Follow me on Twitter for random hockey talk, question and answer sessions, and the odd witty tweet




The Chicago Wolves get their training camp opened up today. He are my brief thoughts on five of the players I will be tracking closely.


Alexandre Mallet
No a whole lot was known about Mallet when he was drafted and he still remains a bit of a mystery to a lot of fans. Some people question why he was picked so early. And some people will tell you he is going to be one hell of a player, who just happened to bloom a bit late. My opinion of him is, I like what I've heard, and now I want to see how his skills translate to the AHL game. Hopefully, down the road, he plays a similar role to the way Cal Clutterbuck plays in Minnesota.


Alex Friesen
I've seen a bit of Alex Friesen here and there through his OHL career and every time I watch him I just can't help but love how he plays. I know he is a little under-sized, but if there is one play who will overcome the "he's a bit small" way of thinking its Friesen. In five years of junior hockey, he was an elite shut-down guy, who can score a bit. I'm looking forward to seeing if he can carry that forward to the Pro game.

Also, if they ever get around to playing NHL hockey this year, don't count Friesen out for a bottom 6 role.


Peter Andersson
When Vancouver selected him in 2009, he was billed as a project that had all the right tools to be a very good player. Well, so far that project seems to have stalled a bit. After a solid 09/10 season that saw him play well in the SEL and play for Sweden in the WJHC, Andersson, hasn't really wowed anyone. It's not that he has played poorly, but more, he just doesn't appear to be moving forward. I'll be watching Andersson this camp/season in Chicago to try and figure out where he fits in the organization.


Darren Archibald
Last season was a bit of a letdown for Archibald. He was billed coming in as a budding power-forward, and after 20 rough games where he never really played he ended up in the ECHL. A new coaching staff will mean a new start for the big man. Unlike most fans who are hoping for Archibald to be the next great power-forward, I'm hoping this season Archibald evolves into a Matt Martin type of player. If the points come, great, but if he's not scoring, and he's hitting everything, I'll be a happy fan.


Anton Rodin
The player that I think will benefit the most this season because of the coaching change is Rodin. He found himself in and out of Mac T's doghouse last season and I think that hurt his development a little. I think we will see Scott Arniel trust him a bit more and give him a longer leash. I also think he will be better prepared for the AHL with this being his second year in the league. I'm not going to set a number on points for Rodin this year, but I expect he takes that next step and is one of the Wolves top-five players this season.


In other updates

-Nicklas Jensen leads all SEL U-20 players in scoring and goals, with 3 goals and 4 points, in 6 games.

-Pathrik Vesterholm has 3 points in 5 games for BIK Karlskoga of the Allsvenskan.

-Alex Grenier has 4 points in 6 games for EC Salzburg of the Austrian League.

-Henrik Tömmernes has 4 points in 7 games for Frölunda of the SEL.

-Frank Corrado has 4 assists in 3 games for the Sudbury Wolves

-Brendan Gaunce has 2 assists in 2 games for Belleville.



Another interesting note I saw the other day was that Frank Corrado was the only player that Vancouver asked to be released to join Canucks camp if it ever opens. I found that Interesting because I thought Gaunce would have been on that list as well. I'm guessing that means that Vancouver brass doesn't feel that Gaunce is close yet.


That's a wrap for today, but tune in tomorrow as we continue building the greatest team ever.

Ian


If you are interested in advertising your business to people in the Vancouver area or to hockey fans across North America, you can contact me by clicking the “CONTACT” button at the top of the page.

KINDLE USERS: Sign up for Canucks Buzz; a one-stop feed for all things Canucks-related on HockeyBuzz. Content is delivered instantly to your Kindle reader whenever a new Canucks-related blog is published. For more information click here.