'Nucks IceMan

If you go to the Chicago Wolves site and click on Team/Roster, you will notice that there is only six names listed and none of those are any that I recognize. My understanding is that a number of NHL teams share minor league teams by placing some of their prospects with that shared team. If my memory serves me correctly, last season there were a number of Dallas Stars on the AHL Manitoba Moose team.  

Fortunately for me there are other ways to find out just who will be playing for the Wolves this season and who might become a depth player for the Canucks.

 

 

 

There are approximately 15 players that will be invited to training camp or to particpate in the Young Stars Tournament.  Most of those names are familar to Canuck fans and some, but not all of those, are displayed on the left.

Let’s have a quick run down of who might be ready to become a depth player for the parent team.

Goal – I was fortunate enough to watch a number of games last season in which most of these players participated. The Young Stars Tournament was for me my first look at them from which I  wrote a number of articles on these players, and my impressions of them.

Eddie (The Stork) Lack was not hard to miss as he displayed great positional play for a tall (6’4″), skinny (187 lbs.) young man, had a great glove hand and moved well laterally. Although this was his first year in the AHL, he put up decent numbers and was ranked seventh amongst goaltenders. His played 53 games, had 28W, 21L, 4SOL, 5 SO and posted a 2.25 GAA with a .926 Sv%.

If he continues his sparkling play this year in Chicago, will the Canucks think of moving Cory Schneider in a trade for a top six forward or Norris type defenseman? It’s great to have assets like this on your team and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lack in the pros within a year or two.

Forwards -  Sergei Shiroko was the most productive player for the Moose last season and that was only good enough for 26th place in the AHL scoring. Shirokov has since left the Canucks organization to play for CSKA Moscow of the KHL, so the pickings are slim down on the farm.

Bill Sweatt finished 89th, played 80 games, had 19G, 27A and the one thing he has going for him is his speed. This guy can fly but with the Canucks looking to get bigger and tougher for the play-offs, Sweatt at 6′ and 190 lbs., just doesn’t look to fit in.

Jordan Schroederwas 260th in AHL scoring , played 61 games and had 10G and 18A. With the Canucks having six centres, which includes an injured Ryan Kesler, the chances of smallish Schroeder making the Canucks is slim and none.

Just think how 5’9″, 180 lbs. of Schroeder would have fared against the Boston centres and once again I say, he doesn’t fit in with the Canucks going bigger and tougher.

Guillaume Desbiens and Alex Bolduc both had their chances last season with the Canucks and didn’t stay, so I don’t see them moving anyone currently with the Canucks.

Aaron Volpatti caught my eye last season in the Young Stars Tournament but although a scrapper, I don’t see him beating out Bitz, Mancari, Pinizzotto or Victor Oreskovich for a position.  

So as you can see from the forwards, there is really no depth that can fill in during the truly important part of the season, which is the play-offs.

Defense – Chris Tanev was impressive in the Young Stars Tournament and went on to surprise everyone be playing in 29 regular season and five play-off games. It was his play that kept Keith Ballard on the side-lines for a great period in the regular season and also during the play-offs.

I really like what I saw in Tanev and mentioned that in numerous articles. I would expect to see Tanev as the number eight D-men come October 6th and he may start in Chicago this season, but be first to be called up when injuries arise.

If there is anything that is a sure thing with the Canucks, it’s that they will use more than nine D-men during the regular season. If you remember they had 13 different D-men play last season, so Tanev will play with the Canucks next season at some point.

Kevin Connauton who I thought was the second best D-man in the Young Stars Tournament, just didn’t seem to progress enough during his first season with the Moose. Blessed with a wicked shot from the point, he will have to work on his defense and learn to play a more physical game if he is to become a depth player at the back-end.

Yann Sauve –  if not for been struck by an auto just prior to training camp, which laid him up with a concussion, he might have had an opportunity to display some of his talent. Even though Sauve only played in 39 games with the Moose, he did show that he was responsible in the defensive end of the ice and when the Canucks ran into a rash of injuries, was called up for five games.

I’ve watched Sauve now for two seasons, the first when I saw him at the rookie camp here in Vancouver. With improvement this season and his size, I would expect him to push for a spot next season and be one of the first to be called up on an emergency basis. He reminds me a bit of the late Luc Bourdon in his early stages of development, although Luc was a better skater.

Nolan Baumgartner and Ryan Parent have between them 250 games in the NHL but are at a stage in their career that if called up, would have to clear waivers. The Canucks are well aware of their ability but didn’t or wouldn’t, take that chance last season during the Canucks injury crisis on defense.

With the Canucks having nine NHL D-men under contract (includes Chris Tanev), lets hope that they have enough on the farm that can help during the season.

In wrapping this up, what concerns me the most is the lack of apparent depth especially at the one through nine forward positions. Let’s see if GM Mike Gillis does something about that before training camp.

Footnotes: One of the big questions at this training camp will be if Keith Ballard is able to show Canucks management that he is a top six D-man. If not, will the Canucks retain a $4.2 million D-man who has become a number seven through nine depth player?

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits - YouTube

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