The Vancouver Canucks' bye-week break is reaching its conclusion, so players are starting to land back in Vancouver, ready to prepare for a stretch run that begins with a daunting four-in-six road trip that kicks off Saturday against Colorado.
After his All-Star Weekend in San Jose, Elias Pettersson is taking it easy, enjoying the sights here in sunny Vancouver.
Car nut Nikolay Goldobin has now joined Petey as a spokesperson for Capilano Audi.
And on #BellLetsTalk day, it's interesting to read that Canucks' goaltending prospect Mikey DiPietro has made the decision to delete his social media accounts in an effort to cut down on the noise after his disappointing quarterfinal defeat at the World Junior Championship.
Overall, DiPietro is glass-half-full when talking about the World Juniors.
"It was a great experience. I was really happy with my performance and really proud of how I kind of handled the pressure,â he told Dhiren Mahiban.
But he admits that the loss to Finland has stayed with him.
âI donât stop thinking about it. Itâll pop up at random times,â DiPietro said. âItâs definitely still in my mind. You know when a series of events happens like that, itâs definitely hard to move on and really find the positives.â
Overall, DiPietro still has the third-best goals-against average in the OHL this season at 2.56, to go along with his 15-10-1 record. He lost his first two games before winning three straight since returning to the Ottawa 67s after the World Junior tournament, although his last start was a rather unconventional 9-6 win over Oshawa on January 25.
With any luck, DiPietro's dramatic World Junior experience will make him even more mentally resilient. He turns 20 in June, so he should be ready to start his pro career with the Utica Comets next fall.
Also on the goalie frontâI haven't had a chance to listen to this yet, but I just subscribed to the new InGoal Radio podcast so I can check out the latest episode, where local goalie guru Kevin Woodley interviews Thatcher Demko.
Finally, the latest edition of Elliotte Friedman's
31 Thoughts has just posted. Just one Canucks tidbitâand it's no surprise at all.
26. Vancouver fans cannot get enough Elias Pettersson footage. His highlights are consumed more than the rest of his teammatesâ combined.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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