Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Tuesday's Thoughts
by Jes
Let's start off with the Photo of the Day. Kevin Bieksa has Patrick Sharp in a very ... precarious position.
"Get up, you big baby!"
Get your captions in!
--
Wow, the Canucks BARELY managed to not get swept in the season series by the Los Angeles Kings. Of course, it took a 2-1 overtime win to give the Canucks one frickin victory against Marc Crawford's poorly coached squad.
I totally love the Alex Burrows/Ryan Kesler combo. Sure, we don't expect them to score every night, but we love the effort and defensive ability. I'd match up Kesler/Burrows to the other great checking duos, like the ones in Detroit, Anaheim, and New Jersey.
Markus Naslund should take notes on how to deliver an honest effort. Why is it the Canucks captain gets a free pass? Vigneault ought to make Naslund a healthy scratch to sink in a message.
---
Wayne's World - Some thoughts from our Southern-fried correspondant.
The Avalanche are playing the Thrashers tonight, and Thrasherw marketing has designated tonight as one of those "White Out" games where the first 10,000 in attendance get a white T-shirt.
Ooooooooh...Is that supposed to scare the opposition?
These so-called "White Out" games are getting so ubiquitous in sports that even college basketball teams are doing it these days...And the T-birds are scheduling it against the same team that started this trend...
In reality, Atlanta Spirit (GOOOOOOO Team!) should give away 10,000 carving forks, as in, "This team is done; stick a fork in 'em".
Agreed. For the Coyotes/Jets, it's good. For everyone else, it's sad.
---
From IIHF correspondant Joeri Loonen, a cool article about Slovakia's hockey factory: Trencin.
If only the rest of Slovakia was as good as producing talent, the Slovaks wouldn't be stuck behind the usual Top 6 countries :(
---
Author Joe Pelletier is also a rabid reader, and decided to do a list of the books he considers best in the realm of hockey.
Well, can you really name basketball and football books that are popular and considered classics?
The Hockey Sweater gets my #1 vote, since it's a story that most any Canadian kid was exposed to, and the exlusion/wanting-to-fit-in story line can pretty much hit the heart of anyone who reads it.
Let's start off with the Photo of the Day. Kevin Bieksa has Patrick Sharp in a very ... precarious position.
"Get up, you big baby!"Get your captions in!
--
Wow, the Canucks BARELY managed to not get swept in the season series by the Los Angeles Kings. Of course, it took a 2-1 overtime win to give the Canucks one frickin victory against Marc Crawford's poorly coached squad.
I totally love the Alex Burrows/Ryan Kesler combo. Sure, we don't expect them to score every night, but we love the effort and defensive ability. I'd match up Kesler/Burrows to the other great checking duos, like the ones in Detroit, Anaheim, and New Jersey.
Markus Naslund should take notes on how to deliver an honest effort. Why is it the Canucks captain gets a free pass? Vigneault ought to make Naslund a healthy scratch to sink in a message.
---
Wayne's World - Some thoughts from our Southern-fried correspondant.
The Avalanche are playing the Thrashers tonight, and Thrasherw marketing has designated tonight as one of those "White Out" games where the first 10,000 in attendance get a white T-shirt.
Ooooooooh...Is that supposed to scare the opposition?
These so-called "White Out" games are getting so ubiquitous in sports that even college basketball teams are doing it these days...And the T-birds are scheduling it against the same team that started this trend...
In reality, Atlanta Spirit (GOOOOOOO Team!) should give away 10,000 carving forks, as in, "This team is done; stick a fork in 'em".
Agreed. For the Coyotes/Jets, it's good. For everyone else, it's sad.
---
From IIHF correspondant Joeri Loonen, a cool article about Slovakia's hockey factory: Trencin.
Hockey is a religion in Slovakia, especially in Trencin. When talking with players from the city, dropping the name brings a twinkle into their eyes. Trencin has embraced its NHL stars, but the players embrace the city as well. A good example is a prestigious project that Marian Gaborik supported. To create more ice time for local children, he funded a new sports complex called the MG Arena. Situated in the city centre, the complex offers more than just an ice-rink. It also includes two gyms, a small hotel and several shops. Gaborik’s father takes care of the day-to-day operations while his brother Branko (a scout for the Minnesota Wild) was also involved in the project.
If only the rest of Slovakia was as good as producing talent, the Slovaks wouldn't be stuck behind the usual Top 6 countries :(
---
Author Joe Pelletier is also a rabid reader, and decided to do a list of the books he considers best in the realm of hockey.
HockeyBookReviews.com has a special feature today. Book reviewer Joe
Pelletier names the top five most important hockey books of all time:
Unlike other sports, baseball in particular, hockey does not tend to
transcend the literary world very often.
I'm not sure why that is. Is it because the game does not translate
onto paper that well? I don't think so. Is it because hockey attracts
few great writers? Not at all. Perhaps it is there are just fewer
hockey books out there, and therefore fewer classics?.
Well, can you really name basketball and football books that are popular and considered classics?
The Hockey Sweater gets my #1 vote, since it's a story that most any Canadian kid was exposed to, and the exlusion/wanting-to-fit-in story line can pretty much hit the heart of anyone who reads it.
Labels: Burrows, Canucks, Kings, photo of the day, Ryan Kesler, thrashers
Friday, September 21, 2007
Canucks: The Mutterings
by Jes
Now, you wouldn't expect a defence that looks like ...
Ohlund-Mitchell
Salo-Bieksa
Miller-Krajicek
Edler-Bourdon
... would need a whole lot of help.
Well, the Canucks signed Dan McGillis (remember him?) to a try-out contract to further bolster their corps.
While this might seem like overkill, it's actually a good move considering Sami Salo injured his wrist (no shock) and Mitchell's groin is still wonky. The Canucks will need a good re-inforcement or two and McGillis is that kinda guy.
It's kinda strange how far McGillis has fallen, and now needs a try-out to get back to the NHL.
Thanks to Fat Lou's cap dodging theatrics, McGillis was demoted to the AHL Albany Rats for the past few seasons. McGillis put up 66 points in 108 games, and earned a lot of money to live the minor-league life.
Even at 35, you'd still have to think McGillis could be a useful cog, especially as a fill-in defenseman. He's nasty, he's got a good shot, and he's experienced.
Speaking of defence, the smart money is on the rapidly-improving Alex Edler to earn a full-time spot and Luc Bourdon to go back to the AHL.
It wasn't so long ago that Bourdon was dominating the WJCs here in Vancouver, and was one the world's top prospects. Now? Notsomuch.
Given his struggles in his brief NHL tenure last season, and in this preseason, and you've got a prospect who needs at least a seasoning in the minors. Hopefully, he'll regain his confidence ... he's making ME nervous.
Let's cut down the hype about prospect Mason Raymond. For a guy who had a whopping 4 points in his 11 game AHL debut last season, there is way too much talk about how awesome of a prospect this guy is.
Look, the Canucks have a fairly deep (albeit not impressive) forward corps, and don't have a lot of room for any prospects. Raymond has a lot of developing to do, and a few hot preseason games mean little. I mean, Jon Sim would be a star if preseason meant anything (For those who don't know, this guy has about 72 points in 30 preseason games...or something similar).
Given how some of the media, and even his teammates, gush about the guy, you'd think he's gonna put up 30 goals this season, and win the freakin' Calder Trophy.
It's great to see Ryan "Boy Band" Kesler doing well in the preseason with some offence (2 points last night, if I'm not mistaken), but it means nothing if he can't do more during the regular season.
I realize that he'll never live up to that contract that the Flyers somewhat-forced the Canucks to give him, so let's not expect the guy to put up 40 assists this season. Hell, I'd be pleased with 40 points!
The Canucks media are so anxious for him to succeed and justify the expense that they'll drool over every preseason point.
Wake me when the season starts! Preseason sucks.
Now, you wouldn't expect a defence that looks like ...
Ohlund-Mitchell
Salo-Bieksa
Miller-Krajicek
Edler-Bourdon
... would need a whole lot of help.
Well, the Canucks signed Dan McGillis (remember him?) to a try-out contract to further bolster their corps.
While this might seem like overkill, it's actually a good move considering Sami Salo injured his wrist (no shock) and Mitchell's groin is still wonky. The Canucks will need a good re-inforcement or two and McGillis is that kinda guy.
It's kinda strange how far McGillis has fallen, and now needs a try-out to get back to the NHL.
Thanks to Fat Lou's cap dodging theatrics, McGillis was demoted to the AHL Albany Rats for the past few seasons. McGillis put up 66 points in 108 games, and earned a lot of money to live the minor-league life.
Even at 35, you'd still have to think McGillis could be a useful cog, especially as a fill-in defenseman. He's nasty, he's got a good shot, and he's experienced.
It wasn't so long ago that Bourdon was dominating the WJCs here in Vancouver, and was one the world's top prospects. Now? Notsomuch.
Given his struggles in his brief NHL tenure last season, and in this preseason, and you've got a prospect who needs at least a seasoning in the minors. Hopefully, he'll regain his confidence ... he's making ME nervous.
Look, the Canucks have a fairly deep (albeit not impressive) forward corps, and don't have a lot of room for any prospects. Raymond has a lot of developing to do, and a few hot preseason games mean little. I mean, Jon Sim would be a star if preseason meant anything (For those who don't know, this guy has about 72 points in 30 preseason games...or something similar).
Given how some of the media, and even his teammates, gush about the guy, you'd think he's gonna put up 30 goals this season, and win the freakin' Calder Trophy.
I realize that he'll never live up to that contract that the Flyers somewhat-forced the Canucks to give him, so let's not expect the guy to put up 40 assists this season. Hell, I'd be pleased with 40 points!
The Canucks media are so anxious for him to succeed and justify the expense that they'll drool over every preseason point.
Wake me when the season starts! Preseason sucks.
Labels: Alex Edler, Canucks, Luc Bourdon, Mason Raymond, musings, Ryan Kesler
