After kicking off the World Championships with three games in the first four days, both Canada and the USA are taking a couple of days off before getting back on the ice on Thursday.
That gives me and my media brethren a moment to breathe, regroup, plan our upcoming assignments, and do some sightseeing.
Today, I did a walking tour of some of the historical sights of St. Petersburg. My photography skills leave a lot to be desired, but even I can't mess up the fabulous Winter Palace.
I'm now nearly a week into this trip and I have to admit, while I was psyched about the hockey part before coming over here, I was pretty nervous about the Russia part. I was worried about not being able to speak the language, and about possible culture shock, but I have been so pleasantly surprised.
Not only is St. Petersburg spectacularly beautiful—although our tour guide emphasized that all this hot, sunny weather is not really the norm for a city that usually only sees 70 days of sunshine a year—but Russia's westernmost metropolis is also apparently its most Westernized city. A decent amount of English is spoken—possibly even more than when I was in Prague last year—and the locals are friendly and accommodating.
As a Vancouverite, I love the crisp, fresh air that comes with being in a city on the edge of a big body of water—in this case, the Gulf of Finland. And somehow, despite the fact that the city's population is listed at around five million inhabitants, it doesn't seem insanely crowded. Maybe it's because Russia is such a massive nation and people can spread out, but even though the streets are windy and narrow like in many European cities, the drivers and pedestrians are reasonably respectful to each other, so the traffic moves. The sidewalks are wide, so it's pretty easy to walk around. And the tourist attractions are not packed wall-to-wall with bus tours and other insanity. Compared to other European cities I've visited like Rome, Venice, Paris and Prague, it was so refreshing to be in a virtually empty Palace Square this morning.
I might have hit a particularly marvellous lull, since everyone was out for the big Victory Day parade and celebration on Monday, but at this point, I would absolutely recommend this city as a vacation destination in spring or summer. The rivers completely freeze over in the winter, and the dreary grey skies apparently even get the best of the most chipper tour guides, but from what I've seen the city is safe, the food can range from fine to good if you look in the right places, the culture is plentiful and accessible and the prices are pretty decent with the ruble at its current rate.
Even taking hockey out of the equation, this has been an absolutely marvellous trip so far.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that Canada is tied for the lead in Group B with nine points on a 3-0-0-0 record and has outscored its opponents 20-2 after an 8-0 shellacking of Belarus on Monday.
Click here for my Canadian Press game story—another night of balanced scoring and impressive defending.
After I filed that story, I stuck around to watch the highly-touted Auston Matthews vs. Patrik Laine matchup as the U.S. faced Finland. It was a tightly-contested game—and the Americans really cranked up their snarl factor. Matthews looked better than he did against Canada and appears to be gaining his coach's confidence, while Laine called it "the worst game for me in a long time."
Click here for my take on where Laine vs. Matthews stands right now, from over at NHL.com.
After last night, it looks to me like both players are going to need some time to adjust to the NHL game before they become instant saviours for the teams that draft them. And given Toronto's need for a No. 1 center, Matthews will be a good fit. So far, he hasn't been especially flashy, but he plays a determined two-way game and backchecks like a demon. How could Lou Lamoriello, of all people, possibly pass that up when the draft rolls around on June 24?
Meanwhile, back in the NHL, a couple of items to note as three out of four Round 2 Stanley Cup playoff series head towards dramatic conclusions.
Firstly, the dream is over:
Even when Hamonic said he wanted to be traded to Western Canada, I knew the odds were low that Vancouver would end up being his destination. But Garth Snow won out—keeping his versatile, good-value defenceman with his team through the Islanders' first trip to the second round in 23 years. And apparently now Hamonic has agreed to stay in Brooklyn. Sigh.
The Isles do have some UFAs who could be on the move this summer.
General Fanager is showing Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Matt Martin and Steve Bernier all as unrestricted free agents. Amazing to realize that Bernier is still only 31 but keeps hanging in as a fringe NHLer, six years after leaving the Canucks.
Nielsen, Okposo and Martin all might be headed for new homes, and all have qualities to recommend them. Nielsen is a ferocious two-way center, Okposo can be a devastating power forward when he's on his game, and Martin is the best hitter in the NHL.
Pick your poison. Which one do you like?
Patrick Johnston at
The Province has Okposo on his list of free-agents that the Canucks should consider this summer, along with Andrew Ladd and Eric Staal.
I don't agree with Johnston's cost-benefit assessment on any of those players. I think all three will still command big bucks this summer, and I don't think the Canucks could win a bidding war for any of them—unless Ladd can't come to terms with Chicago and might be able to drop his asking price to come back to his home province of B.C. But I don't think Vancouver would be better-positioned than other clubs to bring in Okposo or Staal at a price that would justify the commitment, so I'd rather just pass.
I never seem to get around to talking about the Loui Eriksson idea. That does seem plausible to me—Benning was part of the group in Boston that traded for him in the Tyler Seguin deal back in 2013, and he showed great chemistry with the Sedins when they won the World Championship gold medal together with Team Sweden that same summer.
Eriksson is also now 31—not over the hill for a player with his skillset and coming off his first 30-goal season in seven years. As long as the money and term aren't crazy, I'd be more OK with Jim Benning adding Eriksson to the Canucks roster than Milan Lucic.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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