The first game of the Vancouver Canucks' YoungStars tournament goes tonight at 7:30.
All games will be available on the livestream at Canucks.com, and tonight's game will also be broadcast on TSN Radio 1410. I'll be checking out the radio feed to see if new voice Jon Abbott is calling the action.
Elliott Pap lays out the top two lines for Vancouver:
Line rushes from young stars morning skate: Horvat-Shinkaruk-Fox; Gaunce-Jensen-Vancouver Giant tryout candidate Matt Bellerive. #Canucks
— Elliott Pap (@ElliottPap) September 12, 2014The Canucks' prospect depth has taken a hit this week with the announcement that both Jared McCann and Cole Cassels are sidelined with mono.
Cassels was stricken during Vancouver's prospect development camp in July and is still not quite healthy. He's in camp and is skating but has not yet been cleared for contact, according to this story from Elliott Pap, written after Thursday's practise.
McCann's situation came as a surprise.
"Jared was in Sault Ste. Marie at their camp and the last few days he felt weak,… explained Canuck GM Jim Benning. “We got some testing done out east but before they got the results, he jumped on the plane and flew out here. So we had our doctor take a look at him yesterday and diagnosed it. It is kind of disappointing."
McCann has been sent back to the Soo for rest and recovery. As Cassels' situation illustrates, mono's not something that goes away quickly, so this could be a significant setback for the feisty first-rounder.
For his part, Cassels will get an ultrasound next week to determine whether he's ready for contact, so he could still have a chance to participate in the Canucks' full training camp.
I’m wearing a special chest protector when I’m on the ice right now because I don’t want to get cross-checked in the spleen. So that’s why I’m not allowed to play in any games. But I’m right on the borderline of being cleared, that’s what they’re telling me. It will be difficult to sit out and watch the games here but right now it’s better to be safe than sorry. That’s the way life goes sometimes.
Cassels said he lost about 15 pounds while he was ill, so it's hard to imagine that he'll be at his best when he gets on the ice. If there's any silver lining, it's that Cassels is a month younger than Bo Horvat—not AHL-eligible at age 19. He was almost certainly destined to head back to Oshawa no matter how he performed in these camps.
Jake Virtanen, of course, is the other top prospect who's sidelined. He won't be able to play in games but is skating in Penticton and on track to get rolling by mid-October.
Pap reports that Virtanen bag-skated himself on Thursday afternoon and is feeling good.
There isn’t any pain in the shoulder. It feels really normal actually. I had that fear when I had the surgery that it was going to feel different but it feels really good. I’m really happy with my progress so far.
If you're interested in following the other rookie camps around the league, you can do so here, on the NHL's prospects blog.
Naturally enough, the Canucks' flagship radio station is loaded with hockey talk today, including this interview with Jordan Subban:
If you missed Canucks blueliner @jordansubban today on #TSN1040, you can hear him here: http://t.co/h2SN7y7HfB
— TSN Radio Vancouver (@TSN1040) September 12, 2014To conclude today, here's a piece from Anaheim Ducks' beat writer Eric Stephens on former Duck and new Canuck Luca Sbisa. Sbisa's a versatile player who sounds happy to be coming to Vancouver and excited to be making a fresh start, but Stephens doesn't shy away from pointing out the flaws in the big defenseman's game to date—most notably, consistency.
Here's hoping that the new environment and the sure coaching hand of Willie Desjardins will mould Sbisa into a solid top-six blueliner. He'll be in tough to crack the top four with Bieksa, Hamhuis, Edler, Tanev and possibly Ryan Stanton ahead of him.
We can't put too much stock in the results of tonight's game, but it'll be great to have some on-ice action to dissect after all these months. It's been a long summer—drop the puck!