They say we're not supposed to jump to conclusions from a prospects tournament. Usually with the Canucks, that has meant not worrying too much about top players who underperform.
Last year, I was decidedly *meh* about Brock Boeser's performance. The general feeling was that he played pretty well overall but after he'd shown his scoring chops in his nine-game trial with the Canucks the previous spring, I was definitely concerned that he didn't score in Penticton.
That feeling carried over to the regular season. I didn't light my hair on fire when Travis Green healthy-scratched Boeser for the first two games.
In the end, it all worked out. Boeser got in the lineup, got on the power play, got his 29 goals and brought some hope and respectability to the Canucks organization. That would have been hard to foresee as Young Stars wrapped up a year ago.
This year, I wonder if I need to pump the brakes on my newfound infatuation with Jonathan Dahlen? Because he was acquired by trade and because that bout of mono kept him out of Young Stars and training camp last year, this is really our first opportunity to see him up close—and boy, did he make an impression this weekend!
Dahlen scored twice in Sunday's 6-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets prospects, so he finished up the two-game Young Stars tournament tied for the scoring lead with his friend, countryman, and much more hyped-up prospect, Elias Pettersson. Both Swedes had three goals.
If you missed it, here are the highlights from Sunday's game:
The Canucks didn't dominate in Game 2 the way they did in their 8-2 victory on Friday. They were outshot by the Jets and needed two empty-net goals in the dying minutes to secure the victory, but I liked their commitment to bringing home the win.
The Petterson-Dahlen-Lind line got pinned in its own zone on two of the Winnipeg goals. It's not surprising that some work may need to be done at the defensive end of the ice, although Pettersson showed some good awareness in covering for his defense and looked enthusiastic on the backcheck. And while Pettersson and Dahlen both failed to convert on some Grade A scoring chances, they still contributed half of the Canucks' goals on Sunday.
I may have been most impressed with Dahlen in this mic'd up video, which was shot during Game 1 and broadcast between periods of Sunday's webcast. He's a lot more talkative and tuned in than I expected.
His best line comes when Lind asks if the next goal's his after his linemates have both lit the lamp.
"My turn to get one?"
Dahlen says "You're too nice. You keep passing the puck to us."
So much for the new Sedins! Apparently Pettersson and Dahlen are just the opposite—shooters in need of a sharp setup man. I can live with that.
The prospects stayed in Penticton on Sunday night, worked out Monday morning, and are now headed back to Vancouver. No official roster for training camp has been released yet, but we do have this:
#Canucks Player Development Dir. Ryan Johnson confirms all drafted/signed players, plus those on AHL deals who’ve been at #YoungStars will be @ main camp in Whistler. Also said Jett Woo had minor procedure this week in Vancouver. Returning to Moose Jaw & back skating in 2 weeks.
According to the Canucks website, on-ice training camp sessions at Whistler will run from Friday to Monday, Sept 14-17. I would assume that means that we'll have medical testing and meet-the-press with the veterans on Thursday, although no official announcement has been made.
While I'm busy not jumping to conclusions, I'm hoping that Dahlen can continue to impress through main camp and make a solid case to play on a line next to Pettersson when the regular season begins.
So far, I think Adam Gaudette is also off to a great start in his quest to grab a roster spot with the big club. With the logjam at forward, it's still more likely that he'll start the season in Utica until the inevitable injuries start taking their toll but I hope he makes that decision very difficult for the braintrust.
I always enjoy preseason. I love seeing the underdogs battle for jobs and, sometimes, the unveiling of diamonds in the rough. Last year, that diamond was the Vegas Golden Knights; it turned out we got a sneak preview of the year ahead when the expansion team shellacked the Canucks' not-in-China group by a score of 9-4 in its first-ever game. I'll always remember that.
My all-time favourite preseason memory dates back to 1996, when Pavel Bure scored that notorious skate-to-stick goal against the Boston Bruins.
The video is sharper here:
But the commentary is much better here. It's not like there were a bunch of no-names on the ice for Boston on that play!
I'll be interested to watch players like Lind, Jonah Gadjovich and Petrus Palmu during preseason this year, and to get a closer look at how defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Guillaume Brisebois are coming along but in my mind, the only other player who could make a case at cracking the opening-night roster would be defenseman Olli Juolevi.
Travis Green told Ed Willes that he likes the improvements that he saw in Juolevi's game in Penticton.
“I could hear from up top yelling for pucks and you could see he wanted the puck,” Green said. “I haven’t seen that from him in the past. He was decisive and he played harder. Those are all good signs for me.”
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