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Canucks Offseason Notes VII |
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Yawn. Not much going on in the hockey world at the moment, but a couple Canuck things as everyone enjoys their summers and their knot tying.
- The Canucks signed Artūrs Šilovs to a one-way, two-year contract worth $850k a year. It’s another tidy piece of business for the Canucks’ front office. Silovs really developed this past year in the AHL, culminating in his playoff run with the big team that was one win away from reaching the Conference Finals. Allvin was happy to get this inked:
“Artūrs helped us out a lot when called upon last year as he continues to grow and develop as a goalie,” said general manager Patrik Allvin of the signing. “We expect him to come into training camp and battle for a full-time position with the big club. Our group will continue to work with him to help sharpen his skills and provide him with all the tools necessary to take another step forward in his young career.”
Silovs will be battling newly signed Jiří Patera for the backup duties next year. While it seems Silovs has the inside track, one thing that’s working against him is that he’s still eligible to be sent down without waivers. Plus the idea that he needs a lot of reps… it will be interesting to see who emerges as Demko’s partner next season.
- The Canucks have been searching for their own practice facility for a while now – they’re only one of two teams in the NHL without a dedicated one – but things have been dormant on that front for a couple years. Now, apparently there’s some momentum building with an increased push from Rutherford.
“We’re making headway. We’re not quite to the point of making an announcement. At this point there’s a lot of hope,” Rutherford said.
The chatter is that it will be built out UBC way. After making some large upgrades to Rogers recently, this is the next big ticket item for the management group on that front.
- The Canucks will have training camp in Penticton! It goes Sept. 19-22 at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Penticton is doubling up this year, as the 2024 Young Stars Classic rookie tournament is also slotted to be there. Top prospects from the Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets will play from Sept. 13-16 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
“Staying in Penticton for training camp following Young Stars makes perfect sense for our organization,” Jim Rutherford, Canucks president of hockey operations, said in a media release from the team.
“The facilities are first-class, the fans in the interior are very passionate and the players, coaches and staff really enjoy what the city and region has to offer. Our hockey club is committed to growing the game province-wide and we really enjoy taking our camp to different cities in British Columbia. We look forward to connecting with our fan base in the Okanagan and using these on ice sessions to set the standard and put in place the structure needed for the start of another season.”
And with that we’re back on the top of the page. Comment away: