Canucks to Host Young Stars Classic in Penticton

[wshdrvvn]

Jankowski definitely set them back a bit they could have had Maatta

i still get a laugh about that pick too i totally wanted the canucks to take a flyer on jankowski in the mid rounds but laughed loudly at my tv when the flames took him in the first.

[wshdrvvn]

From PITB today: http://vansunsportsblogs.com/2014/09/10/meet-the-canucks-2014-young-stars-tournament-invitees-part-1/

Meet the Canucks 2014 Young Stars Tournament invitees (Part 1)

by Daniel Wagner, on September 10, 2014

The annual Young Stars Tournament starts on Friday in Penticton and, as per usual, the Canucks have invited a number of undrafted and unsigned players to don a Canucks jersey. These invitees always intrigue me, as finding a diamond in the rough can easily and cheaply bolster the teams prospect pool.

This year, the Canucks mostly looked to the WHL for their invitees. Eight of the Canucks ten invitees played last season in the WHL and a ninth is just a year removed from the Dub. That means the Canucks invited just one non-WHL player, Cordell James out of the OHL.

The thing with these invitees is that we generally know very little about them. Unlike the teams drafted prospects, the invitees arent subject to profiles on the teams website or breathless breakdowns of their potential from Pierre McGuire. So, every year, I take it upon myself to track down as much information on the Canucks invitees as possible. Here are the first five that will be in Penticton with the Canucks this year.

***

Spencer Humphries Defence

62″ 205 lbs April 30, 1992

Delta, BC

HC Lev Praha

This former Calgary Hitmen defenceman intended to spend last season in the KHL, signing a contract with HC Lev Praha. He only played 17 games before getting sent down to a lower tier Czech league, however, and chose to come back to North America this year. Hell need to stand out significantly to earn a contract with the Canucks and a more realistic goal would be to get a contract with the Utica Comets.

Like many of these invitees, Humphries also attended the Canucks summer prospect development camp. Heres a selection from my profile of him from the summer:

Goals and points are not exactly Humphries calling card, as he was used in more of a shutdown role in the WHL, but hes not devoid of offensive talent, scoring 38 points in each of his last two WHL seasons. Humphries made a good initial impression in the KHL, as he was praised for his smooth skating, solid defensive play, and ability to join the rush. He has also been praised for his passing ability.

Clearly Lev Praha saw something in Humphries that made them offer guaranteed money to make the jump straight to the KHL from Major Junior, though it didnt end up working out as well as hoped.

Josh Thrower Defence

61″ 201 lbs March 17, 1996

Vancouver, BC

Tri-City Americans

Thrower is a former teammate of Humphries with the Calgary Hitmen and also played with Jake Virtanen in Calgary last season before getting traded to the Tri-City Americans. That may sound like hes been around in the WHL for a while, but he was just 16-years-old when he played with Humphries and just 17 last season. Hes still only 18-years-old and, though he hasnt shown much offensively, has shown plenty of toughness through his first two WHL seasons.

Thrower also attended the Canucks development camp and I wrote about him then:

The younger brother of Vancouver Giants star and Montreal Canadiens prospect Dalton Thrower, the younger Thrower has significantly less offensive upside, tallying just 6 points in 62 games between the Calgary Hitmen and Tri-City Americans as a 17-year-old last season. He is, however, already bigger than his brother and was polished enough defensively to play 37 WHL games as a 16-year-old.

Thrower was ranked 148th among North American skaters by Central Scouting for this years draft after being ranked 116th in the midterm rankings. Ive seen him described as hard-hitting, physical, and mean, but he also has decent skating and can reportedly play in all situations. The offensive side is a major question mark, however, and it will be interesting to see if that develops over the next few seasons.

Dub From Above describes Thrower as one tough customer and suggests that he does have the potential to grow into a capable pro defenceman in a bottom pairing type of capacity.

Matthieu Bellerive Right Wing

511″ 187 lbs December 7, 1994

North Vancouver, BC

Vancouver Giants

Bellerive spent last season with the Red Deer Rebels and Kamloops Blazers before getting traded yet again to the Vancouver Giants, which is actually where he began his WHL career five years ago. His offence has slowly come along after scoring just 6 points in 50 games in his rookie season as a 16-year-old, finishing with 18 goals and 41 points in 60 games between the Rebels and Blazers.

Thats still not huge production and he has yet to be drafted. His over-age 20-year-old season with the Giants is an important one, as it will help determine what professional opportunity he gets next season. There was a possibility that he might not even stick with the Giants, as they had several other over-age players who could take up their three over-age spots, but Bellerive earned one of those spots.

Red Deer Rebel Nation describes Bellerive as having great offensive instincts and a wicked shot but he hasnt done enough with those tools to attract much attention from the NHL.

Cordell James Centre

61″ 190 lbs June 14, 1996

Hamilton, ON

Barrie Colts

James will be the youngest player for the Canucks at the Young Stars Tournament apart from Jake Virtanen, who wont actually be playing. He turned 18 in June, but already has legitimate NHL size at 61″ and 190 lbs. What he doesnt have, so far, is the kind of point totals that might suggest he could make the NHL someday.

James scored just 13 points in 66 games in his rookie OHL season as a 17-year-old, but its worth noting that the Colts were stacked at centre, with some of their top centres, like Andreas Athanasiou, Zach Hall, and Andrew Mangiapane having to spend some time on the wing last season. Two other centres, Mitch Theoret and Tyson Fawcett, were in their over-age years last season, so James will have the opportunity to prove himself next season.

He also attended the Canucks development camp this summer, at which time I wrote this:

[James] is described as responsible, smart, coachable, and competitive. He was ranked 165th among North American skaters by Central Scouting heading into the draft, but didnt get selected.

James was also a high-level soccer player, but quit to focus on hockey. He played limited minutes on a strong Colts team, playing mainly a defensive and physical role, but sees himself as more of a playmaking centre. That didnt show up on the scoresheet this season, as he finished with 13 points in 66 games and went pointless through 11 playoff games, but it may show up as he gets more ice time in coming seasons.

In fact, switching to a more defensive mindset was an adjustment for James, who was always a top scorer before reaching the OHL. If he can bring along the offensive side, his work as a shutdown centre this past season will give him a solid foundation for building towards a professional career.

Jonathon Martin Centre

62″ 212 lbs August 23, 1995

Winnipeg, MB

Kootenay Ice

Martin is known more for his toughness than his skill, as shown by his 202 penalty minutes over the last two seasons and just 34 points, but there are some scouts who think he has pro potential. Dub from Above notes that he Likes to throw his weight around and play an agitators role and that he provided muscle and size on the Ice top 6 all season.

I wrote this about him when he attended the Canucks summer development camp:

He isan effective role player, using his size and strong skating to throw big hits. That has gotten him in trouble in the past, as hes received a couple suspensions for charging in his junior career.

A scouting report from McKeens last year praises his strong skating and notes that he tends to make safe, simple decisions with the puck. It also notes that aside from his physical play, he will need to expand his tool kit in order to be a player at the next level. One tool already in his kit, however, is a powerful slap shot that he is apparently quite adept at using off the rush.

The question is then whether Martin can develop his other skills enough so that his straight-ahead style will translate to the professional game. NHL scouts have suggested to him that he has potential as a bottom-six winger, but he has a lot of work ahead of him to reach that plateau.

***

Lots of similar projections here. I really do like the sound of Cordell James. Buried on the Colts depth chart, really good size, still young, and apparantly untapped offensive potential that could come to the forefront this season with more ice time. Sort of reminds me of Cole Cassels. This is a bit of a stretch just cause Cassels was drafted but similar in the fact that James could show more offense like Cole did with more ice time. Cole was scoring better at the same point in time in his career as James is now, but Cordell has better size at this point than Cassels did. Should be an interesting guy to keep an eye on.

[Psycho_Path]

All in all, that Calgary team might be the best at this tournament. I wonder how their development will go and if the skill they have will translate to the NHL level. Very excited to see how Shinkaruk plays. I do feel like he might be right about being the best player, but I'm also thinking Draisaitl will take that honor. Kid's a beast

[ShakyWalton]

He's been practicing with the Hitmen and Virtanen has stated that he is ahead of schedule.

I'd be shocked if we saw him this weekend in the tournament, but his recovery time was supposed to be 4 - 6 months. End of this month will be 4. If he's ahead of schedule, its not out of the question that he might get cleared for full practice with the Canucks during camp. If that happens, I would think it might be possible that we get a look at him in exhibition play for a game or two, which would be awesome!

Not holding my breath though!

that would be sweet,,,but I dont want to rush the kid...we dont need another Lulay situation.

[Guest Dasein]

i still get a laugh about that pick too i totally wanted the canucks to take a flyer on jankowski in the mid rounds but laughed loudly at my tv when the flames took him in the first.

Man, and I forgot how Calgary actually traded down from #14 (BUF selected Girgensons) to draft #21 (Jankowski) and #42 which became Patrick Sieloff. Ceci, Hertl, Teravainen, Vasilevski and Laughton were among those still available at #14 if they kept the pick instead (and Maatta obviously).

Apparently Sieloff won WJC gold for USA in 2013, so he's not a nobody, but he certainly isn't Maatta, and Jankowski most certainly would have been available at #42.

I also find it funny that 2 spots after Calgary took Sieloff, Buffalo took Jake McCabe with a draft pick they got from Calgary 2 years prior completely unrelated but man I would want to forget about 2012 if I were a Flames fan.

Well, given that we passed on Severson to grab Mallet soon after, I kinda want to forget it too

[Dogbyte]

late October

I get that feeling he's almost ready to go now but he'll be holding back until they let him get into contact. I'm going to check my crystal ball and guess that he'll be fully cleared by Oct 8th.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Does anyone know if they're streaming this afternoon's practice (starting at 2:30pm)?

I believe that they've streamed some of the open practice sessions from the past tournaments. I know it's only one day until the games start but I'm dying to see some hockey and I'll take what I can get (even if it's just warm-ups and drills).

If there's no stream, hopefully someone in Penticton will post some video later today.

Also re: Virtanen, I keep seeing stuff like this posted on a few of the other boards:

Originally Posted by keslerburrows

Not going to guarantee anything, but I can basically confirm that Virtanen will be playing.

Not sure what to make of this. The mods on HFBoards keep erasing these kinds of posts (because there's no source being given so it's a board rules violation). It does seem highly unlikely, given the official timeline we've been hearing from the club (for around mid-October). But this is coming from a poster with nearly 5000 posts and they're basically putting their rep on the line, so it's an interesting claim at the very least. I suppose it would fit with the most optimistic (ie: shortest) end of the 4-6 month projected recovery time (since the surgery was in May). And Virtanen claims to be "ahead of schedule" so we'll see what happens.

But even if Jake feels like he's ready now, I'd still prefer he waited at least until main camp. No sense in rushing back just to get into a prospects tournament. And really, there's no reason to rush anything and risk re-injuring that shoulder, so hopefully this is just a bad rumour (although I must admit that I'd love to see him play--just as long as he waits until he's fully healed and medically cleared).

[timberz21]

Does anyone know if they're streaming this afternoon's practice (starting at 2:30pm)?

I believe that they've streamed some of the open practice sessions from the past tournaments. I know it's only one day until the games start but I'm dying to see some hockey and I'll take what I can get (even if it's just warm-ups and drills).

If there's no stream, hopefully someone in Penticton will post some video later today.

Also re: Virtanen, I keep seeing stuff like this posted on a few of the other boards:

Not sure what to make of this. The mods on HFBoards keep erasing these kinds of posts (because there's no source being given so it's a board rules violation). It does seem highly unlikely, given the official timeline we've been hearing from the club (for around mid-October). But this is coming from a poster with nearly 5000 posts and they're basically putting their rep on the line, so it's an interesting claim at the very least. I suppose it would fit with the most optimistic (ie: shortest) end of the 4-6 month projected recovery time (since the surgery was in May). And Virtanen claims to be "ahead of schedule" so we'll see what happens.

But even if Jake feels like he's ready now, I'd still prefer he waited at least until main camp. No sense in rushing back just to get into a prospects tournament. And really, there's no reason to rush anything and risk re-injuring that shoulder, so hopefully this is just a bad rumour (although I must admit that I'd love to see him play--just as long as he waits until he's fully healed and medically cleared).

He barely turned 18, chances he would actually make the team when healthy are 1:1000000, so I would actually prefer he would not be at the Canucks camp, at least not participate in any contact drill/scrimmage nor play in preseason games. I would prefer he report the sooner the better to Calgary, since he's been out for a while, and he will miss the start of the WHL season, so the sooner he can skate with his teammates (even without contact), the better he will be able to "catch" them when he's ready to play. I'd really like him to play at WHJC or at least get invite to the main camp.

However, it would be an incredible experience for him to be at the Canucks main camp, but I rather not test his shoulder against men, even if he's cleared and/or ahead in his recovery.

[elvis15]

We all know management has said one thing and had another happen, but they keep saying Virtanen won't be cleared for contact this weekend so I'd tend to believe the source I do know rather than the one I don't.

[Guest Dasein]

We all know management has said one thing and had another happen, but they keep saying Virtanen won't be cleared for contact this weekend so I'd tend to believe the source I do know rather than the one I don't.

Under Mike Gillis. Way too many times.

Benning's been pretty transparent so far. He's made the trades he said he'd make, when he said he was done for the summer, he was actually done and didn't make any moves since, and Burrows confirmed that management never asked him to waive his NTC (jury still out on this but I believe Burr).

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Breaking down the Canucks Young Stars roster and taking a look at the opposition:

Breaking down the 2014 Young Stars Classic

The Vancouver Canucks are sending a lineup of 27 players to the 2014 Young Stars Classic in Penticton, BC, which kicks-off on Friday, September 12.

The tournament also features the prospects of the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets. Current NHL players such as Eddie Lack, Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall, to name a few, have all played in the tournament in the past.

Canucks.com has broken down the Canucks roster to bring you all the juicy details:

-Two goaltenders, nine defencemen and 16 forwards (14 healthy) will make the trip to Penticton for Vancouver.

-Forwards Kyle Pettit and Jake Virtanen are still recovering from off-season shoulder surgeries and will not participate in any games.

-Seven defencemen and 10 forwards are either drafted or signed by the Canucks.

-Six players have at least one pro game under their belts.

-Three players (Frank Corrado, Nicklas Jensen and Michael Zalewski) have all seen regular season action with the Canucks.

-Jeramie Blain, Spencer Humphries and Evan McEneny are the other three with pro games. Blain has played 107 career pro games, while McEneny played one game for the Utica Comets last season. Humphries played pro in Europe last season, most notably with Praha in the KHL.

-Twelve players played in the Western Hockey League last season, while 10 played in the Ontario Hockey League.

-Blain is the oldest player on the roster at 22-years-old (March 19, 1992), while Virtanen is the youngest at 18-years-old (August 17, 1996). Invitee Cordell James (June 14, 1996) will be the youngest to see game action.

-Four different countries will be represented on the Canucks roster as 22 players hail from Canada, three from the United States, and one each from Denmark and Sweden.

-Pettit is the tallest player on the roster at 6-foot-4, while Mackenze Stewart is the heaviest at 240-pounds.

-Eleven players participated at the 2013 edition of the Young Stars Tournament.

-Twenty-two of the 27 players on the roster attended the Canucks Prospects Development Camp in July.

-Invitee Klarc Wilson played at the 2011 Young Stars Classic as a member of the Winnipeg Jets.

Breaking down the opposition

Calgary Flames

2014 fourth overall pick Sam Bennett highlights the Flames roster, which also includes 2013 first-rounder Morgan Klimchuk. Perhaps the most intriguing player on the Calgary roster is Johnny Gaudreau, a fourth round pick in 2011. Gaudreau won the Hobey Baker Award last season as the top player in the NCAA after posting 80 points in 40 games. The Flames will also have some size in their lineup with 6-foot-6 Hunter Smith, 6-foot-5 Keegan Kanzig, and seven others standing 6-foot-3.

Edmonton Oilers

First round picks Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse headline an Oilers roster that includes 14 players that saw action in the AHL last season. 2012 second-rounder Mitch Moroz is fresh off a Memorial Cup victory with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and will be looking to make a statement as he enters his first pro season. Much like their Alberta rivals, the Oilers will be icing a big lineup that features five defenceman standing 6-foot-4 or taller, along with four forwards at 6-foot-3 and above including 6-foot-5 Bodgan Yakimov, who is fresh off a full season in the KHL and also captured a bronze medal for Russia at the 2014 World Juniors.

Winnipeg Jets

There is a lot of skill on the Jets roster, including 2014 first round pick Nikolaj Ehlers, 2013 first-rounder Josh Morissey and WHL superstar Nic Petan. Defenceman Brenden Kichton, who registered 240 points in his last three seasons in the WHL, is another player to keep an eye on after he put up a solid 48 points in his rookie campaign in the AHL last season. Adam Lowry, son of former Canucks forward Dave Lowry, is also coming off a solid rookie season in the AHL along with former Kamloops Blazer, JC Lipon.

WATCH LIVE

Every Canucks Young Stars game can be seen live on Canucks.com. Click here for more information and a schedule of games.

http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=730157

[kazin!]

Thanks for that post. Glad to hear confirmation every game will be streamed.

[elvis15]

Thanks for that post. Glad to hear confirmation every game will be streamed.

Every Canucks game will be, so if you want to watch Winnipeg/Edmonton you might be out of luck.

[DeNiro]

Hopefully they archive it like last time.

[elvis15]

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie

VAN's 2014 1st rounder (24th overall) Jared McCann will not participate in Penticton rookie tourney. Sidelined with mononucleosis.

[aGENT]

Let the Cassels/McCann rumours fly now!

[avelanch]

still? or was that someone else who had mono at the summer camp? i forget.

[aGENT]

still?

I think you're thinking Cassels.

[avelanch]

I think you're thinking Cassels.

man those puck bunnys sure do hop around.

[aGENT]

man those puck bunnys sure do hop around.

Or...