The full roster of next week's YoungStars tournament has now been released, though it may be subject to change. Click here to take a look.
Since goaltender Thatcher Demko is off at Boston College, the Canucks have brought in two unsigned—and fantastically named—netminders to assume the duties in net. Looking forward to seeing undrafted WHLers Austin Lotz and Jackson Whistle in action.
The "Big Russian Bear" Nikita Tryamkin won't be on hand, as he has started his KHL season with Yekaterinburg Automobilist, and of course Jake Virtanen will be on the sidelines as he continues to rehab his shoulder after surgery. But there will be plenty of other players to watch.
Nicklas Jensen and Frank Corrado have been around the block—they should be dominant players in this tournament. We'll also get a look at first-rounders Brendan Gaunce, Bo Horvat and Hunter Shinkaruk, who should dazzle here if they're to have much hope of impressing at the main training camp.
I'm curious to see if Dane Fox will show his scoring touch, how Cole Cassels looks after his bout with mono this summer and whether we'll see some snarl in the game of Jared McCann.
On the blue line, I'm hopeful that we'll see a steady, physical presence from Anton Cederholm and some shifty creativity from Jordan Subban.
Nick Bonino—Good Citizen, Good Centre?
With most of the Canucks now in town and skating informally at Britannia ice rink in East Vancouver, we're finally starting to get some new interviews and information on the revamped 2014-15 team.
My favourite story from Thursday was this piece from Jason Botchford in The Province, talking about how Nick Bonino and Ryan Miller helped a driver in distress fix her flat tire near Commercial Drive on Wednesday.
As Botchford puts it, "You’re now free to speculate all you want if Kesler would have done the same. Don’t worry, it’s not the first time these two will be unfairly compared this season."
For his part, Kevin Bieksa chirped Kesler pretty successfully on Twitter earlier in the week:
Why didn't you tell me @Ryan_Kesler you were in town?? Brought your gear too I see. #hotcorner pic.twitter.com/XGmZyywDrd
— Kevin Bieksa (@kbieksa3) September 1, 2014With Kesler giving it right back, it'll be interesting to see how these two handle each other as opponents when the Ducks visit Vancouver for the first time on November 20.
Ha @kbieksa3 #quackquack #mightyducks #waitingforkb3 can't wait to light you up again just like the college days #stillfriends?
— Ryan Kesler (@Ryan_Kesler) September 1, 2014Because Kesler left Vancouver on such bad terms, Botchford suggests that fans will be inclined to give Bonino plenty of opportunity to prove that he can effectively fill that second-line role at centre.
Despite all the talk of the sheltered minutes that he played in Anaheim, he has stood out to me when the Canucks have played the Ducks for the past couple of seasons. I'm reasonably optimistic about what Bonino will deliver. It's nice to hear that he seems like a good guy both on and off the ice.
Quick Hits:
A few other tidbits as our last hockey-free week of summer comes to a close:
• Though the odds are stacked against him, Jacob Markstrom is coming into training camp with a positive attitude, according to Botchford.
We know the Canucks can't carry three goalies, so Markstrom will likely be traded or sent down to Utica. I thought this tidbit was interesting—that the decision not to play Markstrom down the stretch last season is being attributed to John Tortorella, not Rollie Melanson:
Tortorella was urged by people in the organization to play Markstrom, but instead started Lack until his body began to break down, mismanaging both goalies, and possibly changing history.Who knows if the team would have decided goaltending was this top priority in free agency if Lack was spelled regularly and put up better numbers.
• Despite the strong preference for western players and Canucks alumni as part of the new regime, Dave Babych was relieved of his duties with the team back in July, The Province reported yesterday. Babych, of course, played with Trevor Linden on the Canucks during the early '90s. He's been working with Vancouver's defensive prospects since 2009.
• It's official. The Moore/Bertuzzi lawsuit has now been settled. Moore issued his statement on Thursday and his lawyer, Tim Danson, confirmed that his client hadn't commented sooner because all the legal details had yet to be completed.
Though we'll never learn the terms of the settlement, I'm sure it's a relief for all parties, including the Canucks and the NHL, that this case won't be heard in a public courtroom.