Vancouver Canucks: Troy Stecher, Michael Garteig Make Returns to Penticton (canucks)

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Vancouver Canucks: Troy Stecher, Michael Garteig Make Returns to Penticton

By Carol Schram

Sep 15, 2016 • 1:56 pm

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Let's start with a few highlights from Canucks players from the final day of World Cup of Hockey pre-tournament action.

Daniel Sedin picked up his first goal of the tournament in Sweden's 6-2 loss to Team Europe, on the power play. He's the player who moves into the high slot to take the shot off a pass from Erik Karlsson, while Loui Eriksson lurks near the net.

Jacob Markstrom was also perfect in 10:47 of action, but he faced just one shot. The bad news is that Markstrom came in after Team Europe went up 5-2. It wasn't a banner performance by any stretch for Henrik Lundqvist, who gave up a couple of softies.

He did, however, stone Jannik Hansen on a penalty shot. I can't find a GIF of the penalty shot itself, which Hansen shot right into Lundqvist's pads, but here's the shorthanded play where he earned it.

After playing in Team Europe's two losses to Team North America, Luca Sbisa was scratched against the Swedes.

At the end of pre-tournament play, it looks like anybody's tournament. No team won all three of its games, and no team lost 'em all, either. With just a three-game round robin to determine which two teams in each group advance to the semifinal, stakes will be high for every game, with no easy wins for anybody.

Tournament action in Toronto kicks off on Saturday with Team USA facing Team Europe at 12:30 p.m. PT, then Canada vs. Czech Republic at 5:00.

So—with the big boys taking some time off before their next games, we can turn our relatively undivided attention to the Young Stars, who get started today in Penticton. What better way to get in the mood than with this #TBT from last year?

I wonder if Connor had a flashback to Virtanen when he took this hit from Roman Polak yesterday, then had his honour defended by Auston Matthews?

Young Stars practices start today and are open to the public. The Canucks will hit the ice at 2 p.m. today and at 10:30 a.m. on Friday morning ahead of their first game—Friday night at 7:30 against Edmonton.

This tournament is a homecoming for two Canucks prospects, defenseman Troy Stecher and goaltender Michael Garteig. Both did time with the BCHL's Penticton Vees before heading off to college and were part of the 2012 team that won the RBC Cup as Canada's top Junior A team.

Stecher was named top defenseman in that tournament, the only member of the Vees to win an individual honour. Garteig tended goal for all six games in the tournament, going 4-2 and giving up 10 goals with a .933 save percentage, but was beaten out by Soo Thunderbirds' netminder John Kleinhans and his .938 save percentage for top goalie honours in the tournament.

Garteig played just one year in Penticton before heading to Quinnipiac. Stecher was in the Okanagan for three seasons, from 2010-11 to 2012-13. All told, he played 159 games and put up 18 goals and 109 points.

If you missed it earlier in the week, Stecher told TSN1040 that he's going to do everything he can to crack the Canucks' lineup:

Stecher's 22. Olli Juolevi's 18. They both want the same thing this weekend.

And then there's Jordan Subban:

Should be very competitive on the blue line once this tournament gets rolling!

I'll wrap up today with the latest news on the efforts to streamline NHL goalie equipment.

This is a story we'll need to keep watching as it develops...

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