Here's a fun way to start off a Monday morning...
Now that he has been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, postseason warrior Troy Brouwer spoke with News1130 this morning. Sounds like the local boy and future unrestricted free agent is open to the possibility of entertaining an offer from the Vancouver Canucks:
Brouwer says he doesn't know yet what the Blues' plans are—whether they'll try to bring him back after one year with the team.
He certainly proved valuable, tied for third during the regular-season with 18 goals and second in the playoffs with eight goals in 18 games. But the Blues will have some decisions to make this summer in terms of how they spend their cash.
Considering his physical playing style, Brouwer's a durable player, too—he has missed just one regular-season game in the last five seasons. He has maxed out in the 40-point range throughout his career, so he's not a sniper on the level of a Loui Eriksson or even a Milan Lucic, but I have to think he'd be appealing to Jim Benning and Trevor Linden.
He's also appealing to plenty of other teams. The biggest hurdle to leap when it comes to Brouwer will probably be finding a way to present the most appealing offer.
More immediately, Benning and company are focused on the Draft Combine, which starts today in Buffalo.
Ben Kuzma of
The Province spoke to the Canucks' general manager about what he looks for when meeting draft candidates.
“The thing I’m most interested in is meeting the kids and getting to know them as people because we just watch them play all year,” said Benning.
“It’s getting them in an environment where they don’t have a helmet and equipment on so you can sit down with them and try to figure out what makes them tick."
Benning even shares the type of questioning that he has learned over 24 years can uncover the character traits he's seeking:
“I want the kids to be honest and truthful,” he stressed. “One question I like to ask is: ‘If we were to go and ask your teammates, what type of teammate you are, what would they tell us?’ Then they’ve got to think for a second. They can’t say something that’s not true, because we could go and actually ask their teammates and get the answer.
“I’ve got some questions over the years that I’ve learned get them to be honest and be truthful for us. If a kid comes across as too cocky or too full of himself, and if there’s another player you like more with a better personality and who would interact better in a team environment, then you take him.”
In another column for
The Province,
Ed Willes points out that in just two years, Benning and company have made great strides towards stocking the Canucks' roster with players under 25 who can play in the NHL.
When Benning arrived, that list had two names: Chris Tanev and Zack Kassian.
Now, Kassian's gone and Tanev is 26, but here's how things currently stand:
Heading into next season, here are the U25s who are expected to be regulars for the Canucks: Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Ben Hutton, Jake Virtanen, Erik Gudbranson, Nikita Tryamkin, Emerson Etem and one of Markus Granlund or Brendan Gaunce. This doesn't account for 25-year-old Anton Rodin. Nor does it account for the prospects — Thatcher Demko, Brock Boeser, the fifth overall pick in this summer's draft — in the pipeline.
The road has been bumpy, and the lip service is still being paid to the idea of winning now and taking advantage of the Sedins while they can still play at the top level, but the Canucks are definitely getting younger and are making progress toward setting themselves up for the future.
Not surprisingly, Kuzma suggests that the Canucks' No. 1 target in the draft will be Pierre-Luc Dubois—but whether or not he's available will depend on the strategy that the Edmonton Oilers adopt with the fourth pick.
Matthew Tkachuk's overtime goal won the Memorial Cup for the London Knights on Sunday, but it doesn't appear that he—or any of his teammates—are key players on the Canucks' radar:
I'm sure Benning and his team have seen Tkachuk over the course of the season, and that he'll get an interview this week in Buffalo. But it doesn't seem like Keith's son is a likely fit here in Vancouver.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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