More news from the U.S. World Junior Camp to start us off today.
News1130 spoke with U.S. Junior Team GM Jim Johansson, and got to the bottom of Cole Cassels' absence from the lineup at camp this week:
Hopefully he'll be well enough to participate in the Young Stars Tournament in Penticton next month, then the Canucks' training camp. Only a few weeks to go!
TSN's BarDown linked to an interesting Canucks video from prospects camp that I missed at the time, where Thatcher Demko is wearing a microphone during his time on the ice.
There's nothing too salacious in his chirps to the forwards trying to score on him, but it's interesting watching him work with Dan Cloutier on technique and positioning. Strange seeing Cloutier out of his goalie gear.
Though Demko is slated to undergo hip surgery at some point, it's not imminent.
Jason Botchford reported at the time of the draft that Demko will play through this season, and World Juniors, then re-evaluate next summer.
Who Wore it Best?
A curve ball from the good folks at Canucks.com, who have followed up their Brent Sopel selection at No. 3 with one of his contemporaries from the Original Orca era at No. 8
I'm fond of Donald Brashear but as you saw from yesterday's poll, I didn't even rank him in my top three No. 8s in team history.
Perhaps the Canucks were reluctant to make the list too '94-heavy, especially if it meant featuring sometime linemates Cliff Ronning and Greg Adams back-to-back. But that goal! How can they ignore that goal??
Here's what they had to say about Brashear:
You mess the Canucks, you mess with Donald Brashear. That’s the way it was from 1996 to 2002 and the big guy accumulated 1,159 penalty minutes ragdolling the NHL. But perhaps the most terrifying thing about Brashear was that time we saw him in Gastown during the 1997 All-Star break when he was driving his Hummer to the beats of "Break my Stride" by Ace of Base. Terrifying.
I guess that's the thing—I used to see Brashear around town a lot during his days with the Canucks. I know there have been stories about bar fights and such in other locations, but here in Vancouver I saw a polite, soft-spoken guy who was the antithesis of his on-ice image.
My most dramatic Brashear memory was from the game where he was knocked out by Marty McSorley's stick in February of 2000. That was terrifying, and somehow made worse by the fact that it happened to such a tough guy. It was a relief to see him make a full recovery from that moment.
One other side note: that remake of "Break My Stride" from the late '90s was by a one-hit wonder called Unique II, not Ace of Base. I still have it in my DJ collection.
Now, on to the nominees at No. 9:
Remember, the Canucks are not allowing any current players in the voting, so that saves us from debating the worthiness of Cody Hodgson.
My vote here definitely goes to Tony Tanti, the Canucks' first real sniper.
Drafted 12th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1981, Tanti was traded to the Canucks for Curt Fraser in January of 1983. The next season, as a 20-year-old, Tanti exploded for a career-high 45 goals, then went on to score 39 or more for the next four consecutive seasons.
He played for Vancouver from 1983 to January of 1990—a pretty dark time for the team—but scored plenty of goals along the way. When his scoring dropped off, he was traded to Pittsburgh with Barry Pederson and Rod Buskas for Dave Capuano, Andrew McBain and Dan Quinn. Tanti never regained his form, and moved on to play in Europe at age 28.
Tanti still lives in Vancouver and makes occasional appearances in the alumni box at Canucks games.
Tanti's stat line with Vancouver: 250 goals and 470 points in 531 career games.
Other worthy competitors at No. 9:
Russ Courtnall. Another B.C. boy—born in Victoria—who had 39 goals and 111 points in 141 career games. Russ joined his brother Geoff in Vancouver at the 1995 trade deadline in exchange for Greg Adams, and played two seasons before being sent to the New York Rangers, along with Esa Tikkanen, for Sergei Nemchinov and Brian Noonan.
Though the Canucks were on a downswing during Russ's time in Vancouver, I remember his impressive speed and soft hands.
Don Lever. Drafted third overall in 1972, Lever played eight productive seasons with the Canucks in the 1970s, recording 186 goals and 407 points in 593 games. A left-winger who could play in all situations, Lever had six 20-goal seasons in Vancouver and was team captain for two seasons.
Honourable mentions: Ivan Boldirev, Harold Druken, Brad May, Taylor Pyatt, Dale Tallon, Ryan Walter
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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