SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

Taller than Tristen Nielsen’s listed height on the rookie camp roster sheet: And heavier than Mustapha Lemieux: https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/40878/mustapha-lemieux

Yeah, I guess he’s still available. I thought maybe he was similar to Parise where the Islanders had a contract done but hadn’t yet filed it or done an official confirmation, but now looks like that may not be the case. I guess in addition to Zajac, there’s also Neal, Chiasson, Gustafsson, and Dubnyk still out there (as well as the several players I mentioned earlier), when it comes to PTO candidates with name recognition.

So who’s left, as far as the remaining noteworthy PTO candidates? Galchenyuk, Gusev, E. Staal, Vatanen, Chara, Demers… anyone else? Also Tyler Ennis, but he’s already rumoured to be on the Canucks’ radar.

Pretty sure those are mostly old heights and weights. I mean, Plasek definitely isn’t 154 lbs. He’s added probably 30 lbs since whenever those measurements were taken.

I think these kinds of takes overstate Hughes’s playoff “struggles” and underappreciate just how good he was and how much he proved in the bubble. A rookie defenseman was arguable our best skater and most important player through the 2019-20 season playoffs. Hughes was basically the quarterback of our entire attack, with nearly double the puck possession time of any other Canucks player, and he led the team in assists and first assists (and his 16 points were only 2 points off the outright scoring lead). He led the team in on-ice scoring chances-for, Corsi/Fenwick/shots-for, and was second in the few other events-for categories than he didn’t lead. Also was second, and just barely, to Alex Edler in total icetime through the postseason. By the time the Vegas series started, Hughes was also nursing knee and ankle injuries, requiring 3x daily treatment just to keep him in the games. Vegas put their focus squarely on containing Hughes and making his life difficult. And the 2019-20 Canucks weren’t exactly a deep team, especially on the back end, so the Knights were able to attack Hughes in waves, and target him whenever he was on the ice. Quinn still put-up 6 points in seven games that series. Was it a tough series for Hughes? Absolutely. But did he fold under the pressure? Absolutely not. He had some struggles, needed to make adjustments, and Vegas was, at times, successful in containing him. But Hughes was still the Canucks second leading scorer against Vegas, both at all situations and 5v5, and played a crucial role in the team taking that series to seven games. He was playing hurt, and with Vegas devoting their full attention to shutting him down, and he still managed to be dangerous and produce offence at a high rate. Of course, the most important Canucks that series were in the net, but when it came to the skaters on that team, Hughes was one of, if not the, best players for Vancouver. I see no reason why Hughes’s performance should be seen as a failure, or somehow limiting, in his potential. Definitely no reason to question whether or not he can play NHL Playoff hockey. He proved he can. The bubble was more of a coming out party for Hughes (and also for the Canucks’ other young stars), with him proving that he can be one of the best players on the ice during the postseason, and maintain his offensive production even during tough, heavy, physical, “playoff hockey,” push through injuries and rise above the pain, and still be a threat in games where the opposition throws everything they have against him, and focus (but ultimately fail) in shutting him down. And that was as a rookie and his very first taste of NHL Playoffs hockey. He’s only going to get better, more experienced and “seasoned,” learn from his experiences, make adjustments, and overcome the challenges put before him. And hopefully, he’s also going to have more help, and better depth, to support him in any future playoff series, so that it won’t be quite so easy for teams to gameplan against Vancouver with the singleminded strategy of trying to stop Quinn Hughes. Should Vancouver try to protect Quinn Hughes on the ice? Should the team work harder to create more space for him? Yes, absolutely. But more because he’s one of the best offensive Dmen in the league, than merely because he’s small. I think even if Hughes were 6’2” and 210 lbs, he’d still have faced quite a challenge against Vegas, playing injured, while being the #1 target on the ice, and trying to lead the Canucks offence, all as a rookie defenceman, and without a ton of support or depth behind him.

Yeah, Highmore is in the final year of his current contract, and he will be RFA when it expires in 2022. I think he’s currently the favourite for the 12th forward spot, completing the 4th line with Sutter and Motte. He’s by no means a “lock,” however, unlike the other two players penciled in for the 4th line (Sutter, Motte), and he will probably be competing with 2-3 others (including Di Giuseppe), and maybe a couple “dark horse” candidates at camp for either the 3rd slot on that 4th line, or the 13th forward (spare) roster spot.

40 goal scoring, Selke winning Ryan Kesler is the Yank I’m taking in his Canucks prime. But only because Hughes hasn’t hit his prime yet. Huggy will be the greatest American Canuck of all time, just not yet.

I haven’t checked the math, but that looks like it should add up to 200%. I stand by none of these “probabilities,” but you asked, so I figured I’d try to give you an answer.

You’re probably right, just because the team made a trade for Highmore, so they’re probably going to give him every chance to succeed, and it’s his spot to lose. But if it’s a truly open competition (and Green likes to run things that way), with nobody playing favourites from the front office, I’d give Di Giuseppe a pretty decent chance to be the last man standing at camp, for a 12th/13th forward spot on the opening roster.

Dhaliwal thinks this Phillip “Duh-guess-bay” guy might make the team.

There’s also some more information about the MacLeods’ story here, with updates from Wade and his wife Karly, as well as an opportunity to donate to the family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/wade039s-treatment-fund And they’ve done some podcasts as well, sharing more of the details of their journey: https://alivingbreakthrough.podbean.com https://beyondthebigredtruck.com/episodes/

Glad you enjoyed reading it. I was just poking around Northeasten news this morning (he played his college hockey there) and came across the story and figured it was worth a share. Pretty inspiring stuff. I’m definitely going to track his progress this season.

Boo! Was hoping he’d be a late addition in Vancouver, either on a league minimum deal like this or a PTO. Anyway, glad to see Donato getting a deal. And probably a better opportunity for him in Seattle.

Came across this story today, and thought it was worth sharing: https://kencampbell.substack.com/p/miracle-in-manchester-the-wade-macleod Wade MacLeod is a local professional hockey player (born in Coquitlam, now lives in Port Moody) who’s returning to the game after losing the last three years, and also several interruptions during his seven pro seasons, due to uncontrollable seizures related to a series of 4 brain tumours, the most recent one being cancerous and highly aggressive. The man is 34 years old, has had several brain surgeries, been unable to play hockey for the past three years, had lost and since recovered his speech, and is now finally cancer free, physically and mentally recovered, and about to return to the game, having secured a contract for 2021-22 with the Manchester Storm of the EIHL. I’ll just let people click the link and read the article, rather than try to summarize it all here, but it’s an inspiring story of perseverance and overcoming tremendous odds. MacLeod went from sleeping 16 hours a day in a hospital bed, and unable to speak, and given only 3-5 years to live, to training and building back his mind and body to the point where he’s going to be playing professional hockey, and believes he can be one of the EIHL’s top scorers in his first season back on the ice. Here’s rooting for Wade. I hope he plays another ten years (like he says he plans to), and more so, I hope he lives a long, happy, productive life for himself and his young family.

One thing the article doesn’t mention, and doesn’t get talked about too much these days, is that Lockwood actually has incredible chemistry with Quinn Hughes. He was one of the few players on that Michigan team who could always keep up with Quinn on the ice, both with his feet and, perhaps more importantly, his brain. EDIT: I just mention this because it speaks to Lockwood’s ability to “hang” with elite players, even if he’s not elite in his own skill level. Beyond just good wheels and work ethic, he really has a knack for reading and anticipating plays made at a high level. Many bottom-six/depth guys just don’t have this characteristic, and it limits their effectiveness, and creates a ceiling, as to where they can play and who they can play with. Similar to Hansen, I could see Lockwood succeeding in dovetailing his game into that of more talented players, and knowing where and when to bring tenacity and effort that can truly compliment elite level skilled guys.

Here’s a JFresh tweet I expect CDCers will appreciate: Notice #15 on that list of the NHL’s top forwards at winning puck battles. Just another aspect of his game where Boeser has really matured. He’s built up his body off the ice to become one of the stronger guys on the team, and he’s made a real effort in improving his play on the ice to become much harder on pucks and able to really play a heavy game. His puck battle win rate is just one area where Brock’s effort shows up, in a quantifiable way, and at an high level.

He has all the makings of a fan favourite type of player on the fourth line or bottom six in the NHL. The CA write up offers a good scouting report and this section is probably worth quoting and posting here: “Lockwood is a talented bottom-sixer. In many ways, he’s a coach’s dream in that role. He brings energy through his ever-running motor, he makes opponents keep their heads up at all times, he’s smart enough to kill penalties, he buries the puck in the offensive zone with his forechecking, and he’s speedy and opportunistic enough to capitalize on mistakes and turn the puck back in the other direction. His offensive skills may not be anything to write home about, but his goal-scoring at lower levels suggests he’ll still pick up his fair share of points. The name that keeps popping up when it comes to Canuck comparables is Jannik Hansen, and it’s hard not to see it. Like Hansen, Lockwood could wind up being one of those players that is infinitely more useful than his stat line might suggest. The kind of player who might not be a household name, but who every opponent knows and dreads playing against.”

Utunen is #21 on Nucks Misconduct’s top 25 under 25: https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2021/9/9/22664483/2021-vancouver-canucks-top-25-under-25-21-toni-utunen Of note, this preseason has seen Utunen shift to the right side, which can only help his odds, if he can prove himself a capable RHD option, given the organization being thinner on that side.

Will Lockwood checks in at #5 on the CanucksArmy prospects rankings:

#22 on Nucks Misconduct’s top 25 under 25: https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2021/9/8/22662387/2021-vancouver-canucks-top-25-under-25-22-carson-focht

#23 on Nucks Misconduct’s top 25 under 25: https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2021/9/3/22654644/2021-vancouver-canucks-top-25-under-25-23-dmitri-zlodeyev

#24 on Nucks Misconduct’s top 25 under 25: https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2021/9/2/22652010/2021-vancouver-canucks-top-25-under-25-24-jacob-truscott