The wait is almost over.
The Vancouver Canucks have assembled 61 players for their 2015 training camp, which opens today at Meadow Park Sports Centre at Whistler.
Canucks.com has a link to the full roster as well as details on the training schedule and a few bits of trivia.
This is an interesting way of spinning the goalie situation:
Eddie Lack, Jakob Markstrom and Joacim Eriksson are all taking part in training camp, giving the Canucks three Swedish goaltenders competing for a spot in the Canucks net. There have only been 24 Swedish-born goaltenders in NHL history.
I'm going to assume writer Derek Jory isn't inferring that Lack could lose his job to Markstrom or Eriksson, but is simply focussing on the anomaly of having three Swedish goalies all at the same training camp. Right?
Ann Schmaltz from News1130 has a shot of the first group on the ice from earlier this morning:
Bo Horvat leads the first group on opening day of #Canucks training camp in Whistler. pic.twitter.com/i1mHR6oPpg
— Ann Schmaltz (@annschmaltz) September 19, 2014It sounds like Cole Cassels passed his medical testing yesterday:
#Canucks prospect Cole Cassels, who didn't play in Penticton due to recovery from mono, is out with first group this morning in Whistler.
— Cam Tucker (@CamTucker_Metro) September 19, 2014Earlier this week, Jim Benning was saying that he might extend a PTO to fill up roster spaces left open due to injury and illness.
That tryout offer went to right winger J.T. Wyman:
Benning says #Canucks bringing in winger JT Wyman on personal tryout contract. He's a right winger with 44 games of NHL experience.
— Brad Ziemer (@BradZiemer) September 17, 2014Wyman's best year in the NHL came when he played 40 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011-12. He spent all of last season with the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL.
As a couple of the guys pointed out at yesterday's presser, it's easy to be optimistic during the summer, but so far the Canucks look like they're on a smoother road than some of their competitors to start the season.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both sidelined with injuries to open camp for the Pittsburgh Penguins; Minnesota goalie Josh Harding is on the shelf after breaking his foot when kicking a wall; Phil Kessel has been accused of not taking direction from his coaches, then this morning, there's news that Claude Giroux has sustained a lower-body injury 15 minutes into his first practise with the Flyers.
Then, there's Teemu Selanne's new book and the subsequent fallout in Anaheim.
Puck Daddy brings us up to speed here, with translations from the Finnish by journalist Juha Hiitela, who works out of Vancouver during the NHL season.
As jovial as Selanne is, this material doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. It was pretty clear late last season that he was chafing at the prospect of being scratched in back-to-back games, then his son was fingered for posting a malicious anti-Boudreau tweet when Selanne was scratched during the playoffs.
Here's a story from back in April, outlining Eemil Selanne's anti-Boudreau sentiments.
I bring this up because I wonder if the fallout is going to cause some unexpected issues for crusty Ryan Kesler in his new home?
Selanne, Boudreau and captain Ryan Getzlaf all seem to be saying the right things to smooth the situation over, but over in Calgary, ex-Duck Jonas Hiller didn't hesitate to stir the pot in an interview with Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun.
"It didn’t end how I wanted there, and I didn’t feel I got his support there 100% at the end of the year," who also directly addressed Selanne's situation—and its impact on the team:
"Some of the older guys didn’t feel they got the respect they deserved, and I think that might cost you when it comes down to the wire, you rely on those experienced guys to put everything on the line," Hiller said."I don’t think he was too happy there all the time. I think he was hoping to get some more ice-time, especially on the powerplay. I think Bruce didn’t really give him that time and … he’d proven at the Olympics he was still one of the best at scoring goals. He told me at the end you can just be as good as your coach wants you to be."
It'll be interesting to see how good Boudreau wants Kesler to be.