Though the Vancouver Canucks have two more days before they start their 2014-15 preseason, the action around the NHL gets underway today. In the Pacific Division, Edmonton and Calgary will play split-squad games tonight, with 5:00 starts for both games.
As we get closer to game action, Vantel made an assertion in yesterday's thread that I enthusiastically support:
We need to make a pact , that no matter how well or how bad the Canucks do in pre-season , that we remember it is only pre-season. Just remember a few years back Oilers went 6-0 in the exhibition round and ended up dead last .
Preseason is still more of a tool for assessment than for results!
I've been listening to TSN 1040 quite a bit over the past couple of days. They've been live on location from Whistler and are offering up a pretty good lay of the land.
Yesterday afternoon, they ran a long interview segment with Willie Desjardins. Truly Mr. Positivity, when asked about nearly every person on the roster he'd say "He's a good player" or "He's a real good player."
Not included in the video: the Sedins were called "exceptional players." And while Desjardins complimented some of Tom Sestito's on-ice moves from Saturday's practice, he called Sestito "a good guy."
This morning, Sekeres, Price and Paterson pooh-poohed the idea that there might not be a place on this roster for Tom Sestito, citing the need for an enforcer in the rough, tough Western Conference, especially right off the hop at the season-opener in Calgary.
This is something I'll be watching. I think Derek Dorsett is a more useful all-round player who can drop the gloves when needed, even if he's not a heavyweight like Sestito. If the team carries three goalies, roster spots for forwards will be at a premium: I tend to think Desjardins will be looking to use players who can put together a more complete game.
I expect we'll hear a little more about the three-goalie situation after today's scrimmage. Ryan Miller, Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom are all in action for the main session today at Meadow Park Sports Centre, where it's standing-room only:
Among the skaters, the scrimmage features bottom-six NHLers and prospects. Earlier this morning, the team's top players were on the ice for a session where they concentrated on special teams. Zack Kassian fans should be happy to hear that the big guy is being treated as part of that top six and power-play group—hangin' with the big boys.
Also of note from that special teams lineup: Yannick Weber on the right point of the first power play unit, working with Alex Edler. Looks like he'll get a chance to show what he can do with his big slap shot.
Kevin Bieksa did a radio hit this morning after their session where he mentioned that the Canucks won 72 percent of their games last year when they won the special-teams battle. It just didn't happen nearly often enough!
An improved power play likely goes hand-in-hand with a resurgence for the Sedins. I'm surprised to see that the Canucks actually ranked ninth in penalty-killing last year—that's not bad at all. But they were 26th on the power play: that's the number that needs to get better if the team hopes to move up the standings.
There was also some talk yesterday from one of the players—Brad Richardson, perhaps?—about how Willie is really emphasizing the need for a fast start at the beginning of the season. The Canucks (and Roberto Luongo) were notoriously slow starters during the Alain Vigneault era. I think Desjardins is taking the right approach in trying to build his lines and systems as early as possible, so the team will be prepared when it's time to play for points on October 8.
The Canucks have a surprisingly sparse schedule to open their season: they play Wednesday and Saturday during the first week, then have five days off before back-to-back games on the following Friday and Saturday. The lack of game action will automatically put them at a disadvantage in terms of their position in the conference; they'll need to make the most of their early opportunities to accumulate points.
There's no play-by-play for today's scrimmage, but here are your goal-scorers after one period:
Apparently Hunter Shinkaruk set up J.T. Wyman for his goal with a highly-skilled dangle. And there's Curtis Valk again—still with a nose for the net!
Just one goal in the second and final period:
We also have our first potential training camp injury:
I'll leave it there for now and have more news from Whistler for you tomorrow.
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