sun posted a thorough photo gallery of the Canucks players who skated on Wednesday at Brittania Ice Rink in East Vancouver.
Click here to check out the images.
Here's the list of players who were skating, in the order that the photos appear:
• Bo Horvat
• Andrey Pedan
• Jared McCann
• Brendan Gaunce
• Henrik Sedin
• Frank Corrado
• Sven Baertschi
• Alex Edler
• Ronalds Kenins
• Jacob Markstrom
Former Canuck defensemen and B.C. natives Jason Garrison and Willie Mitchell were also on hand.
Jon Abbott from TSN1040 reports that a couple of other players were present, but didn't make the photo gallery:
Horvat and Henrik also spoke to TSN:
Horvat said that he appreciated the full summer of training, without having to worry about going to rookie camp or the World Junior camp.
It's funny to hear the 20-year-old talking about the "young guys coming in," but Bo is certainly on the fast track to maturity.
Talking about the roster changes over the summer, the first thing Horvat mentions is that it's "tough to see guys go," but acknowledges that's the way of the NHL.
The big question surrounding Horvat is whether he'll beat out Brandon Sutter for that second-line center job. Horvat says he does consider himself to be a top-six guy but "obviously I'll have to prove myself again." He says he thinks he's ready, but he'll play hard in whatever role Willie puts him in.
That being said, he's very complimentary towards Brandon Sutter—"good two-way forward, good on draws, good penalty killer—he can do it all." Horvat says he can't wait to meet him.
Horvat hails from the same part of Ontario as new addition Brandon Prust, and skated with him a bit this summer. He says Prust loves the city and is looking forward to coming to camp and that he's been watching Prust ever since he was a member of the 2005 London Knights, who hosted and won the Memorial Cup—beating out Sidney Crosby's Rimouski Oceanic along the way.
Bo says the Canucks will be all right this season if they stick to their game plan. He suggests that they need to get a bit "grittier" and "harder on on the puck." He concedes that some good players have come to the Western Conference over the summer but he thinks "we're just as good."
According to Bo's father Tim, the summer was a productive one in terms of training.
Horvat's skating skills were noticeably improved last season compared to his time in junior. It'll be interesting to see what else he has added to his arsenal over the summer!
Canucks.com ran a "Postcards from Horvat" feature over the summer, showing him enjoying his off-time with his family and his girlfriend, Holly.
I was impressed to see that Holly has been pursuing her own career dreams:
As for Henrik, he says no matter how long you play, it's always fun to get back on the ice.
He says that the team getting younger is a good thing and that when a team has a good farm system that does well in the minor-league playoffs, it usually means that the players are ready to take the next sep.
Henrik says that times have changed from when he and Daniel came into the league and young guys were more likely to need a couple of years to adjust to the NHL game. He says the young players coming in now are so physically strong.
When asked if he's excited for camp, Henrik gleefully says that he gets excited for testing. "I love testing!" He says all the practicing is "not as fun" but that he likes going away and spending time with the group.
Henrik says he sees the Western Conference teams around the Canucks getting better every year, so this year is no different. He doesn't see it as a problem—they showed last year that they can play against them and the young guys will bring a lot of excitement around the team.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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