We've got another week of hot, sunny weather ahead here in Vancouver, but it looks like there's enough hockey juice to keep us going for the time being.
To start, Adam Kimelman of NHL.com has a new story on Canucks' goalie prospect Thatcher Demko, from the USA Hockey national junior evaluation camp in Lake Placid.
Click here to read.
Demko could be the No. 1 goaltender for Team USA at the 2015 World Juniors, but he's off to a bit of a bumpy start at the evaluation camp. He's given up eight goals on 27 shots in parts of three games so far, but he's not too fussed about it. His summer camp didn't go well last season either, but it jump-started a great year of development.
"Last year I didn't have a great camp, but the biggest thing I learned was they don't pick guys right out of camp to go to the tournament," he said. "After this camp is done you have half a season to prove yourself. Regardless of how you perform at this camp, you really have to focus on that first half and make sure you play your best."
Mike Ayers is Demko's goalie coach at Boston College and is also the goalie coach for the national junior team. He's not worried.
"I think he's underachieved so far," Ayers said. "He knows that I'm his worst critic. But at the same time he holds himself to a higher standard. I think we'll see him get better and better as the week goes on. He's a competitor; he's a hard worker. The bumps he's had along the way here he'll relish and he'll fix."
It sounds like the World Juniors job will be Demko's to lose. If he can play to his potential this fall, it should be a lot of fun to watch him line up against the best in the world at Christmastime.
Who Wore It Best?
Canucks.com has started a fun summer feature, celebrating the best-ever Canucks to wear each jersey number across the spectrum.
Click here to check it out.
It looks like they'll be announcing one player per day, so we've seen the first five so far. Based on their criteria—no active players—I'm comfortable with most of their choices:
No. 1 - Kirk McLean - slam dunk
No. 2 - Matthias Ohlund - yep
No. 3 - Brent Sopel - this is a surprise
I'd argue that Doug Lidster's pretty deserving, even if he wasn't our new assistant coach. I think I'd also rank Bret Hedican ahead of Sopel. Worth noting: Pat Quinn wore No. 3 when he played for the Canucks.
No. 4 - Jim Benning - makes sense
A year ago, I'm sure Benning wouldn't even have warranted consideration, but things are different now. It's worthwhile to play up his long-ago playing days with the Canucks.
Barry Wilkins wore No. 4 and scored the Canucks' first-ever goal. Rick Lanz and Gerald Diduck were the best No. 4s of the 80s and 90s, respectively. The late Luc Bourdon also wore No. 4.
No. 5 - Garth Butcher - sure thing
I'd give an honourable mention to Dana Murzyn, and Sheldon Kannegiesser has one of the best names ever, but Butcher was a force during his time with the Canucks.
Even on his way out, Butcher was a star. In one of the best trades in Canucks history, Pat Quinn dealt Butcher and Dan Quinn to St. Louis on March 5, 1991 for Geoff Courtnall, Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso, Cliff Ronning and a fifth-round draft pick—another year that the Blues thought they were one piece of the puzzle away from the Stanley Cup. Those were Brett Hull's glory days, but they weren't.
The Butcher trade jump-started the Canucks' climb up the standings and eventually led to the trip to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final.
For the rest of the month, let's decide Who Wore It Best before the results are announced. I'll set up a daily poll of my top picks, and you can vote.
No. 6 brings up an interesting question: is Sami Salo retired?
James Mirtle says no:
Salo's not currently on an NHL roster, so I'd say he's up for consideration—and by far the strongest candidate at his number.
The best other options:
- Adrian Aucoin and his booming slapshot. In seven seasons with the Canucks from 1994-2001, Aucoin had 49 goals and 120 points in 341 games, and was a plus-11 during some pretty dark years in the history.
Aucoin played to age 39, finishing his career in Columbus in 2012-13 with 1108 games played, 121 goals and 399 points.
- Dennis Kearns was a steady defenseman who didn't break into the NHL until he was 26, but played his entire 677-game career with the Canucks. Kearns had 31 goals and 321 points over 10 seasons but was a scary minus-158 over the course of his career.
I'll flesh out the feature a bit more as we go forward, but for now:
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