Let's start today with NHL.com's new highlight video of the Vancouver Canucks' 2013-14 season. It's nice to remember that there were some fun moments along the way, though a few of these now seem rather bittersweet:
Canucks Sign Jared McCann
Looking towards the future, the Canucks inked the first of their 2014 draft picks on Thursday, as 24th overall pick Jared McCann was signed to an entry-level deal.
McCann was acquired with the pick that the Canucks obtained from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Ryan Kesler, and could be looking to fill a similar role once his game develops.
McCann left an awkward first impression at the draft when he told James Duthie "it is what it is" when asked how it felt to be a Vancouver Canuck—sounding more like Todd Bertuzzi than like Kesler.
McCann
was 16th in TSN's final draft rankings and almost universally projected as a top-20 pick, so his bad attitude may simply have come from being chosen at No. 24. Or, because he prides himself on his bad attitude.
Since that day, McCann has generated a good degree of excitement by talking about his aggressive style, as Jason Botchford
explains in The Province:
The Canucks love his shot and his edge, which he colourfully detailed at Vancouver’s recent prospects camp, telling reporters how much he adored cross-checking kids in the face when he played lacrosse.
“Everyone loved it,” McCann said of his quote, not backing off.
“I don’t want to be pushed around. If someone is going to stick me, I’m going to give it back.
“I’ve always had a spur in my game. I’m not afraid to do what it takes. It’s the type of game I play and that’s what I’m good at.”
Thanks to Bakwas in yesterday's comments for the link
to this story on McCann from man of the hour Tyler Dubas—new Toronto assistant general manager and formerly McCann's G.M. with the Soo Greyhounds.
Lots of analytics-related material here, but here's Dubas's broad assessment:
If Jared can maximize his potential he’s a top 2 line NHL Centre. A lot of him reaching his potential has to do with his physical maturation. He’s a guy who is essentially NHL average height but 30 pounds below average weight. When I watch Jared play I am reminded a lot of Ryan O’Reilly and Logan Couture. I’m most comfortable comparing to O’Reilly and Couture because I also watched them before Major Junior, throughout their career in the OHL and then into the NHL.
Listed at 179 pounds in the TSN rankings, McCann definitely has some growing still to do. Dubas makes it clear that McCann is good right now for a 17-year-old but needs to work on his game before he'll be ready to contribute at an NHL level.
Words from the "Russian Bear"
A nice find from Alessando Seren Rosso of The Hockey Writers, who posted a translated version of an interview with Nikita Tryamkin that first appeared in Russian, talking about his experiences here in North America at the NHL draft and Canucks' prospects evaluation camp.
Click here to take a look.
Some highlights—How Tryamkin described the camp:
I was there for 8 days. We did some cross country, went at the river, had some tests. They also explained us how to practice in the gym, how to eat. Then in Vancouver they tried to give us something from the team’s spirit. They split us in five teams, we cooked together, we prepared a buffet, then they got us in a competition where we had to climb up to 2000 meters.
On developing his English skills, and what he expects over the next two years of his KHL contract.
You need to know English language anyway, not only to play in the NHL. Of course I think about playing there, but I still have two years of contract with Avtomobilist. I don’t look thus far yet. I even told the Canucks’ GM that I can’t promise him that I’ll become a world champion. I could become a national team level player in one season, or I can also become an average player. Of course, I’ll work hard on myself, but I need also to judge things fairly. More concretely, we can talk more about this in a couple of years.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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