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Quinn Hughes, Jack Rathbone, Jett Woo to headline Canucks Summer Showcase |
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The big day is here!
The Vancouver Canucks' prospects will hit the ice tonight at 6:30 p.m. for their Summer Showcase game. My understanding is that the tickets for Rogers Arena are sold out. If you didn't grab yours in time, you can tune into the livestream tonight.
I'll be there—looking forward to getting a feel for the skill sets of this year's draft picks in particular, and seeing how the class of 2017 has progressed.
One player who isn't expected to be on the ice tonight is 2017 second-rounder Jonah Gadjovich, who is still recovering from a wrist injury he suffered during the OHL playoffs.
Good on him for coming to camp this week and doing what he can in spite of the injury.
"I’m not shooting, but I can still handle the puck," he told Ben Kuzma. "I’m about 85 to 90 per cent and almost there and talking to the guys, we’re not going to push it and have a setback. The strength is there but we’ve got to make sure we do it right, and I’ll be 100 per cent by (main) camp."
We saw what Gadjovich can do at World Juniors last year. Kuzma likens his playing style to that of David Backes, which would be a dream scenario for the Canucks if it pans out. Gadjovich told Kuzma that he's working with a power skating coach in Toronto this summer to help fuel the agility that he'll need to keep pace with smaller players in today's speed-and-skill game. He also points to Washington Capitals players like Tom Wilson and Devante Smith-Pelly to prove that the big man's game still has a place in the NHL.
“Those are big bodies who bang and create space for their linemates,” said Gadjovich. “They go to the net and get the job done, and that’s something I want to do. A guy who’s 5-foot-9 and 185 or 190 pounds can move out there, but for a guy who’s 205 and 6-foot-2, it’s difficult to have that lateral change of direction and to play at that pace, because you’re carrying extra weight and the size.
“That hasn’t changed my process. I’m a bigger body and that’s not going to change. You see a lot of smaller guys who can shake things up and create space for themselves, but if a bigger guy can do that, that’s just as good or better.”
Gadjovich's goal is to be 100 percent for training camp, then start his season in Utica. As promising as he is, he's the kind of player who won't need to be rushed to the NHL.
Elsewhere, Jeff Paterson has a good piece on Jack Rathbone, who starts his NCAA career at Harvard this fall.
Rathbone is cut from similar cloth to Quinn Hughes, so current NHL trends really suit his game.
“My game is all transition. You definitely still need those guys to pair up with me whether it’s a pretty big guy who can handle his own. But the way the game is transitioning is all about D jumping in and being the fourth forward, I think that really suits my game and I’m really happy with the way the game is trending.”
I'm looking forward to the opportunity to compare him with Hughes head-to-head tonight.
Assuming he has bounced back from his flu earlier in the week, I'm hoping Hughes stands out tonight the way Elias Pettersson and Adam Gaudette did last year.
Yes, it's just a glorified scrimmage but in Quinn's case, this game could mean a lot in terms of the decision whether or not to make space for him on the main roster next season.
“We’re talking to our coaches, talking to (representative) Pat Brisson, and we want to figure out what’s the best thing for Quinn in his long-term development,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning told Kuzma on Wednesday. “We know he’s going to be a special player for us for a long time. We also have to do what’s right in his development.”
Sounds like Hughes is well aware of the fact that the Canucks currently have seven defensemen on one-way contracts, plus Troy Stecher set to file for arbitration on Thursday. And that's not factoring in Olli Juolevi.
“They have a plan here and I have to respect that,” said Hughes. “I wouldn’t mind going back to Michigan, if they didn’t know where I fit in. But I’m a pretty confident kid and confident in my abilities. I want to believe I can play in the NHL, but it’s a really hard league.
“Playing at college again wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
It sounds to me like Hughes wants to make the jump ASAP, but is being prepared for the possibility that he might be better off being patient. Though it seems like a decision is imminent, the Canucks could take one more look at him at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Kamloops at the end of the month before he makes a final decision on whether to commit to another year at Michigan or to turn pro.
If the Canucks do decide they want to give him a shot, I'm sure they could make room on the blue line.
As expected, Hockey Canada announced its roster for Kamloops on Wednesday.
Canucks prospects Michael DiPietro and Jett Woo have been named to the roster.
Canada's coach, Tim Hunter, raved about Woo, who he coaches in Moose Jaw of the WHL, to Iain MacIntyre on Wednesday.
"He has that old-school rock ’em, sock ’em where he’s not afraid to lean into somebody," said Hunter, who was a rock 'em sock 'em guy himself back in his playing days. "You don’t see a lot of big hits anymore and he’s willing to do that. And he’s not intimidated if guys want to make him accountable. We had a game in Spokane where he ran over a guy and their supposed tough guy came out and gave him a bit of an ear lashing. And the next shift Jett ran him over, too."
I hope we won't see Woo throwing bodychecks on his future teammates tonight, but I am intrigued to see how his physical style translates in a game setting.