SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

Oh yeah, missed that today while working. So yeah, Jake gets two weeks with Petey, I guess.

Probably a game time decision on Miller. If Miller is out, Jake slots in as RW on the first line, and Boeser slide to LW (I think that’s how they practiced, anyway), and MacEwen takes Jake’s spot with Gaudette. Otherwise: Miller-Pettersson-Boeser Pearson-Horvat-Höglander Roussel-Gaudette-Virtanen Motte-Beagle-Sutter Edler-Schmidt Hughes-Hamonic Juolevi-Myers

I hear ya. After hearing the rumoured salary was going to be just over a million, with the top of the range reported at $1.2M, that extra 50k is a deal breaker and screams poor management. In all seriousness, though, while we knew we’d be getting a bargain in Hamonic, it’s still amazing to get a guy who’s averaged over 22 minutes a game for his career, and never averaged less than 20 minutes per game in a season, with ten years experience, and 30 years old, for a mere $1.25 million.

Probably Nils or Hogs.

I heard him interviewed and he doesn’t seem to care too much how how people say his name. He very patiently attempted to teach Canadian interviewers the Swedish pronunciation, but they couldn’t really get it right, and eventually he basically just said “close enough” and didn’t try to correct them any more. I’d imagine he’d prefer something that sounds closer to huh-glander or hoag-lander, instead of hog-lander/hawg-lander, but ultimately, he doesn’t care too much how people say his name, so long as they’re saying it while he plays hockey in the NHL.

$1,000,000.02

Only because Judd cheated off Ron Delorme’s draft sheet.

I wish! I’ve never heard of players as young as Pod buying out their KHL contracts, but I suppose it’s possible. I’d give him a really soft bonus on his NHL ELC for games played, that he’s guaranteed to collect, to offset his buyout cost. And maybe his agent could help with getting him the money upfront, to cover the buyout costs. Should avoid any circumvention issues (while kinda allowing the Canucks and Pod’s agent to do some circumvention ).

As it should be. Gauds probably helped the team out by dropping the gloves. Had he not, there might have been some issues (albeit minor—it’s a good room and the guys would get past it quickly) after the game, but a fight can settle things much quicker, and probably to a man, the Canucks felt like the issue was resolved on the ice. Without the fight, maybe that isn’t the case, and there’s a little locker room tension, but nothing they couldn’t handle.

If those are indeed the numbers, I’d say that $81,490,211 is even better than a “very good capture” against an $81.5M salary cap. That’d be only $9,789 off of a full maximization of Ferland’s $3.5M LTIR.

If I put on my tinfoil hat, maybe this “potential exposure” thing is just a ploy to allow them to cancel camp for a day or two, and avoid having to answer any questions about Motte’s antics last scrimmage. I mean, pretty much every day during a pandemic is a “potential exposure.” Just seems too convenient. Had they been forced to go ahead with the regularly scheduled zoom calls, I was expecting half the questions would be about the slewfoot(s). Now, we’re distracted by “potential exposures,” and not talking about the giant vat of Motte’s Slewmato that got spilled on the ice last night. (I’m kidding, of course, but it sure is a strange coincidence that the day after Motte just went ham against his teammates, culminating in Gauds finally dropping the mitts in response, we have this cancellation and compete radio silence from the players and coaches.) (Heavy throughout this post, if that wasn’t already clear.)

“Potential exposure” is kind of odd phrasing, isn’t it? Could be just that the Canucks Twitter person added the “potential” and it’s actually an exposure. Any time you have contact with a person who’s tested positive, that’s an exposure. A “potential exposure?” That’s basically every trip to the store, ride on Skytrain, walk past people on the sidewalk, etc. Potential exposure is why we take precautions. We all have “potential” exposure pretty much every day, unless we’re completely isolated in a bubble. But yeah, it could mean secondary exposure. As in a close contract with someone who has had a close contact with an infected person (as in family member, etc, separate from the people actually at the rink). Or it could be a confirmed case within the group of people attending camp, but no confirmation of close contacts (which would mean it’s not one of the players that tested positive). Hard to know, but hopefully they’re just being extra cautious, and everyone’s ok.

I don’t think those are current or accurate measurements. It looks like something TSN threw together and not a reproduction of the actual training camp roster sheet. For example, they have Brisebois at 6’2”, 175 lbs, which are basically his draft measurements. Even his QMJHL team pages have his last listed vitals at 6’3”, 190 lbs. And he’s played 4 AHL/NHL seasons since he was in the Q. I doubt he shrunk an inch and lost 15 lbs since turning pro.

Yeah, I don’t want to jinx it with getting expectations too high, but I feel like Schmidty is going to fit in really well with many aspects of this team. Lotto Line, power play, Edler pairing, team breakouts, extended zone time/possession, and just overall depth of the D, as well as the strength of the top-4. Plus, he’s a huge personality in the room, and another leader to add to the mix. Even just adding another dynamic Dman to take some of the weight off Hughes is huge (if you’ll forgive the pun). As well as plugging a top pairing/#1D level talent into the lineup, who knows how to play offensively with highly skilled players, while also being able to handle shutdown minutes, when called upon. He’s a massive addition to the group, both on and off the ice, and wouldn’t surprise me if he has a similar impact on the back end to what JT Miller did for the forward group (and there I go setting those high expectations that I was trying to avoid ).

Did Lockwood get into a battle with Myers around halfway through the 2nd period, and end up putting Myers flat on his ***, or did I just imagine that? Haven’t seen a replay clip or any comments on Twitter or anywhere, but I remember there being a sequence where Lockwood basically muscled the big man down. In any case, I liked Will’s battle and energy tonight. Kid has a ton of moxie, and has looked good through camp. Almost certainly he’s Utica bound this year, but I remain a believer that he has the goods to be an NHLer one day, maybe as soon as next season, or the following year, as some of the veteran forwards finish their contracts, and spots start to open up in the bottom six. EDIT: also curious where Lockwood weighs in now? He still gets listed around 170ish, but he looked jacked on the recent zoom interviews, and he’s a really strong kid for his stature (5’11”), so I’m thinking he’s maybe closer to the 180-190ish range these days?

Nah, just been a topic of discussion that finally slowed down, but I suspect it’s gonna heat up again. Lots of disagreements about how tall Podkolzin actually is. You probably missed some of it (welcome back btw), but we’ve had pages of arguments over whether he’s 6’1” or 6’4” or something in between. Personally, I think he’s bigger but not 6’4” bigger, despite what the KHL says.

Michaelis has a shot at the taxi squad IMO. Very complete game and pretty much “fully cooked” as a prospect. Has shown well at camp, and offers a lot of options as a spare piece.

Well, of the players you’ve mentioned, only Keppen is really under similar circumstances. Most of the other unsigned draft picks are either in Euro leagues or college. Podkolzin and Costmar were just at the WJC and now returning to elite European leagues that are in mid season play. So they’re fine where they are. Podkolzin likely gets signed in April (Benning has said as much) and I’d expect Costmar will have also earned himself a deal, once his SHL season ends. With Keppen, he’s in a similar boat to Focht, waiting for the CHL leagues to confirm a schedule and open their seasons. The difference, Keppen took a significant step back, in terms of his production last season, while Focht basically maintained his points/game, while upping his goals, and also earned praise and notice from scouts, played for the WHL team in the Russia Super Series, and nearly made the Canada roster for last year’s WJC, so he’s rated considerably higher than Keppen, based off their 2019-20 seasons, and development curves since they were drafted. Focht isn’t some “make a wish” case. He’s considered a pretty good prospect (as evidenced by his selection for the WHL team and him nearly making Team Canada) and a decent enough bet to develop into an NHL player. He’s not a top of the lineup guy, but he has a real chance to make it as a bottom-six forward in the pros. Focht is an intelligent, hard working centre, with some “snarl” and grit, who plays a solid two-way game, wins faceoffs, can help on the PK, has decent wheels, and has some offensive upside and goalscoring ability. He has a legit shot to develop into a good #3/4 checking centre and PKer.

I’ve also heard that there are several Etsy shops that offer one or two day air shipping of pretty much any exotic fruit you can imagine. The price would be steep, but they’d probably be extremely fresh and high quality. This one for example: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/GreatPlentifulShopCA Although $119 for 2.5 lbs of mangosteens seems a little excessive.

Even PriceSmart in Richmond has mangosteens and most of the other fruits you mention, from time to time, depending on season and availability. I’m sure if one spoke to the produce manager there (and other similar grocery stores that serve a largely Asian customer base), they’d have an idea of when they’re all available.

According to their website, Granville Island Market has mangosteens between May and late August, and they are actually flown in, so that might be a good bet, in terms of freshness (probably not gonna be too great on the price, however). They also have litchi, longan, rambutan, sugar apple, rose apple, etc, when in season. Otherwise, I’d say some of the smaller Asian groceries and fruit markets around town might work, but you kind of have to know somebody, or go every day, and just hope you’re there the day they have what you want, fresh and not already picked over too bad, and at a good price. At least that’s how it goes at my favourite fruit markets, but the hunt is part of the fun sometimes. My local market, I’ve showed up and asked for something seasonal or exotic and the lady says, “we had them yesterday,” and I’m like, “I was here yesterday morning,” and she’s like, “they came in the afternoon and we sold all them all.”

Probably as simple as they like the player. WHL season is delayed and still uncertainty around when and if they’ll play. He would have been entering his age 20/21 season, which is always challenging, due to roster limitations for overagers. AHL season is set to go. So he has a guaranteed spot to play and the Canucks have developmental control. Draft rights would have expired this summer anyway. All together, makes sense to sign him now, rather than later, if they value the player, and think he has a future as a pro.

Yeah, he’s probably a couple years away, both in terms of development and lineup opportunities. But, if you’ll excuse the pun, the “will” is there with Will Lockwood, and I remain a big believer that he has what it takes. He has pro level skating, can play a ferocious style for a smaller player, has some very good hands in tight, a good shot, loads of character/leadership qualities, and brings an energy game that’s well suited for the bottom six. He also appears to be past his injury issues, and hopefully they don’t resurface along the way. The coming season in Utica will be an important next step. Hopefully he makes an impact and stays on the radar. The future Canucks team is looking more and more “set” when it comes to the top-six, but that bottom-six will start to really open up in the coming years, as contracts expire and veterans move on. Hopefully Lockwood makes himself part of the equation for how the bottom of the lineup fills out in the coming years.

Yeah, “power forward” types are a bit of a crapshoot to start, and even more so when they’re later picks with significant areas to improve or outright holes in their games. For Kunz, it’s definitely his skating. On the plus size, he’s still very young, and his other tools (size, shot, scorer’s instincts, hockey sense, aggression/heavy play) seem pretty well formed already, at only 18 years old. But flawed skating, especially of the “heavy feet” variety, is a significant ladder to climb before becoming a legitimate NHL option. Noticeable slow at the high school level is absolutely sluggish for the NHL. He’ll need to make significant gains, but if he does manage to get up to speed, he appears to have the other tools necessary to be a pro player. On the plus side, he’s surprisingly nimble on his edges for a player his size, and he has a good sense for slipping into the soft areas, and knowing where he needs to be to create offence. He just doesn’t get up and down the ice nearly quick enough (yet). Hopefully that’ll change. It’s certainly not impossible, for a kid that’s willing to put in the work. Especially if he’s starting out from fairly raw skating technique, which appears to be the case. Some focused effort in the USHL and then college, hopefully supplemented with some off-season one-on-one skating coach sessions, and maybe Kunz can get himself up to truly pro level skating. But it’s definitely going to take some work, at least from what I’ve seen of him, and heard/read from scouts.