Amidst all the big news about recent Canuck acquisitions, awards achieved, prospects camp, the draft, and everything else that's made this offseason fairly interesting, we may be losing sight of the fact that some beloved Canuck alumni are on their way out the door. For us at PiTB!, the greatest of these is Kyle Wellwood. Despite all the things he did well (stickhandling, faceoffs, getting the puck out of the defensive zone, fancy passing), Wellwood was overshadowed by the things he did poorly (shooting, physical presence, being normal, regular passing), and will most likely not be back. While he was unfairly maligned, and actually did a surprisingly excellent job filling the Canucks third-line center position, Wellwood never did enough to impress us on the ice. That his incredible skill rarely translated into tangible results was stupefying, and that his coach would have gleefully replaced him with any other center capable of the job was evident. But somehow, for two years, Wellwood held the spot. Skeeter appreciated what he brought more than I: looking at the stats, he was incredible defensively, despite what it looked like. I tended to flip-flop, often arguing he needed to go for not producing, right up until he scored a big goal or, more often, made a neat play that resulted in nothing. From a stats perspective, he was not incredible offensively, his 18-goal season aside. (Wellwood fancied himself a playmaking center, but only got 20 assists in two seasons with Vancouver.) Hockey or Die was downright baffled by his presence in the NHL.
What Skeeter and I both agreed on, however, was that Kyle Wellwood was weird. He was pudgy. He rarely emoted, and when he did, it looked like this. He had a soft spot for Ayn Rand's lesser works. He used a little, teeny-weeny hockey stick that made it easy to handle the puck and impossible to shoot it with any velocity. Photos indicated he didn't care much about women, preferring to ogle spaghetti, read a book, or be confused by them. Contrasted with Kesler, he appeared to be the least competitive hockey player ever, once remarking that he could not understand how Ryan could take the game so seriously. Wellwood was a strange bird.
And we loved him. We mourn for his loss. We want him back and we are fighting back the urge to be happy with the Manny Malhotra signing. Only Welly satisfies.
So here's what's going to happen: we're not going to let him go. Something tells me Kyle Wellwood is going to find another hockey team looking for a strange center, be it in the NHL (doubtful), the AHL (perhaps), or Europe (ding ding ding!). And wherever he goes, we're going to follow his career in a little feature that we would like to call Wellwood's World. Watch for the Wellwood's World update at least once a month going forward.
And Kyle, if you ever find this blog, let us know you love us as much as we love you.
Part One of this epic two-part saga can be found here.
It's important to note that none of the invitees to the Canucks Summer Prospect Camp are expected to sign with the Canucks. The Juniors in College will likely return to school for their Senior years, some will get a chance to try out for the Manitoba Moose, and other undrafted players went undrafted for a reason. There are exceptions, of course. 2009 camp invitee Kellan Tochkin was signed by the Canucks after a great camp and a solid season with the Everett Silvertips, posting 74 points in 72 games. He slipped through the draft because of his size (5'9", 170 lbs), but Mike Gillis obviously saw enough potential to sign him to an entry-level deal prior to returning him to the Silvertips for the 2009-10 season. Tochkin increased his goal total from 20 to 28, but saw his overall points drop slightly. He will be attending the camp again this year, this time as a legitimate Canucks prospect.
Yesterday, we covered 6 of the 13 invitees to this year's camp, starting on Tuesday, July 6th. Here are invitees 7 through 13:
Surprisingly, this under-sized winger from the Vancouver Giants also has his own page on hockeyfights.com. This video is my personal favorite, as you get to see the pint-size Henry pop a larger Chilliwack Bruins player with a massive hit before he's challenged to a fight. This past season saw his PIM jump from 68 to 128 minutes as well as a modest increase in point production. Where Henry truly shined was in the playoffs, as he started off the post-season on an 11-game point-scoring streak with 14 total points. He finished off the playoffs with 16 points in 16 games. This outburst of scoring showed he is more than just a high-energy, pint-sized pugilist. Or a potential third-string goalie for the Giants. It'll be a test to see if his smaller size can handle the physical punishment of his scrappy style of play at the professional level.
Tayler Jordan - Left Wing
6'6" - 200 lbs - Feb 8, 1990
Wynyard, SK
Jordan will be the tallest player at camp by a good 2 inches. Like the previous two players, he has a page on hockeyfights.com. Unlike Fraser and Henry, Jordan doesn't put up points to go with his penalty minutes: in his career with the Portland Winter Hawks, he has 451 PIM and 15 points in 171 games played. This will actually be his second prospect camp, as he attended the Columbus Blue Jackets training camp last summer. Any professional opportunity he has will be on the 4th-line as an enforcer.
Zurevinski scored 30 points in 39 games as a Sophomore with Quinnipiac University. The Bobcat Junior has been named the captain for the upcoming season, showing his clear leadership qualities. He was also named the team's Rookie of the Year for 2008-09. He is characterized as a solid all-around player with a physical presence and will be relied on heavily offensively as the only 3 players who finished above him in points last season are outgoing Seniors. According to this article, Zurevinski was actually offered a contract by the Canucks this offseason for the maximum allowable for an entry-level deal, but he declined and chose to return to Quinnipiac. His size and scoring touch are his best attributes and clearly Gillis sees some potential.
I hope you've enjoyed this brief look at the invitees to the prospect camp. It took me far longer than I expected to collate all of this information. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the camp throughout the week to see if any of these unknowns make a name for themselves.
I wonder what's going through Kevin Bieksa's mind these days. Everybody from Mark Spector to your grandma knows that he's on the block, that Gillis is fielding offers from all over the league, and that he'll likely have to move before training camp begins. That has to be an awful, awful feeling. Apart from feeling giddy when Dustin Byfuglien was sentenced to life in Atlanta, I tend to have sympathy for hockey players who are suddenly forced to uproot their lives. People get upset when players get no-movement clauses--even more so when they invoke them--but how wonderful would it be to do something you love without the looming threat that you'll be forced to move against your will? Caught up in trade rumours and with one foot out the door, does Kevin Bieksa deserves our sympathy?
He certainly won't be receiving our love. Fans are still furious over the swan dives that gave Kris Versteeg a free path to the net in game four of the Chicago-Vancouver series, and for most of us, it was the last straw. Guys like Tatoes over at Canucks.com have been banging the drum for years, but the paradigm has shifted, and he's no longer in the minority: Vancouver fans no longer want Kevin Bieksa.
Some continue to bang his drum. Bieksa can bring grit, offense, and a genuinely surly attitude. It's hard to forget his 42-point season, which, at the time, drew some comparisons to Jay Bouwmeester and garnered some Team Canada chatter. His inconsistent regular-season play has been blamed on those freak muscle lacerations, and it's certainly a convincing argument. Here's Canucks.com poster RUPERTKBD with a very, very valid point:
Here's something for you to try:
Take a sharp metal instrument and slice the muscles and tendons in one of your legs. Then spend a few months healing and rehabbing. Finally, as soon as you are physically able, step back into the pressure of playing in the fastest, most physical league in the world, playing a sport that relies heavily on the use of your legs.
Before I forget, for maximum effect, this procedure should be repeated two years in a row.
Absolutely correct. Bieksa's leg injuries have no doubt affected his ability to be the sort of player he was before they occurred. But the circumstances have not been enough to prevent AV from joining the ranks of those fed up with Juice. Mark Spector claims Alain Vigneault has soured on him also:
[...] people who are close to the Canucks say that head coach Alain Vigneault isn’t real big on Bieksa anymore. He wanted more responsibility this past season, we’re told, and when he got it in the playoffs he was not reliable.
Unreliable indeed. Here's the problem: injuries or not, Bieksa is inconsistent on a cosmic scale. Let's recall that his damningly poor play to throw game four came on the heels of his history-making game-winner in game three. Bieksa's successful pinches lead to game-winning goals. Problem is, his stupid mistakes tend to as well. It seems to me that AV is tired of the dizzying disparity of his play and its results. Kevin Bieksa is a defenseman capable of playing at the high level of the NHL's elite defenseman. Recall that he had 43 points the same season Jay Bouwmeester had 42, and cashed in for nearly $7M a season from the Flames. But Bieksa is not an elite defenseman, because, for every moment where he looks like Jay Bouwmeester in Florida, there's a moment where he looks like Jay Bouwmeester in Calgary: unimpressive, sometimes downright detrimental.
Spector also states, "Either Bieksa thinks he’s better than he is, or for some reason, he’s not playing to his potential." In truth, it's both. Kevin Bieksa knows that he can be better than he's been the last two seasons, and I'm sure it's weighing heavily on him that he's gone from help to hindrance. That he's had to ask for more responsibility, rather than simply being worthy of it (as he was back in 08-09) must tear him apart. Problem is, when he gets it, he's trying to do too much, trying to force an all-star resurgence, and it's affecting his play. Don't be fooled by that smug, surly look on his face: it's not overconfidence, it's frustration--frustration that he can't get back to where he once was. Maybe, for a time, the injuries held him back, but I think he's physically strong. It's his mental strength that's taken a beating. A change of scenery and a fresh start can only help.
So don't feel bad for Kevin Bieksa. A trade might yield larger returns for him than they do for us.
As you now know (because we told you) the Canucks Prospect Camp begins on Tuesday, July 6th. 36 prospects will be attending the camp, 13 of which are invitees that have not been signed or drafted by the Vancouver Canucks. Most Canucks fans have at least a passing familiarity with Vancouver's pool of prospects, but just who are these 13 players invited by Mike Gillis and the Canucks organization?
A Junior out of the University of Vermont, Miller is known primarily for being a solid defensive defenceman. His coach has called him a "fierce competitor and a great leader." He was an Assistant Captain for the Catamounts this past season and has been named their Captain for the 2010-11 season. Prior to entering Vermont, he played soccer and lacrosse as well. Unfortunately, that's about it as far as available information on Kevan Miller goes. But you can see him throw a pretty sweet hit at around the 34 second mark of this Youtube video.
Like Kevan Miller, Jack Downing comes from the University of Vermont. He scored 21 points in 36 games as a Junior last season, good enough to tie for fourth on the team. The only three players on the Catamounts to score more points than Downing last season are departing Seniors, so he'll be expected to step up his offensive game. Downing seems to be a true power forward, using his size to deliver punishing checks, combining that with good offensive instincts. His coach suggests that he has a good two-way game: combine that with his shooting ability and size and it's no wonder Central Scouting had him ranked 105th overall amongst North American skaters going into the 2008 NHL entry draft. However, instead of being a late round draft choice, he slipped right through and went undrafted. Downing might be a player to keep an eye on, as power forwards often take a bit longer to develop and learn how to use their size effectively.
In case you missed what happened on July 1st, please know that it was really exciting. It was so exciting, in fact, that fans are clamoring for more news--all the news, even. And until Mike Gillis announces that he's traded a defenseman or two for a top-nine forward, there will be nothing that even comes close to meeting the rabid demand for high-end Nuckworld news. Our insatiable appetite has us clamoring to know everything we can about Canucks prospects camp which begins Tuesday, July 6th. This is not big news, people, but information about the 36 young hockey players that have won a special trip to Grouse Mountain has been leaking for the past two days. That's right: the Canucks prospects camp is news of such magnitude that there have been leaks. Ladies and gentleman, I give you: the offseason. So what can we tell you? First, we can tell you who isn't going to be there: veterans. Also, top prospect Cody Hodgson.
But don't panic. Naysayers and pessimists have been waiting for the bottom to fall out on this kid's potentially stellar future with the Canucks since he was drafted. You might recall the hullabaloo last year when he opted not to train with Dave Gagner. Maybe you even remember Pierre McGuire crapping himself when he found out the Canucks had acquired Manny Malhotra to personally assassinate Cody. Disregard all of it, especially the Pierre McGuire stuff. He's more of a Washington Capitals expert. Assistant GM Lorne Henning explains why Cody's better not coming:
Hodgson won't need to attend the sessions, Henning said, as the Canucks' top draft pick in 2008 (10th overall) has already been to two of them previously and it's deemed he's better off staying in the Toronto area to continue his training there.
At this point, we just want to make sure he's ready for camp,” said Henning. “It's just that we don't want to get him away from his routine. He's already acclimated with all this so there's really no need to bring him in.”
Okay, good. So who is coming? All five of the Canucks 2010 draft picks, for instance. Here's your complete list. Note that Players in italics are invitees who have not been signed or drafted by the Canucks.
2010 Canucks Prospects Camp Complete Roster
DEFENCEMEN Andersson, Peter-- D 6’3” 194 Kvidinge, SWE Apr 13 1991 Connauton, Kevin-- D 6’1” 196 Edmonton, AB Feb 23 1990 Edwards, Maury-- D 5’11 176 Rocky Rapids, AB Mar 16 1987 Ellington, Taylor-- D 6’2” 209 Victoria, BC Oct 31 1988 Ellis, Brendan-- D 6’2 206 Kelowna, BC Jan 5 1989 Fedun, Taylor-- D 6’0 190 Edmonton, AB Jun 4 1988 Hannay, Sawyer-- D 6’4” 192 Moncton, NB Sep 6 1992 McNally, Patrick-- D 6’2” 181 Glen Head, NY Dec 4 1991 Miller, Kevan-- D 6’2 200 Los Angeles, CA Nov 15 1987 Oberg, Evan-- D 6’2” 165 Forestburg, AB Feb 16 1988 Polasek, Adam-- D 6’2” 194 Ostrava, CZE July 12 1991 Price, Jeremy-- D 6’1” 194 Milton, ON Sep 26 1990 Sauve,Yann-- D 6’3” 220 Montreal, PQ Feb 18 1990 Tanev, Chris-- D 6’2 185 East York, ON Dec 20 1989
FORWARDS Anthony, Steven-- LW 6’2” 205 Halifax, N.S. Mar 21 1991 Clark, Kevin-- RW 5’8 160 Winnipeg, MB Dec 29 1987 Downing, Jack-- RW 6’3 200 New Canaan, CT Mar 16 1989 Fraser, Matt-- LW 6’2 207 Red Deer, AB May 20 1990 Friesen, Alex-- C 5’10” 189 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON Jan 30 1991 Froshaug, Mats-- LW 6’2” 209 Oslo, NOR July 31 1988 Henry, James-- LW 5’8 180 Winnipeg, MB Mar 11 1991 Jordan, Tayler-- LW 6’6 200 Wynyard, SK Feb 8 1990 Matson, Taylor-- C 6’0” 185 Mound, MN Sep 16 1988 Morin, Pierre-Olivier-- LW 5’11 162 Trois-Rivieres, PQ Apr 23 1991 Rai, Prab-- LW 6’0” 190 Surrey, BC Nov 22 1989 Rodin, Anton-- RW 6’0” 176 Stockholm, SWE Nov 21 1990 Schneider, Stefan-- C 6’4 206 Vernon, B.C. Dec 13 1989 Schroeder, Jordan-- C 5’8” 183 Prior Lake, MN Sep 29 1990 Tochkin, Kellan-- RW 5’9” 179 Abbotsford, BC Feb 15 1991 Volpatti, Aaron-- LW 6’1 196 Revelstoke, B.C. May 30 1985 Zurevinski, Scott-- C 6’2 190 Saskatoon, SK Jun 4 1988
GOALTENDERS Cannata, Joe-- G 6’1 200 Wakefield, MA Jan 2 1990 Houser, Michael-- G 6’2 188 Wexford, MI Sep 13 1992 Iilahti, Jonathan-- G 6’1” 176 Vaasa, FIN Apr 27 1992 Kinkaid, Keith-- G 6’3 180 Farmingville,NY Jul 4 1989 Lack, Eddie-- G 6’4 183 Norrtalje, SWE Jan 5 1988
Will any of these guys play with the big club next year? Absolutely. Evan Oberg has already played five games with the Canucks, and you have to think he might do it again this year. If Yann Sauve's shows he's made some strides in training camp, he'll be near the top of the call-up list. Jordan Schroeder flat-out wowed everybody in his brief stint with the Moose at the end of last season, and he's likely to push Cody Hodgson for a roster spot out of training camp. Some people think they might both make the team. One of these five goalies is likely the starter for the Moose, which means he's warming the big-league pine if Luongo or Corey Schneider pulls a groin. My dark horse pick to don the Orca after October would be Aaron Volpatti, the gritty, two-way winger from Brown University that might turn out to be an upgrade on Tanner Glass. Only time will tell.
Ryan Kesler is, of course, the cover-boy for 2K Sports NHL 2K11. Apparently he's going on tour with 2K Sports in an RV, promoting the new game coming out for the Wii. That's all well and good, but I'm a little concerned about his proclamation that the master bedroom is "where all the magic happens" only to see LA Kings defenceman Jack Johnson sitting in his bed. Ryan, you are a married man! A father even. For shame.
There's also some scandalous talk about how good Kes looks in spandex. The rampant flirting is more than a little awkward, capped off with Johnson claiming that "every squirrel finds a nut," an analogy wherein Kesler is the squirrel and I will say no more about that.
That said, I enjoyed NHL 2K10 last year and I'll surely pick up 2K11 when it comes out. Full disclosure, I do not own a PS3 or XBox 360, so I can't play the likely superior EA NHL games, which is a shame. The 2K games are the only option on the Wii, at least until the Gretzky-sponsored NHL Slapshot comes out with its fancy mini-hockey-stick peripheral.
I don't know where you were yesterday, but I'll always remember where I was. I was deeply enmeshed in my first liveblogging experience, sharing a desk with Skeeter while we hosted the Spectacular 1st Annual PiTB Free Agency Day Meta-LiveBlog Spectacular (the S1APiTBFADMLBS, for short). And what a day it was for the Canucks, who made four notable signings. It was also a pretty good day for the TSN panel guys, who have been somewhat hung out to dry on big hockey news days in recent years, for Pierre McGuire, who won the opportunity to stand too close to someone new this year (where was Dutchy anyway?), and for my wife, who was called on to make us breakfast and lunch while we hammered away at our keyboards. Frankly, the only person I can think of who might not have had any fun was Darryl Sutter, who is likely he didn't lose his arm, reaching back through history. (We know how cold it gets when you time travel, at least according to Back to the Future.) Suffice it to say, a good time was had by all. Let's get into the Canucks signings:
The Canucks Sign Dan Hamhuis Definitely the biggest Canucks free agent signing of the day, and, considering all the hype around the guy and how the rights to speak to him privately were passed around as though he were The Girl Who Uses Tongue at a "spin the bottle" party, maybe the biggest overall. While the early Gonchar signing was for the most money, Hamhuis was considered the prize of the day. The deal has some heft to it, coming in at $4.5m for six seasons. On paper, Dan Hamhuis is officially our #1 guy. Is he? The jury's out on that. Somewhere, it was said that the Canucks now lead the league in number three defensemen, but is that the worst thing? The jury's out on that too. Put another way, the Canucks lead the lead in guys you'd be comfortable averaging over twenty minutes a game. There's nothing negative about that.
If there's a trend with Mike Gillis, it's signing guys with upside, guys he believes might be able to have a bigger role. It makes sense. Undervalued guys are obviously a big part of his moneyball philosophy. Mind you, they're also the only guys available. I've heard a number of fanboys lament that while, yes, we got Hamhuis, we didn't get a guy like Pronger or Weber or Keith or Doughty. I've heard it said that we're a superstar defenseman away from winning a Stanley Cuo. Right, and the Philistines were one One True God away from being the best military nation in the Bible. It's not exactly something you can just flip a switch and fix. Gillis did what he could: he got the best player available, with the belief he might be even better than we've been told. Here's hoping.
While Hamhuis was the #3 defenseman on Nashville, the Preds are a team with two of the best defenseman in the NHL. It's not like he was being beaten out for ice time by Ryan O'Byrne. We're talking about Shea Weber and Ryan Suter here. For people with concerns, consider that the Predators' leading scorer was Patrick Hornqvist, with 51 points, good for 91st in the NHL. Despite this atrocious fact, Nashville still made the playoffs, and fared as well against the Blackhawks as any other team that faced them, largely because their defense corps is stupid good. Dan Hamhuis was a gigantic part of that. And now he plays for us.
So what sort of defenseman is he? I'm sure that's probably covered elsewhere, so I won't belabor it. I will say, however, that he apparently loves to hip check, much like Keith Ballard. This means that spotting a Canuck on the positive end of a hip check won't be like spotting El Chupacabra, for once. That's a good thing. Hamhuis also has some offensive upside. Put those two things together, and you get this:
Consider that Hamhuis, who can do the thing we see above, makes Kevin Bieksa--who stars in this clip--expendable. So what are the downsides to this signing? Well, from where I'm sitting, there aren't many. Granted, his cap hit is high, but consider first that he took a paycut and denied a bunch of attractive destinations, and second, that, in a surprising turn of events, he was not given a no-trade clause. Hamhuis can be moved without too much difficulty, if need be. Verdict: this is an acquisition chock full of win, and I am ecstatic about it.
The Canucks Sign Manny Malhotra Until the Hamhuis thing broke, this was the big news of the day. Earlier, the Canucks signed Manny Malhotra, the guy that could have been had for chump change a year ago, after Columbus had decided they didn't want him. He wound up with San Jose where he was a lights-out faceoff man all season and playoffs, was a reliable third-line checking center that played top-six wing at times, and showed some grit. A real turnaround year for him, right? Wrong. Turns out that's exactly what he's done for the last six years. Why did Columbus let him go for nothing? I heard one of their radio guys joke that Columbus fans called him as fifth-line center. It makes no sense, but we're about to find out, for $2.5 mil. a year for 3 years.
But don't panic. Not only were we not the only team to chase him this summer, but we were one of many teams that offered him over $2 mil. to be our 3rd center. People are going to gripe about this signing, but, if they do, remind them of how the NHL has changed. The playoff game-changers aren't the superstars. For the last half-decade, it's been the third-line checking centers: Rob Niedermayer, Jordan Staal, Dave Bolland, et al. Matt Cullen fetched a 2nd round pick at the trade deadline last year, and he went for a $3.5 mil. yesterday. This has become a crucial position, and while Cody Hodgson might have been able to fill it, Mike Gillis couldn't take that chance. After a few years of Kyle Wellwood impressing people by being up to the job, Gillis needed somebody who would do more than impress simply by showing up. That's what Malhotra brings.
On the negative side, that contract is a lot. In fact, it's the same contract Mikael Samuelsson got, except this one has a limited no-movement clause. Is Manny worth it? We'll see, but if he's not, we're not absolutely stuck with him. Let's talk about the NMC. Don't panic. It's not, contrary to some report, a NTC. This clause gives Malhotra some veto power, but it doesn't give him ultimate veto power. I'm not surprised. Gillis has some numerous times he won't ask a player to waive a no-trade clause. That's an integrity thing. Here, he won't have to if Malhotra winds up on the block; Gillis has merely promised to let Malhotra have some say if a move comes up. That's beyond fair.
I like this deal. Consider that Malhotra is paid to be the veteran presence on our third line, and he'll likely stay there no matter what. Unlike last year, where our third line was all over the map, Gillis has established Manny Malhotra, who can play all three slots, as the mainstay on it. This gives us the option of letting a ton of our young players fight it out to skate with him. Verdict: good deal. Fills a major hole for us. This was the move Mike Gillis had to make. That's why he paid so much to make it.
The Canucks Sign Joel Perrault and The Canucks Sign Jeff Tambellini I have less to say about these two moves, as I don't really know what to expect here. Neither Perrault nor Tambellini are really known as crash-and-bang style guys. Instead, they're prospects on the verge of washing out. Both these guys have a ton of talent and impressive junior resumes, but, to the chagrin of their former teams (the Coyotes and Islanders, respectively), it's never translated to the NHL. In both cases, however, there's more than enough potential for a gambler like Mike Gillis to offer them $500,000 deals and see if they pan out. What's the harm? Relatively speaking, $1 mil. is chump change to test drive a couple of former first-rounders, and if even one of them pans out, we're in luck. The claim here is that these guys have solid enough two-way games to play on the third-line, and since Gillis expects his third-line to be physical, they make be stretched a little more than they were elsewhere. Tambellini has already been trying to develop a reputation as a fighter. Considering they'll likely be competing for spots with the best prospects the Canucks have, it should only boost the level of competition and motivation Canuck draft picks have to make this team.
Do these guys honestly have a shot? Maybe. Perrault might be a good fit as a fourth-line center, but he'll have to battle Alex Bolduc, Mario Bliznak, Rick Rypien, and any training camp walk-ons for the spot. Jeff Tambellini's in tougher, likely fighting against Cody Hodgson, Jordan Schroeder, Sergei Shirokov, Victor Oreskovich (and maybe Nikita Filatov) for a spot. If neither guy makes the cut, they'll help the Moose stay competitive, and since the waiver wire is so seldom used these days, provide excellent depth in the case of regular-season injuries.
Here's the thing nobody has mentioned yet. Tambellini is a perfect replacement for Michael Grabner. They're similar players, though Tambellini is a little stronger. They both play left wing, they both skate extremely well, and they have both failed to live up to their billing. It certainly allays any unease I had over losing Grabner in the Ballard trade. Verdict: I am okay with these moves.
Amidst all the big news about recent Canuck acquisitions, awards achieved, prospects camp, the draft, and everything else that's made this offseason fairly interesting, we may be losing sight of the fact that some beloved Canuck alumni are on their way out the door. For us at PiTB!, the greatest of these is Kyle Wellwood. Despite all the things he did well (stickhandling, faceoffs, getting the puck out of the defensive zone, fancy passing), Wellwood was overshadowed by the things he did poorly (shooting, physical presence, being normal, regular passing), and will most likely not be back. While he was unfairly maligned, and actually did a surprisingly excellent job filling the Canucks third-line center position, Wellwood never did enough to impress us on the ice. That his incredible skill rarely translated into tangible results was stupefying, and that his coach would have gleefully replaced him with any other center capable of the job was evident. But somehow, for two years, Wellwood held the spot. Skeeter appreciated what he brought more than I: looking at the stats, he was incredible defensively, despite what it looked like. I tended to flip-flop, often arguing he needed to go for not producing, right up until he scored a big goal or, more often, made a neat play that resulted in nothing. From a stats perspective, he was not incredible offensively, his 18-goal season aside. (Wellwood fancied himself a playmaking center, but only got 20 assists in two seasons with Vancouver.) Hockey or Die was downright baffled by his presence in the NHL.
