First off today—Happy Father's Day to all you dads!
There's plenty happening in the world of sports, including a confounding U.S. Open just down the I-5 at Chambers Bay near Seattle. I've covered a big chunk of it—Jason Day's recovery yesterday to grab a share of the lead after being knocked down by vertigo symptoms on his last hole of Round 2 is one of the most inspiring sports moments I've seen in a long time. That's hockey player toughness!
Canucks.com has posted a fuzzy Father's Day video today, talking to the dads about the advice they've given to their hockey-playing sons. Eddie Lack's dad gets the last spot—complete with a cameo from goaltending coach Rollie Melanson. Should we read anything into that, as far as Lack's future with the team?
Ben Kuzma has another story with father-son connotations in today's issue of
The Province.
Click here to read about North Vancouver's Todd Harkins, whose son Jansen could be a first-round selection in next week's draft.
Todd was a second-rounder himself—taken 42nd overall by the Calgary Flames when they were an NHL powerhouse in 1988. But Todd played just 48 games in his NHL career. As Kuzma points out, he's better-known around these parts for portraying Soviet forward Valeri Kharmalov in the Vancouver-shot feature film "Miracle," which chronicled the story of the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. men's hockey team.
TSN's Bob McKenzie has Jansen Harkins
ranked 30th overall, while Craig Button lists him at 23. That means he could be a potential target for the Canucks at No. 23, depending on their own scouting rankings.
The 6'1", 180 pound center has spent the last three seasons playing for the Prince George Cougars, where Todd took over as general manager last season. There's a Canuck connection, of course—Dan Hamhuis is a part-owner of that team.
Kuzma's story spotlights the positive influence that Jansen has received from his older brother Nicklas, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder.
"He loves the game probably more than anybody in my family because of the sacrifices he’s had to make to still be around,” says Jansen. “He’s a good driving force of determination and work ethic and I don’t look at him any differently when people ask me about him. Obviously, it’s tough for him to do some stuff with his energy and being sore, but he takes it really well.
“I’m lucky to have him as my brother.”
Jansen Harkins was born in Cleveland but raised in North Vancouver, where his dad served as director of hockey operations for the North Shore Winter Club for 11 years. Soon, he'll be the one to step into the hockey spotlight.
To wrap up today, if you missed it, Elliotte Friedman has posted a new edition of his 30 Thoughts.
Click here to read.
Two things of note here.
First—this comment on the Canucks:
The Canucks are surrounded by teams that are a fit for Eddie Lack, in particular. He’d be useful for Calgary, Edmonton or San Jose but would Jim Benning want to help any of them? I doubt it. I’ve referenced it before, but hours prior to Cory Schneider’s trade to New Jersey, the Canucks and Oilers talked about it, with Vancouver wanting a first-rounder, a second-rounder and Martin Marincin. A team in their division was going to pay a higher price than the Devils. Different regime now, but can’t imagine the philosophy easing at all.
As a number of you pointed out in the comments on yesterday's blog, the "different regime" doesn't seem gun-shy at all about making deals within the division. Jim Benning made a minor deal with the Oilers earlier in the season, swapping Kellan Lain for Will Acton, then he acquired Sven Baertschi from Calgary at the trade deadline. Benning also plucked Linden Vey from the Los Angeles Kings last summer.
Add in the fact that Benning has a longstanding relationship from Boston with now-Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli, and I think he'd be just as inclined to trade within the division as outside of it. Whatever makes the most sense for the team.
Friedman also mentions that it's not a slam-dunk that Devan Dubnyk will re-sign with the cap-strapped Minnesota Wild, even though a deal would make good sense for both sides. That's another goalie who could muddy the picture before the deals start to go down next week.
Finally, he points out with respect to the rumour that Kyle Okposo could be on the block with the New York Islanders—at this point, teams are most likely testing the waters to see if there's a deal available that might improve their team?
I'd say Okposo's the kind of player that the Canucks might be able to target in a couple of years, as the Sedins are wrapping up their current contracts. For the moment, it doesn't make sense to invest in an expensive top-line 27-year-old who's at the peak of his career. Benning and company have to keep looking at players who are younger.
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