In this CCC I take a look at Canuck defenceman Alex Edler's back injury and the effect it may have on the Vancouver Canucks and ask the question: is the glass half full or half empty?
It's a big blow to the team for sure, but the optimistic approach shows that all is not lost...especially with the return of Sami Salo just around the corner.
I also comment on the NHL players' poll that named the Canucks as the 2nd-most overrated team in the league. Doesn't make sense to me!
Music is "Hoc
For my first CCC of 2011, I reflect on the Canucks' incredible rise to the top of the NHL standings and ask the question: "What is a Canuck?"
Most Vancouver fans know that Canuck is slang for Canadian, and that Johnny Canuck was a political cartoon character from back in the day. But it's quite a deviation from other NHL team names.
Of the other 29 team names, the most common themes are:
-scary animals & creatures
-geography
-weather & natural disasters
-birds
-war terms
For this Christmas CCC, I put together (with a little help from my family and friends) a Canuck rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas, outlining 12 things that we hope GM Mike Gillis will give to us Canucks fans.
Special guests include Joseph San Jose, Jason McBurney, my sons Sean and Jacob, and Kevin Tazumi the foreign exchange student.
Here's the complete list of our wishes:
-12 scoring forwards
-11 starts for Schneider
-10 dollar parking
-9 Hamhuis hip checks
-8 chirps from Burro
On a recent trip to Toronto I made my way to the Air Canada Centre on a Toronto Maple Leafs game night to interview some hockey fans. My time there confirmed what I had anticipated: Leaf Nation is certainly very loyal to their hockey team!
I asked people 3 questions:
1. When will the Maple Leafs next make the playoffs?
2. Can you name 5 Vancouver Canucks players?
3. What's the best Canadian hockey team right now?
The answers range from hilarious to insightful to honest to downright di
The Canucks have just returned home from a moderately successful eastern road swing, picking up 5 out of a possible 10 points. What stood out to me was just how many Canucks fans there were in each of the arenas they played in during their trip.
In this Clay's Canucks Commentary, I offer some suggestions as to why the Canucks are so popular throughout the league. Take a look, and see if you agree or disagree with me.
Music is "Hockey Night in Canada" recorded by Naturally 7 on their CD "V
It's been a bit crazy for me the last 2 weeks, so I haven't been able to put together a new CCC (I'll be doing one next week).
In the meantime, I invite you to look at my 2 videos that won prizes in the Ultimate Canucks Search in 2007 and again in 2008.
Combining hockey and Japanese poetry, The Ultimate Canucks Haiku has over 28,000 hits on YouTube and has been featured in national newspaper, local tv, on the Rogers Arena Jumbotron.
In 2008, we placed once again, this time with The U
The Canucks have looked good this past week, picking up 5 out of a possible 6 points in their last 3 games. A large part of the team's success is its secondary scoring, proving a much needed "shot in the arm" for the team.
Another shot in the arm will be the much-anticipated return of Alex Burrows. His return will have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the roster, and will undoubtedly make the team stronger.
I also include footage of the first Ring of Honour honouree: Orland Kuterbach -
Coach Alain Vigneault mixed up the lines for Vancouver's game against Carolina this past Sunday and it seemed to work: the Canucks beat the Hurricanes 5-1.
In the game, 10 different Canucks registered at least a point, including the first goal of the season for Kesler, Raymond, Samuelsson, and Alberts.
In this CCC, I offer up a few different alternatives to the lines, including arranging them by age, weight and birthplace. The results are quite interesting! For fun, I also list my "All-Ti
The 2010-11 NHL season has started, and the Canucks have 3 points after 2 close games. This CCC is broken up into 2 parts.
In the first part, I offer a few quick observations from the first 2 games, including extrapolating the early stats over a full 82-game season. I also preach patience, perspective, and prudence as we settle in for a long season.
The 2nd half features 2 guest hosts: Pat Teodosio and my son Sean. As I wasn't able to attend nor watch the season opener against the LA K
For the 2nd CCC of the season, I take you inside Rogers Arena for the annual Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Event (held just before the Open Practice). My special guest in this video is my buddy Mike, a long-time season ticket holder. I'm his season ticket "partner" for this season only.
We got a lot done in 2 hours:
-we enjoyed a continental breakfast
-we viewed some of the NHL awards and made our own predictions for this season
-we witnessed the introduction of the 2010-11 Vancouver
As we look forward to one of the most highly-anticipated seasons in Vancouver Canucks history, I'm pleased to present my first CCC: Clay's Canucks Commentary since last Spring.
In this CCC:
-we get rookie Cody Hodgson's autograph and present him with our clever sign: "We've got your back, Cody!"
-view a bit of footage from inside Rogers Arena
-I talk about how prognosticators, predictors, and pundits are picking the Canucks to go far this season
-I interview my kids Sean, Jake, and Kayla
It took almost a full week after the Vancouver Canucks were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games, but I finally found the motivation and energy to put together my last Clay's Canucks Commentary for the season.
In it, I quickly recap some of the hilights of the month-long CCC series, and I show how the Canucks' defeat has affected every single family member.
Thank you to family, friends, and Canucks fans alike for your loyal and faithful viewership...I really appreciate it.
After a few day break, I'm back with a brand new Clay's Canucks Commentary. The May 10th edition starts off with a quick interview with my son Jacob, who received 5 stitches in his head after colliding with a wooden pole at school.
This is a nice segue into the toughness of the Canucks, starting with Shane O'Brien, who received 6 stitches in game 5. I also signal out Daniel Sedin, and Sami Salo and his unfortunate (and undoubtedly painful) injury.
The 2nd half of the video is about bandw
My May 6th edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary starts of with in-person footage from GM Place of Jannik Hansen's goal.
I welcome my good friend Jesse Manibusan, a Catholic songwriter and speaker, to offer his views on a couple of topics. He starts off by announcing a bombshell: that he is the long-lost brother of Henrik and Daniel.
Then, Jesse has some strongs words for one Dustin Byfuglien, including some thoughts on how to slow him down.
Music is "Hockey Night in Canada" recorded
For the May 4th edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary, I come to you from downtown Vancouver as the roof of BC Place is being deflated. The 28 year-old stadium will be getting a brand new retractable roof (too bad it wasn't ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics).
Like the roof of BC Place, I felt deflated after Vancouver's 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in game 2 of the their 2nd-round NHL playoff series. I name 3 things that concern me (burying chances, power play, and lack of firepower) a
In the May 3rd edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary, I offer a few insights and observations into the Canucks' dominating 5-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in game 1 of the their 2nd-round NHL playoff series.
I compare the game to the Canada-Russia quarter-final game in the recent 2010 Winter Olympics, as both games were rather disappointing (from a competition standpoint) given the considerable hype that preceeded them.
In noting Roberto Luongo's magnificent game, I point out that a
The May 1st edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary comes as the Canucks and Blackhawks prepare to renew acquaintances in game 1 of their 2nd-round playoff series.
I decide to pop a few Canucks names, Blackhawks names, and other related phrases into an online anagram generator to see what would result. See what happens with phrases like "Byfuglien has a big butt", "Kane is a goof" and "Canucks win cup."
http://www.claytonimoo.com
http://www.twitter.com/claytonimoo
This promises to be an
The April 26th edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary focuses on the spectacular Sedins on the heels of the Canucks' 4-2 victory over the Kings. The Canucks won the first-round best-of-seven series in 6 games.
The Sedins were simply unstoppable in the series (Daniel had 10 points, Henrik had 8), and they ended up factoring in all 4 game winning goals for the Canucks.
I shot this CCC in Vancouver International Airport as I returned from Halifax. Thanks to Krissy for picking me up and for
The April 23rd edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary comes from the east coast of Canada, in beautiful Nova Scotia (I'm here to speak at a youth retreat this weekend).
In this CCC, I salute all of the Vancouver Canucks fans on the east coast, especially those who stay up to watch the games live on tv. Given that their home games start at 11pm Nova Scotia time, fans out here will need to stay up until 2:30am or so to watch the entire game. This can lead to tardiness for work or school the nex
In the April 21st edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary, I focus on Daniel Sedin goal in game 3 that was disallowed when NHL headquarters determined "that the puck was propelled into the net by a kicking motion."
It seemed evident that Daniel wasn't trying to propel the puck nor use a kicking motion to direct the puck into the net.
I offer up a few better examples of kicking motions, including a football player, a soccer player, and a pro wrestler.
I also give a shout out and request t
In the April 19th edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary, I examine how hockey (especially in the playoffs) is a game of mistakes...and usually the team that makes the least number of mistakes wins.
After offering up a few examples of common every-day mistakes, I point out that each of LA's goals in their 3-2 game 2 win was a direct result of a Canuck mistake.
Not to fret though...everyone makes mistakes...as evidenced by the fact that all 8 NHL playoff series started off in a split.
The
In the April 16th edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary (actually filmed on the evening of April 15), I have a few words about the Canucks dramatic and exciting 3-2 win over the Kings, thanks to Mikael Samuelsson's overtime winner.
I enlist the help of my son Sean and daughter Kayla (my other son Jacob was sound asleep at the time of filming) to help me ask today's important question: How did you pass the time during the intermission between the end of the 3rd period and the start of overtime
In the April 14th edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary (the first-ever), I quickly introduce myself and the concept behind the video blog series on the eve of the first-round NHL playoff series between the Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings.
More importantly, I outline 5 main reasons why the Canucks will defeat the Kings:
1. World Domination
2. Roberto Luongo
3. Taking the Offensive
4. No Place Like Home
5. CCC Longevity
Music is "Hockey Night in Canada" recorded by Natural
On the heels of my recent video blog series on the 2010 Winter Olympics, I've decided to do another one, this time on our beloved Vancouver Canucks.
CCC will follow the Canucks as long as they are in the playoffs. In it, I'll offer reflections, insight, guest editorials, and of course, commentary. I'll be posting a new video blog at least every 2nd day.
I'm not a reporter, nor a broadcaster. Just one huge Canucks fan, and a 2-time winner of the Ultimate Canucks Fan contest for the Ultima
