Saturday September 30 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet, Sportsnet 650
Roster spots are on the line as the Vancouver Canucks wrap up their preseason by hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks made some moves on Friday, but still have decisions to make before Tuesday's deadline.
First off, let's review what has already happened:
• Forward Nikolay Goldobin and defenseman Philip Holm have been assigned to Utica. Both players are waiver exempt.
• Forward Scottie Upshall was released from his PTO. He's skating with the St. Louis Blues today and is expected to return to his previous team
The Blues are bringing @ScottieUpshall to St. Louis today to meet with GM Doug Armstrong and Head Coach Mike Yeo. #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 30, 2017
• Defenseman Olli Juolevi has been cut from the roster, but his landing spot is still to be determined. From Juolevi's agent:
Lehto on Juolevi : "He's not happy getting cut but he's a kid. He will play somewhere and be ready next year." #Canucks
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) September 29, 2017
Bob McKenzie offers some insight into just how complex Juolevi's situation is:
But because Juolevi was drafted by LDN in CHL import draft, it's possible CHL-NHL agreement could be superseded by int'l transfer rules.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 30, 2017
That is, int'l transfers to CHL must be renewed annually. So door may be potentially open for a player like Juolevi to play in FIN.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 30, 2017
But it's all quite complicated. So many interested parties/rules: player/agent; VAN; NHL; LDN; CHL; Finnish federation/club team.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 30, 2017
One thing we do know—as a 19-year-old, Juolevi is not eligible for AHL play this year.
• Forward Anton Rodin has been placed on waivers. If he clears, he'll be assigned to Utica. It's expected it'll take about a week for his U.S. work visa to come through; in the meantime, he'll skate with the UBC Thunderbirds here in Vancouver.
Here's the list of the other players who are also on waivers today.
On waivers today.
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) September 30, 2017
Anton Rodin waived by Canucks, plus Daniel Carr and Peter Holland by Habs, as reported by @reporterchris pic.twitter.com/h6B3TdJm4E
Through the entire week of waiver activity so far, the only player who has been claimed was Jordan Nolan, who moves from the Los Angeles Kings to the Buffalo Sabres.
After a strong outing from his partner Anders Nilsson on Thursday, Jacob Markstrom is expected to get the start and play the entire game tonight against the Oilers. It's strange that Richard Bachman is still here—I guess the team has some sort of strategy in mind about when to slide him through to Utica.
The Comets will play their first of two back-to-back preseason games against Syracuse today.
Here's a look at the Canucks' morning skate. Lots of bodies.
Morning skate underway for @Canucks. All healthy players on the ice. No Baerstchi. Horvat, Gaunce & White were on the ice earlier. pic.twitter.com/m5u3K3Tdli
— Joey Kenward (@kenwardskorner) September 30, 2017
Jim Benning said on Friday that Horvat is expected to be ready to play on opening night.
Not surprisingly, it looks like Jake Virtanen will get another good look tonight. He has played in every preseason game—except the ones in China, of course.
#Canucks lines versus Oilers: 22-33-26/21-60-6/89-42-18/49-20-15.
— Ben Kuzma (@benkuzma) September 30, 2017
Looks like Chaput and Megna will sit. I would not be surprised to see Archibald-Sutter-Dorsett start the season as a unit, especially if they have a strong game tonight.
My guess is that the top three D pairs from this list will play. That's bad news for Andrey Pedan, whose audition period looks like it's over.
D-pairs for #Canucks
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) September 30, 2017
27-44
23-51
90-55
29-8
4
Not much detail on the Oilers lines for tonight, but we do have this:
Looks like Oilers bringing the heat tonight! Maroon-McD-Drai, Lucic-Nuge-Yamamoto!
— Karen Surman (@karen_surman) September 30, 2017
Yamamoto was a Canuck-killer in last week's 6-2 loss in Edmonton. Canucks fans will get their first chance to see what he can do in person.
With that first line of McDavid, Maroon and Draisaitl also in action, tonight's game will be a big test for the Canucks—especially the bubble players.
The game is televised nationally on Sportsnet. Enjoy!