Eyewitness Report: Canucks Superskills Competition

The annual Canucks Superskills event is a treat for Canucks fans, especially for fans who can't afford the price of admission to a regular game. The cheaper ticket price, combined with the fun atmosphere and events on the concourse, make it a great chance for parents to give their kids a closer look at their hockey heroes. It also manages to make me feel like a kid again, as I attended my second Superskills event last night. As an added bonus, all proceeds go to the Canucks For Kids Fund.

The Canucks Alumni kicked off the afternoon with a spirited contest. I love watching the alumni play: it's lighthearted fun and a great chance to see a few old favorites. I was hoping to see Cliff Ronning, my favorite Canuck of all-time, but it was not to be. Notable names, however, included Dave Babych, Chris Oddleifson, Garry Valk, and John Garrett, who dug up his classic mask, which clashed slightly with his green, blue, and white sweater. And even though he never played for the Canucks, Bill Ranford showed up, though he played as a defenseman instead of in net.

Garrett played as if a car was on the line, making save after save and hamming it up by bowing elaborately to the crowd after each ovation. Meanwhile, Valk depended on the easy-going nature of the game to get away with hook after hook, and even had the audacity to use his jersey to wipe down the linesman's visor after an offside call. At one point Valk gave Garrett a bump after the whistle, likely hoping he would slip and injure himself, freeing up the coveted Sportsnet Pacific colour commentator position for the "ex-Canuck turned analyst." The announcer warned that they were playing old-timer's rules: no running the goaltender, but that doesn't mean you can't make rude comments about his family.

The final score was 3-3, with Garrett making a classic pad-stacking saves in the final 5 seconds to preserve the tie. The unofficial three stars, compiled by my friend Ryan and myself, were as follows:

3rd Star: Dave Babych, who showcased strong defensive play in a game that was sorely lacking it and also tallied a highlight-reel goal as he jumped into the rush like he was Christian Ehrhoff and sneakily flicked the puck in shortside as he flew down the wing.

2nd Star: Chris Oddleifson, who showed he still has slick hands, sniping two goals past John Garrett and consistently looking dangerous, despite not wearing any shoulder pads.

1st Star: John "Cheech" Garrett, both for his legitimately good performance and his showmanship. The crowd loved him and it's hard to argue with the popular choice.

There was a brief break in the action at this point, highlighted by a game of musical chairs played by Fin and a gaggle of other mascots, which was clearly rigged in Fin's favor. If I was a bookie, I would be ticked, as it was clear that Bernie and S.J. Sharkie threw the match. They also showed some videos on the scoreboard, including the inaugural Canucks Scrabble Battle featuring PITB's own Harrison Mooney. We also spotted one person in the crowd wearing a Tanner Glass Scrabble Champ shirt.

In the meantime, we played Jersey Foul Bingo, created by my friend Lisa. The Bingo cards were painstakingly compiled, though they admittedly featured a number of spots that are not actually Jersey Fouls for the sake of filling out the card. For example, there's nothing wrong with wearing a jersey from a past era, but the column was filled with names such as O'Brien, Cloutier, and Carter, as well as gimmes like Bure. Actual jersey fouls on the card included jerseys from the wrong team (we spotted Blackhawks, Flyers, Penguins, and Canadiens), featuring D.I.Y. lettering, three-digit numbering, wrong/own name, and even wrong sport (we saw a football jersey, but no others). I came the closest to filling out my card, needing either a baseball jersey (saw plenty of hats), Manitoba Moose jersey, or CFL jersey. So close. We'll have to make our own Jersey Foul Bingo for our upcoming road trip.

The worst of the fouls we saw were the "B. Lo" and "Diggler" jerseys, both with 69 on the back. Classy. Also bad, but less awkward to explain to a 7-year-old attending the Superskills, was the baffling "W. Sedin" jersey with Henrik's 33. But the most audacious was the fellow who put his own name, "Sheppard," on the back of a current Canucks jersey, with the number 10 and the captain's "C" on the front. I'm sorry, but no. Not only are you not on the Canucks, you are not number 10 on the Canucks, and you are definitely not the captain of the Canucks. From where I'm sitting, which happens to be a pretty lofty perch on a rather tall horse, that is what the internet would refer to as a fail. If you happen to be reading this, please never wear it again. Instead, frame the jersey with all the numbers hidden so you can pretend it actually is a Henrik jersey.

Finally, the players themselves came out, split into Team Blue and Team Green. The four of us attending split our loyalties between the two teams so as to know for whom to cheer. My wife picked Team Blue, claiming that they appeared to be the underdogs. I noted the presence of Tambellini, Raymond, and Hansen on Team Blue, as well as Sami Salo, and quickly concluded that they already had the Fastest Skater and Hardest Shot contests in the bag and threw my support behind Team Green, the true underdogs.

The view from our seats as the teams lined up against each other.

First up was the warm-up event, a quick three-on-three game worth only 1 point in the overall competition. Ehrhoff scored the only two goals for Team Green, as they fell 4-2 to Team Blue thanks to two goals by Tambellini, including a cheeky between the legs shot to cap off the win. With that, the Canucks showed they were willing to get fancy to please the crowd.

Team Green owned the Puck Control Relay as Kesler, Malhotra, and Tanev proved faster than Hodgson, Burrows, and Ballard, mainly due to Ballard losing control of the puck on the final turn leaving Tanev free and clear. The 1-on-1 competition was Sedin vs. Sedin, as the twins eerily matched each other stride-for-stride including identical celebrations when they both thought they had won. They awarded the victory to Henrik, who further fueled Daniel's seething rage by claiming to be 5-0 in such competitions. In all honesty, it looked too close to call; the twins match each other's movements so exactly that it would not surprise me in the least if they crossed the finish line at the same time.

The Fastest Skater contest was, as suspected, no contest whatsoever. Team Blue had Raymond, Tambellini, and Hansen. Team Green had Glass, Ehrhoff, and Tanev. It wasn't even close: all three Team Blue skaters finished faster than the closest Team Green skater, Tanner Glass. Raymond took the prize with a time of 13.652, though Hansen surprised by beating Tambellini. It was Raymond's second year winning the event, leading to the most awkward moment of the event, as Dan Murphy asked if Raymond was looking forward to being back to try for the three-peat. Raymond paused and said, "I hope so," as the recent mentions of his name potentially on the trading block swam a brief lap through his head. He might not even be on the team tomorrow Murph; that's a bit of an insensitive question. The savvy Ian Walker picked up on it as well, though Raymond sloughed it off.

The downtime between events allowed for some crowd interaction, which leads me to the following two uncontroversial statements: the kid who won the Dance Cam contest is awesome and the Canucks' kids are entirely adorable. Kesler's daughter even took to the ice in her tiny skates, supported by her dad. Ehrhoff carried around his pigtailed daughter while thanking the crowd for coming out and Henrik had his son up on his shoulders at one point, carrying him around the ice. Another highlight was seeing three kids sitting side-by-side in one of the doors to the bench. Completely adorable.

The 3rd event of the afternoon was the Hardest Shot competition, with Rome and Salo participating for Team Blue and Hamhuis and Ehrhoff for Team Green. Without Edler, it seemed like Salo would have no competition and he set the bar reasonable high with a solid 101.5 mph shot. Ehrhoff came closest, with a surprising 101.1 mph shot of his own. Hamhuis topped out at 99.2 mph, with Rome tallying a respectable 96.4. What a boon to have those kinds of cannons at the point; with Edler scheduled to be back in time for the playoffs, the Canucks will have three defensemen who can shoot the puck over 100 mph.

Alex Burrows won the Accuracy competition for Team Blue, hitting four straight targets after ringing his first shot off the post. Samuelsson also went 4-for-5, necessitating a one-target playoff, which took Burrows 3 shots to hit, but was entirely missed by Samuelsson. The win put Blue up 8-4 as they entered into the final 2 contests with more points on the line.

The Power Play contest featured 3 players from one team against a defenseman and a goalie: first up was Tambellini, Burrows, and Daniel Sedin for Team Blue against Hamhuis and Luongo. They managed 2 quick goals, but some bizarre passing between Hammy and Lu prevented anymore damage as they ragged the puck around the boards. Torres, Glass, and Kesler for Team Green took on Ballard and Schneider, but could only create one goal, a beautiful forehand-backhand move by Glass, which prompted a Scrabble joke from Murph.

Hodgson, Oreskovich, and Raymond, which was actually the fourth line at the end of the Canucks' game against the Bruins, appeared next for Team Blue and took advantage of Tanev's raw rookieness to the tune of 2 goals. Henrik, Malhotra, and Samuelsson responded in kind for Team Green, netting 2 goals, though the third was on Henrik's stick with a wide-open net as time ran out. As is often the case, Henrik hung on to the puck as long as possible before releasing it. Henrik with the puck is a little like a kid nursing an injured baby bird back to health: he'll take good care of it, touch it gently, hold it close, and never want to let it go. Then he'll saucer pass it cross-ice through a maze of legs and sticks so it can be one-timed into the back of the net.

The final contest was the highlight of the event: the Breakaway Relay. A lot of the Canucks got fancy with their attempts, which didn't always result in goals but always got a big reaction from the crowd. Tambellini made like Rob Schremp with his first attempt, sweeping the puck up onto his stick then pulling off some crazy lacrosse-like moves, before attempting to sling the puck by Luongo...but the puck refused to leave his stick. Apparently the adhesive he used was a little too strong. Luongo hilariously responded by skating out and shooting away the puck for his next attempt before Tambellini could get to it.

Hamhuis then stole the show by going 2-for-2, making a case for being used in the shootout as he pulled off a Forsbergian one-hander that Schneider couldn't quite snag, then roofed his next attempt from his knees. Ballard went 1-for-2 himself, with his goal a slick backhand move as he lazily chewed some gum that he likely stole from Alain Vigneault's private stash. His second attempt was a tricky combination of a distracting glove throw and a shot before his other hand returned to his stick. He pulled it off by kicking his stick forward, a clever little move that didn't pay off as Luongo easily kicked it aside then dismissively swept Ballard's glove from the crease.

Burrows tried to get fancy, showing off some surprisingly slick moves, but Luongo stood tall. Tanner Glass tried my favorite move of the evening, as he dove out on his belly, passed the puck from his hand to his stick and tried to sweep it past Schneider. It was entirely ineffective, but it did succeed at being funny-looking, so the crowd loved it. Raffi Torres proceeded to flip out: being funny-looking is my gig, get a new bit. Raymond and Daniel followed up by each going 1-for-2, though Daniel benefited from Luongo taking himself out for a spin and a backwards somersault. Pro-tip, kids: don't do that in a game.

After Samuelsson went 1-for-2, Kesler had his initial attempt stopped, prompting him to take a page from Ballard's book and attempt to distract Schneider by throwing his glove. But, instead of a friendly toss in the air, Kesler aggressively chucked it right at Schneider's logo before wristing the puck off the post and in. Now Kesler, what would your daughter say about that?

All that remained was tallying the final score. Team Blue, who definitely were not underdogs, finished with the victory, 16-14. And all that was left for us was to pick up our free Canucks window clings, eat our free yogurt (it was a little sweet), and snag a free pepperoni stick on the way out the door. Free is my favorite price.

In closing: it was a wonderful afternoon and I encourage you to attend next year if you get the chance.

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Red Wings, December 22, 2010

Canucks 4 - Red Wings 5 (OT)

The Canucks and Red Wings have met twice this season, and both games have been among the most entertaining of the year. We at PITB often talk about the way Canucks fans view their team's games through a vaccuum; we disregard the play of the other team and blame everything, positive and negative, on Vancouver. But that's impossible to do when the Canucks play the Red Wings because it's so unmistakably clear you're watching an elite team. No hockey club in the NHL moves the puck like the Red Wings and few forecheck like they do. Each moment a red jersey isn't within two feet of the puck, it's a minor miracle. When they play the way they did last night, frankly, it's a wonder they ever lose.

That said, the Canucks had a chance to take this one. They led by a goal going into the third period, but unfortunately, a couple bad goals by Roberto Luongo took victory from their hands. It was frustrating. I watched this game:

• Roberto Luongo is being ripped apart by the fans and media, especially by his diehard haters, but let's try to remember something else: Detroit had 45 shots. Luongo was actually excellent most of the game; unfortunately, Henrik Zetterberg beat him on two goals that looked like they should never have gone in. And, when one was the game-tying goal and the other the game-winner, it's probably fair to pile on the flack (even if the second doesn't happen if Ehrhoff just gets the freaking puck out). Still, realize that the Red Wings' shots were typically of a higher quality than Vancouver's (including the game-winner, which was, contrary to popular opinion, a great shot), and Luongo should be credited for keeping his team in it. So, while Lou's gaffes may have cost us the two points, his overall play earned us one.

• The Canucks' power play broke out of its slump in a big way, going 2-for-3 and drastically changing momentum each time it hit the ice. For the first two periods, the Red Wings were controlling the run of the play the majority of the time, but when they took a penalty, Vancouver made them pay, got back into the game, and slowed their dominance for a stretch. The puck movement on the power play was brilliant, as was the down low-work by Ryan Kesler, who got two power play assists on nearly identical plays. Kesler also had a game-high 6 hits to go with his 3 assists.

• Jeff Tambellini's goal came on a seeing-eye wrist shot (above) that, upon review, defies physical laws. What a laser. Tamby had a game-high six shots to go with three hits and two blocked shots, and his defensive prowess continues to impress. He's become a very complete player in a very short period of time. Not since we discovered my younger brother's prodigous Ikea-building ability have I seen someone put it all together so quickly.

• I thought Brian Rafalski, Todd Bertuzzi, and Dan Cleary were phenomenal. Unfortunately, they play for the Red Wings.

• In the faceoff circle, Kesler and Malhotra continued their dominance, with 14-for-21 and 12-for-20 showings, respectively. Henrik Sedin had a rough night, however, going 8-for-21, including a brutal 3-for-10 in the offensive zone. Personally, I thought the Sedins only had an iffy game, and I'll tell you that a couple more offensive zone possessions wouldn't have hurt. Alex Burrows was lifted from their line from Mikael Samuelsson for a handful of shifts in the third period, but he wasn't the problem; it was that the line was consistently starting without the puck on offensive zone starts.

• Pavel Datsyuk was looking dangerous in this game until he broke his hand.

• It was nice to see Mikael Samuelsson score, if for no other reason that it will remind fans that he can. His seventh goal of the season was a big-time go-ahead goal on one of his patented wrist shots while Raffi Torres streaked to the net as a screen. While it broke a 9-game goalless drought, Samuelsson's stats haven't actually been too bad this season. He's fourth on the team in scoring with 22 points. I keep hearing about Sammy's disappointing season, but the numbers indicate something else. And numbers don't lie.

• Sometimes, when Samuelsson plays against the Red Wings, you can see how he used to be a part of this remarkable puck moving machine. Like Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager, he retains many traits of the Borg.

• As frustrated as you are, keep in mind that the Canucks really elevated their level of play to stay in this game. Detroit allows an average of 29 shots per game, and the Canucks put 39 on Jimmy Howard. That's a lot of shots. Add that to the Red Wings' 45 shots and both goaltenders must have known exactly how Sonny Corleone felt in the Godfather.

• I'm wondering if Aaron Volpatti's quiet play is the result of the game being too fast for him. He's supposedly a big hitter, but we haven't seen it, and while I'm fairly certain the Canucks have asked him to pick his spots, you think he'd have picked one by now.

• And finally, Dan Hamhuis was the big minute guy tonight, finishing with a game-high 25:23. I thought he played a fabulous game, keeping forwards to the outside, moving the puck out of the zone quickly, and making big hits along the boards. Clearly, Vigneault thought similarly, as Hammy had a whole three minutes more ice time than Alex Edler. The guy who really saw his minutes reduced, however, was Keith Ballard. He's been knocked back down to 14 and a half minutes.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Avalanche, November 24, 2010

Canucks 4 - 2 Avalanche

Last night was an excellent return to form for Vancouver, who did something they haven't done in ages: they won a game with sound defensive play and sustained offensive pressure. The stat sheet tells us that Colorado outshot Vancouver 23-19, but it doesn't tell the whole story: the puck spent far more time in the Avalanche zone than it did the Canucks' end. The Canucks were leaps and bounds better 5-on-5. It was nice to see the Sedins cycle return, and it was nice to see all three members of the second line looking dangerous and sharing some chemistry. The line juggling appeared to be a success, as the new-look trios all did a good job of maintaining momentum and keeping the puck out of their zone. Here's hoping they stay together awhile.

But enough looking ahead. This series is about dwelling on the very recent past. You see, not too long ago, I watched this game:

• The sustained offensive pressure meant diminished pressure on the defense corps, which played better, but still looked shaky. Hammy and Hips are still trying to find their legs, but everyone else was solid last night. Edler was jumping into rushes smartly, Ehrhoff was carrying the puck out of his zone and starting them with regularity, and Andrew Alberts' work on the penalty-kill was top-notch. In one late 2nd-period kill, he blocked two shots, hit everything in sight, and downright picked on Matt Duchene and John-Michael Liles. AV justified sitting Rome over Andy Alby by pointing to Alberts' penalty killing, and we saw it on display last night.
  
  
• That said, the best defenseman on the ice was Kevin Bieksa. It's strange to say, especially in a game that featured two potential Western Conference all-star d-men in Edler and Liles, but Bieksa really was at the top of the heap. He scored his first goal of the season on a beautiful tip-in after smartly going to the net on a delayed penalty. He made some other dangerous offensive rushes as well, and he always seemed to be the first man back when the Canucks got into a spot. If he played like this every game, he'd be a fan favourite.
  
  
• Through his first ten games, Alex Burrows had looked a little off. He scored a goal (above), factored into another, and caused his special brand of positive disarray in the offensive zone all night. Last night he looked a little on. This is a good sign, and it is entirely possible that he will soon be a lot on. Eventually, with a little luck, he might be full on, all the way across the sky.
  
  
• Yes, the triple rainbow line was, as it should be, the Canucks' best line. A spoonful of wizardous sedinerie led to 2 points for each linemate and a plus-6. A good recipe for success: score twice and don't get scored on. I've personally found that if you score and the other team doesn't, you'll win most of the time. When won't you? Collecting abstinence pledges.
  

• That said, Burrows' second assist was bogus. Daniel centered the puck for him and he missed it. Henrik pick it up on the half-wall, then pulled off the slap-pass play with his brother. During that give-and-go, Burrows never touched the puck. So why does he get an assist simply for being nearby? I'm happy for the guy, but, let us please try to protect the sanctity of the second assist before some idiot suggests we abolish it. This ain't no Russian hockey league.
  
  
• It's not always readily apparent what Jannik Hansen brings to this team. We know it's not hands, which are a bit like the Swedish Chef's in that they're never quite in sync with the rest of him. Upon hearing that he was bumped down to the fourth line, opinion vacillated between Good, he's only got four points this season, and Why Hansen? He was playing really well. The truth is that Hansen's best asset is his skating. Often we talk about skating like it's just top-end speed, but there's more than that. Hansen is a master at puck tracking--he skates fast, but he can also change directions and get back to a high speed better than anybody else. Since nobody expects the fourth line to score, Hansen's team-best skating ability can stand on its own while he's down there.
  
  
• During one of the intermissions, the Sportsnet ticker told us the final score of the FC Kobenhavn vs. Rubin Kazan UEFA game. It read: RUB -1 FCK - 0. Take from this what you will.
  
  
• My favourite moment: Jeff Tambellini, waiting for the referee to reverse the decisions on Ryan Kesler's disallowed goal. Tamby was visibly pumped when the puck went in, and you could see him waiting breathlessly for it to count. When the referee came away from the booth, the camera catches Tamby mouthing "Come on, you motherf... come on." Hilarious and sweet. I love his elation when the call goes his way.
  
  
• That was, by the by, Ryan Kesler's 100th career goal. Congratulations are in order. And now, here they are: congratulations.
  
  
• But seriously, the fact that his goal was legal is ridiculous. Here's why the puck goes in: Tambellini whacks Budaj in the side of the head with his stick. As Budaj recoils from being bludgeoned, he actually butts the puck with the other side of his head and it falls into the net. Apparently, you're allowed to do that. Tamby, on the whack: “I pulled a Keith Ballard there [...]" Hilarious.
  
  
• Reason to sigh: now some people are complaining that the Canucks powerplay is bad. Oh, shut up, some people.
  
  
• And speaking of Budaj, poor Craig Anderson. For the second straight game, he had to leave the game with an injury suffered in the warm-up. Anderson can't catch a break, save the part of his body that does exactly that whenever he comes to town. Even the NBA is laughing at his problems with Vancouver.
  
  
• Joel Perrault is a forgettable guy, ain't he? I forgot he was even playing last night, and apparently, so did Alain Vigneault. Perrault logged a team low 5:15, and I don't remember hearing his name once. I don't think I've ever missed Alex Bolduc so much and, all things considered, I likely never will again.
  
  
• In the faceoff circle, the Canucks were very good and the Avalanche were a gallon of fail. Vancouver won 34 of the game's 52 draws, led by an 11-for-15 showing by Manny Malhotra that included 6 out of 6 in the defensive zone. Faceoff goat? Paul Stastny, who only won 6 in 21 tries. Sidenote: having coined the term "Faceoff goat" I am now envisioning a live goat who takes faceoffs. And now, I'm envisioning the classic John Woo movie, Face/Off. But with goats.
  
  
• I really like the way the Canucks do the Ring of Honour tributes. Short, sweet, and classy. Apart from a terrifying moment where the tarp professed its love for the plaque beneath it and refused to leave it behind, it was a perfect pre-game ceremony.
  
  
• And finally: I thought today about what a ridiculous idea Fin is. An anthropomorphic killer whale who playfully tries to murder fans by biting their skulls open? Not awesome. You know if his teeth weren't made of foam, Brody, Quint, and Hooper would be looking for him.
  

Canucks Participating in Movember

We are now over a week into Movember, and my moustache is looking incredibly sad. Harrison and I are both participating in Movember, the annual event wherein men attempt to grow moustaches to bring attention to prostate cancer and raise money for cancer research. It's a fantastic cause and we encourage you to donate on the Movember website or, if you want to contribute to one of the many teams raising money for Movember, I recommend Houses of the Hockey. Harrison and I have been reluctant to post pictures of our own moustaches as they are less than impressive. I'm working with a less-greasy Dan Carcillo while Harrison has a bit of a black Sidney Crosby.

The NHL has a long history of great moustaches and some of the all-time greats are catalogued in Houses of the Hockey's three-part series. Lanny McDonald's fiery-red moustache is, of course, legendary and synonymous with the player, as is George Parros's Princeton-educated soup-strainer, which he shaved off at the beginning of the month to help promote Movember. Classic Canucks moustaches include Dave Babych, seen above, and Harold Snepsts.

A few more Canucks are looking to join the ranks of those great moustaches this Movember. I tracked down some photos, mainly through the amazing photos Jeff Vinnick has taken on the Canucks roadtrip.

Dan "Hammy" Hamhuis is rocking a particularly excellent handlebar moustache. Actually, when I had a handlebar moustache last month (shaved off in anticipation of Movember), I was informed that the correct terminology for this particular moustache was a horseshoe moustache and that a handlebar moustache required "graspable extremities" as Wikipedia puts it. Meh. I'll keep calling it a handlebar moustache as it resembles the handlebars on a banana seat bicycle.

Andrew Alberts has your basic moustache in this shot. Nothing wrong with the basic 'stache.

Manny "Alternate Captain Mal" Malhotra joins Hammy with an excellent handlebar moustache. He's also looking quite sharp in his black toque/scarf combo.

Wait, Kesler is that a moustache? It's kinda hard to tell...

Yes, it looks like he might have a moustache...maybe...

Ah, there it is. That is beautiful. Absolutely fantastic. Let's get a close-up on that.

Awesome.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Panthers, October 11, 2010

Canucks 2 - Panthers 1

The 2010-11 edition of the Vancouver Canucks is a hitty little bunch, aren't they? Their hittiness has visibly increased since last season, and it's because of the new acquisitions. Hamhuis and Ballard are just clamoring for open ice hits, and it's bleeding into potential big-hitters Bieksa and Edler. It remains to be seen whether the whole unit can keep up this level of grit, but for right now, I like it. They brought it to Florida hard in the first period, smartly exploiting their tired legs, as they had played the night before. While Florida did well to stay in this one, they faded, understandably near the end. As a result, I am proud to announce that the Canucks have won their first game this season. And I watched it happen:

• Florida really got worked in the Ballard trade, huh? Grabner's on the Island, and Bernier's playing on the fourth line. On the bright side, Keith Ballard played a great game tonight, but it was for the Canucks.
  
• In a graphic about Henrik Sedin's new letter, titled "Notable Predecessors," Sportsnet listed Mark Messier among former Canuck captains. But Messier wasn't notable. After that, they listed the single-season captains. They shuld have had a third category for "Captains Who Sucked so Bad There's a City to Which They Can Never Return."
  
• Speaking of Kevin Bieksa: despite being the guaranteed goat for the season just because he's worn that jacket before, he's been playing excellent hockey. He's physical, he knows when to jump up in the rush, and he creates offense. It's really no wonder AV likes having him on the ice.
  
• Didn't I see Bryan Allen in the classic X-Files episode "Home"? He's a toothless monstrosity, not unlike a Kesha music video. Oh that's right. I went there.
  
• Darcy Hordichuk: "I'm two minutes from 1000 [penalty minutes]. If I see Kesler out there, chances are I'll take those two minutes." Further proof that Kesler is a turd: ex-teammates are immediately his sworn enemies. He's my second-favourite Canuck, but even I'm wholly convinced he's about 98% turd. Like Bono.
  
• I spent the whole Every Goal series talking about the Canucks' incredible passing, and it seems they've felt the need to kick it up a notch. They had about three 2-on-1 rushes in the first two periods, and they made one pass too many each time. Shoot the puck, boys.
  
• Hansen skated with Kesler and Raymond for most of the game. Either he's been promoted, or Raffi Torres has been demoted, and I couldn't say with any certainty which it is. Maybe both?
  
• Halfway through the first period, I saw Mikael Samuelsson take a slash at a guy. He didn't really connect all that hard, but it got me to thinking: he does that a lot--maybe twice a game. The guy has an incredibly short fuse, and he gets away with a bunch of retaliatory slashes. Anyway, I made a note to talk about it here. Then, in the second period, he did it again to Corey Stillman, but he got caught. Something to watch for later.
  
• Speaking of Sammy, he tried so hard to get Daniel the hat-trick goal. Then, when he finally gave up and went for it himself, the universe kicked him in the Charlie Browns and he hit the crossbar. Poor guy.
  
• I like Mike Weaver, but I always feel bad for teams that have him. He's sort of like a laxative: sure, he helps you, but you wish you didn't need him.
  
• In football news, my father-in-law kept flipping over to the MNF game between the Vikings and the Jets. With two minutes to go, and Minnesota driving downfield, I said, "Favre's going to throw an interception." As soon as the Canucks game ended, we flipped over to it, just in time to watch Favre bury his head in his hands, having given away another game trying to be the hero. I hate that guy. It's been a real treat this season to watch him screw the pooch on a weekly basis.
  
• The Canucks need to work on their sustained offensive pressure. Their best chances are coming on the rush, but you don't draw penalties on the rush. You might have noticed Florida took zero infractions. That's on Vancouver, not the refs.
  
• Roberto Luongo has been marvelous to open the season. He's let in one goal in each of the first two games, and you can't fault him on either of them. On the flipside, he's made about ten saves a lesser goalie might not have had. I wasn't expecting this Luongo until November.
  
• And finally, what can I say about the incredible play of Dan Hamhuis? He's more than steady. While he didn't get a point on the game-winner, he was the one who patiently carried the puck out of the zone, gained the blue line, then found Samuelsson, trailing, to initiate the score. Then, as the clock wound down, it was his heady play with the puck in the corner that got the puck out of the zone and broke up Florida's last wave of offensive pressure. Hammy the Flying Postman has been incredible.

Quotes Taken Out of Context: Hammy Edition

"Physical contact kind of relaxes you a little bit."

- Dan Hamhuis, interview with Scott Oake, Oct 9, 2010

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Kings, October 9, 2010

Canucks 1 - 2 Kings (SO)

I Watched This Game is a recurring feature on Pass it to Bulis that records the insights and observations of two guys that watched a hockey game (sometimes with other guys).

The Canucks kicked off their fourtieth season with a ceremony that was unlike any other ceremony. How so? Well, for one thing, I really enjoyed it, and for another, it wasn't too long. So kudos to them for that. I'm not nearly old enough to recognize most of those players (save Orland Kurtenbach, but that's mainly because of a certain "blog" run by certain "bloggers"). I watched the ceremony with my father-in-law, however, and he seemed to recognize everyone. This is because he is the age of the universe. The ceremony was perfectly sentimental, perfectly aware of history, and perfectly timed to hold peoples' interest, especially considering they just want to watch some frickin' hockey.

Speaking of hockey, there was an NHL regular season game tonight. I watched it. I watched the Hell out of it. And, even though we lost in a shootout (I hate shootouts when we lose them), I was so hecka pumped to watch a game that mattered that the final score barely did. Here are some things:

• What a way to unveil the captain. I thought it might happen exactly like that, but, since I didn't tell anyone, I can't brag that I predicted it. But I did.
  
• Henrik was the right choice. Before the game, CBC cut to Henrik and Daniel in their dressing stalls and they both had As. I nearly lost my mind when I realized Kesler might be chosen captain, and not because I don't like him--because he's a turd. Everybody knows it. When the Euro guys are cheering against you in the Olympics because they know you'll be unbearable if you win, you're probably a turd. Kes is, therefore, a turd, and while he's our beautiful turd, well, you don't make a turd captain. If it's awesome enough, you try to show it to your wife, but that's all you do.
  
• Best moment of the ceremony: when Henrik seemingly forgot he was supposed to go become the captain.
  
• The Canucks defense was more physical tonight than I've ever seen them. Ballard and Hamhuis both came across the blue line for incredible open-ice hits. Edler was hitting like in last year's playoffs, and Bieksa and Alberts were taking the body on a regular basis. This top-six looked good together, and they looked mean. The best hit goes to Hammy, who leveled Ryan Smyth on a 2-on-2.
  
• On Alex Edler's headshot: it was a headshot. But, if you're reaching like that, you leave yourself wide open to get hit. It's stupid and you're going to get hurt. Keep playing that way, Edler.
  
• I thought Kopitar's chance was a sure goal, too. I remember David Backes scoring that exact goal twice against us last year. This year, with Luongo playing deeper, he got across, and Kopitar had nothing to shoot at.
  
• Speaking of Kopitar... oh my goodness his face. The shot of the trainer down on his knees, picking up teeth was unlike anything I've ever seen. I cringed all the cringes.
• On Henrik's player bio, the CBC misspelled Kurtenbach as Kurtenback. At the exact moment I pointed it out, the K changed to an H and everybody treated me like I was a big dumb goofus. Not cool, CBC.
  
• My brother-in-law, a diehard Flames fan and [lovable] loudmouth, drafted Roberto Luongo in his fantasy pool. Hearing him cheer for Canuck saves was a little like getting a backrub from Satan.
  
• More from my brother-in-law: "Kesler's good. Imagine how good he'd be if he was Canadian. He'd be a gold medallist, for instance."
  
• The Ehrhoff goal resulted from one of the most unique power play formations I've ever seen. Rather than having two defensmen at the point, Ehrhoff planted right between the dots, and the other four players formed a diamond around him. It gave everybody room to operate, because the Kings' players had to collapse in to respect Ehrhoff's threat, especially with the Sedins so obviously planning to pass it to him. They totally did.
  
• Mason Raymond's ability to gain the offensive zone and win board battles has gone from unremarkable to remarkable in two short seasons, which is the exact opposite of what happened to The Office.
  
• If you think this year's Canuck team is too similar to last year's, consider that 2 of the 3 guys out on that 4-on-3 penalty kill were acquired this offseason. Hamhuis and Malhotra were incredible on that kill, with Malhotra pressuring the point, and Hamhuis smartly protecting the crease. I don't even remember who the 3rd guy was. Edit: turns out it was Ballard, which only furthers my argument.
  
• I can tell you who it wasn't: Kevin Bieksa. While his minor penalty in overtime didn't cost the Canucks the game-winning goal, it did cost them the chance to play for it. That, coupled with a bad shift in the first period in which he got beat by Anze Kopitar for a scoring chance, then took his first boneheaded penalty of the season (he's on pace for 164), and it's clear that Kevin Bieksa is going to be this season's whipping boy. Whip.

Skeeter here. I wasn't able to watch the full game due to being on a soccer team. Who the heck schedules soccer games during the Thanksgiving long weekend on Canucks opening night? Seriously?

Couple quick thoughts.

• With the caveat that I missed the last half of the game, I thought Bieksa and Hamhuis looked rock solid together. I really like that pairing: Juice and Hammy. I'm also intrigued by Henrik picking Bieksa as one of his alternate captains. As much as Harrison has labelled him the new whipping boy (one game in, Harrison, really?), I'm a Bieksa supporter. I think he'll have a good season and Henrik obviously believes in him.
• I've been pointing out the work of Newell Brown all preseason and Harrison is absolutely right about Ehrhoff's goal being the result of a new and possibly never-before-seen formation. The Sedins weren't actually huge producers on the powerplay last season, but this new set-up (which seems to change from game to game to keep opponents off-balance) seems to really suit their style of play.
• Johnny Quick looked sharp in his old-school pads and mask. In fact, the entire retro look of both teams was fantastic; the only way it could have been more authentic is if they played without helmets.
• One of the only substandard elements to the Canucks season last year was the penalty killing, which hit its low point against the Kings in the playoffs. Take a look at who played the most minutes on the PK tonight, which went a solid 5 for 6, including two minutes of 4-on-3 in overtime. Dan Hamhuis and Manny Malhotra led the way, with 6:45 and 6:30 each, followed by Keith Ballard with 4:24. Peter Schaefer also chipped in 3:36 of penalty killing time. All new arrivals in the off-season because Mike Gillis saw the need and filled it.
• However, one of the main reasons those PK minutes were so high is because the Canucks took too many penalties. Pretty typical for a season opener, actually, as the play will be a little chippy and sloppy until they get into mid-season form.

I Watched This Summit: Canucks Summer Summit, July 7, 2010

The Vancouver Canucks held their annual Summer Summit tonight, making several big announcements and answering the questions of season ticket holders. On-stage were Orland Kurtenbach, Mike Gillis, Victor de Bonis, and Stan Smyl with John Shorthouse and Jim Robson asking the questions to start off the evening.

And, because it's the off-season and I care way too much about the Canucks, I took the time to watch the summit live on Canucks.com. Let's face it, I'm starved for Canucks news and I hope that you are too. Otherwise, no one would bother reading this post.

A couple of the announcements were expected and anticipated, such as the reveal of the 40th Anniversary sweater and the introduction of a couple of the new arrivals to the Canucks for the 2010-11 season. Others were more surprising. Here's a quick recap of the event and some thoughts on the announcements.

The Big Announcements

• The biggest announcement, of course, is the retirement of Markus Naslund's #19 on December 11th of the upcoming season. While I'm sure this will spark many debates among Canucks fans as to whether the honour is deserved, personally, I'm thrilled. Naslund revived the franchise when he arrived from Pittsburgh, becoming one of the most important Canucks of all time. He's the all-time franchise leader in goals and points, and was the key component of one of the most exciting scoring lines Vancouver has ever seen in the West Coast Express. But equally important, he played a big role in the community, along with his wife Lotta. They gave freely of their time and energy, much of it to Canucks Place and BC Children's Hospital. Markus is a special player who is very deserving of having his number retired along Smyl and Linden.

• Like many other NHL teams, the Canucks will be establishing a Ring of Honour for those players who may not be ideal candidates for a sweater retirement but still contributed to the history of the Canucks organization. The first to be honoured on October 26th will be Orland Kurtenbach, the Canucks first captain and former head coach. This is a great move by the organization, as there are many players that could be honoured. Orland is a great choice to be the first inductee. Three other players will be inducted this year. Possibilities could be Richard Brodeur, Kirk McLean, Thomas Gradin, Pavel Bure, and Wayne Maki. The one player that the Ring of Honour should take out a restraining order on to ensure that he has no contact with it, whether in person or by phone: Mark Messier.

• As expected, the Canucks introduced a special 40th Anniversary sweater, which will be worn on opening night and four additional nights. The sweater is a match for the original they wore for their first seasons in the NHL from 1970-78 with the addition of the 40th Anniversary patch that had already been scouted out. I'm guessing the other four nights this jersey is worn will be the nights they induct the four members of the Ring of Honour, but that's just speculation on my part.

Smaller Announcements and Answers to Questions

• The team formally introduced Manny Malhotra and Dan Hamhuis as members of the Canucks. It's a good thing they showed up, as John Shorthouse was looking dangerously under-dressed in his polo shirt amongst all the suits. Fortunately, Manny and Hammy were appropriately casual. Hamhuis slipped in a jab at Nashville, noting that the attendance at the Summer Summit was awfully similar to the attendance at a Predators home game in November. Shortly after, while drawing a ticket for a prize, a fan jokingly booed when he announced it was a red rather than green ticket. Shorty jumped in, "Your first boo! No, no, it was Hamhuuuuuis."

• Shorthouse used the opportunity of the announcement of Naslund's jersey retirement to ask about the possibility of Pavel Bure receiving the same treatment in the future. Gillis clearly was not expecting the question and gave a classic GM's non-answer. To be fair, Bure could be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and would be the first player who played the majority of his career in Vancouver to receive that honour. I don't see it happening; it's more likely he'll find a place in the Ring of Honour.

• Then came the questions from the season ticket holders, the majority aimed at Mike Gillis. The first was about Russians and the KHL: no Russians other than Shirokov will be competing for a spot on the Canucks and it appears that Kirill Koltsov won't be coming over from the KHL any time soon. Gillis went as far to say that the risks with Russian players and the KHL mean that he'll be likely to pick more Western Canadian kids than Russian kids in the future.

• Best line of the evening easily goes to Gillis. A fan asked "Why don't we have a cool intro like the Flames or Oilers?" Gillis's response: "I'd rather have a hockey team." Killer line.

• Gillis was actually quite funny all night, with a number of great one-liners. He really seemed to enjoy himself.

• Alex Burrows, according to Gillis, is ahead of schedule after his shoulder surgery and may be back in time for the beginning of the season. His agent had previously suggested Burrows might not be back until October or November, so hopefully Gillis is right.

• Who will wear #2 next season, Ballard or Hamhuis? Hammy suggested that in these types of cases, it usually comes down to the number of games played. Convenient.

• Unfortunately, our favourite weirdo, Kyle Wellwood, is on his way out. Gillis wished him the best and hopes that he finds a place to play through free agency.

• And finally, Gillis confirmed once again that Cory Schneider will be the backup in Vancouver, but also expressed the desire to sign a "veteran, young goaltender" to be their third-stringer/starter for the Moose. It's kind of difficult to get someone who's both veteran and young. Yann Danis might work; he's been a respectable backup at the NHL level. He's 29, but he could be a decent pickup. Barry Brust is younger, but has less NHL experience. Thankfully, I'm not the GM of the Canucks.

The Spectacular 1st Annual PiTB Free Agency Day Meta-LiveBlog Spectacular!

It has officially come to this. Birthed from the twin brains of Skeeter and Harrison, two guys with a knack for the written word and an unhealthy obsession with the Vancouver Canucks, Pass it to Bulis! was born. But it wasn't simply enough to write about the Canucks. Essaying is so far removed from the pulse of drama-heavy days such as free agency. It has to be a live blog. It has to. Don't try to change our minds. We can't be tamed.

But what sets our LiveBlog apart from all the others you could read today? Well, first, nobody's reading this one. So there's that. But here's the real prize: this is a Meta-LiveBlog. What does that mean? Well, it means we're not actually LiveBlogging free agency. We're actually LiveBlogging ourselves, watching TSN's Free Agent Frenzy. Sure, we'll report the news, but you can find that anywhere. Don't worry, you won't miss any news (unless the Canucks Message Boards' Trades & Rumours subforum crashes for the afternoon, which it always does). What you'll get here are updates about when Pierre McGuire stands too close to Darren Dutchyshen; when Duthie cuts away to a panel that has nothing to say, and isn't aware they're on; when Darren Dreger tweets the news, live on television, from his blackberry, without telling us until he's done. You'll also hear our immediate reactions to Canucks moves and non-moves; when Skeeter and I are hungry; when our wives begin asking us to stop this nonsense.

Bookmark this page. Refresh it often. Join the conversation. Argue with us--we're dumb and stubborn. The newest updates will appear at the top. The LiveBlog begins at 8:45am.