The Giants top 10 home games to watch Steve Ewen The Province The Vancouver Giants will gladly suggest that all 36 of their home games are must see. We aren t here to dispute that. Not at all. We d rather hope to help those who might be time challenged and need to choose some favourites. So, in line with the WHL opening its doors for the 2013-14 campaign on Thursday, here are 10 games at the Pacific Coliseum to watch. Friday, Sept. 20, vs. Victoria Royals (7:30 p.m.) It s opening night. It s pomp and circumstance and that other fun stuff. The Giants will wear special tribute jerseys celebrating contributions made to the game from our First Nations. It is also the first of a whopping 10 games against the Royals. The Royals are big, edgy, full of swagger. They also have an acrobatic goalie in Czech Patrik Polivka, 19. Wednesday, Sept. 25, vs. Seattle Thunderbirds (7 p.m.) It s the first of two scheduled looks for the Coliseum faithful at 16-yearold centre Mathew Barzal, a Coquitlam native already being pegged by some as a possible top selection in the 2015 NHL draft. The Burnaby Winter Club product, the first pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, had 103 points, including 29 goals, for the Vancouver North East Chiefs in 34 B.C. Major Midget league games last season. Seattle is also in Vancouver Nov. 22. Wednesday, Oct. 23, vs. Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m.) The Hitmen should be one of the league s better teams and Jake Virtanen, 17, a left-winger from Abbotsford, is a major reason why. He s expected to be a top-10 pick in the next NHL draft. Calgary is also in town Feb. 7. Friday, Nov. 15, vs. Medicine Hat Tigers (7:30 p.m.) Don t be offended. We re playing the odds here. Hunter Shinkaruk, as good as he s been at Canucks camp so far, is just turning 19. Chances are the shifty left-winger will be back in the Hat, looking to improve on his 100 goals in 193 WHL regular season games. This is the first of two visits to the Coliseum for the Tigers. The other is Jan. 22. Wednesday, Dec. 4, vs. Kootenay Ice (7 p.m.) Centre Sam Reinhart, 17, could be the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NHL draft and he makes his lone trip through town with the Ice here. He had 35 goals and 85 points in 72 games last season. Reinhart s hockey IQ is off the charts, not surprising considering he s the son of former Flames and Canucks defenceman Paul Reinhart and the younger brother of Flames forward prospect
Max Reinhart, 21, and Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman and New York Islanders 2012 firstrounder Griffin Reinhart, 19. Friday, Dec. 13, vs. Everett Silvertips (7:30 p.m.) It s Teddy Bear Toss Night, and to see all those fuzzy, furry friends fly on to the ice after the home team scores the first goal is always a sight to behold. The greatest Teddy Bear goal in Giants history has to be Tim Kraus penalty-shot tally against the Silvertips in 2006. All the stuffed toys are donated to children s charities afterwards, of course. Saturday, Dec. 28, vs. Kelowna Rockets (7 p.m.) The first game back after the holiday break is always a treat, and the Rockets will be one of the showcase teams, led by their puck-moving blueline crew. Vancouver and Kelowna meet eight times. The clubs don t play the first one until Dec. 3, but then meet four times in 13 games. Vancouver plays Kelowna in four of its final eight contests. Sunday, Jan. 12, vs. Portland Winterhawks (5 p.m.) Portland is expected to be a frontrunner again, despite graduations, players jumping to pro early and the sanctions for recruiting violations from last year. The Winterhawks, with former Canucks assistant Mike Johnston back on the bench following his suspension, are also at the Coliseum Feb. 15. Friday, Jan. 24, vs. Lethbridge Hurricanes (7:30 p.m.) It s the annual Dash for Cash Night, which features $15,000 in loonies spread across the rink and local celebrities and fans chosen at random slipping and sliding their way to recover them. The fans keep whatever they find, and the celebrities send the cash the way of their favourite charity. Friday, March 14, vs. Kelowna Rockets (7:30 p.m.) This is the final regular season game at the Coliseum, and Vancouver wraps up league play the following evening in Kelowna. By this point in the 2012-13 season, Vancouver was well out of playoff contention, but this time around these games should have some consequence. Vancouver will have trouble scoring, but their work ethic and defence should have them in the playoff hunt somewhere. Healthy Booth an eternal optimist Ben Kuzma The Province Winger stays positive even after string of injuries prevents him from reaching potential If adversity builds character, then David Booth is among the league leaders in eternal hope. From knee, groin and ankle injuries that made many wonder if the Vancouver Canucks winger was a better buyout option once healthy rather than the best candidate to play with Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows the always-optimistic Booth was back on the practice ice Wednesday.
He s expected to play at some point in the NHL pre-season after March ankle surgery, in which screws reattached his fibula and tibia and kept them in place. All this after suffering a groin injury in an initial training-camp skating test a year ago that cost him the first 14 games of the lockout season. Booth was limited to a dozen games last season and managed all of one empty-net goal. He must prove worthy of a contract that pays $4.25 million US annually the next two seasons. If adversity does build character, then the 28-year-old Detroit native could finally meet expectations. I m a big believer in that and I think my faith has helped me out through this time and it s probably been the toughest time in my career, said Booth. I just want to get back to being the player I can be and know I can be. Nobody puts more pressure on me than I do. It s been tough, but that all builds character and I m looking forward to a big year. When swept by the San Jose Sharks in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, the Canucks were missing that force off the wall who could take pucks to the net and jam home rebounds. In December 2011, Booth scored three goals and added two assists in a five-game span, and it looked like Kesler had finally found his winger. Then came the Kevin Porter kneeon-knee hit on Booth. That was the best I was playing, recalled Booth, who finished that season with 16 goals. If given the opportunity, I can really be a force in this league. I can t change the way I play because injuries are part of the game. It s a man s game out there. I ve still got to take pucks to the net and finish my hits, and that s the way I play my game. I don t want to get away from that. If you play the game afraid, that s when you get hurt. The road to recovery hasn t been easy. Booth couldn t place any weight on his ankle for two months, but the gym rat still worked out rigorously and added upper-body muscle to put him up to 237 pounds. Once he could do cardio, Booth got down to 205 and is now at 215, but his body had to adjust to the surgery. He s had calf soreness while training, and even his initial skates were tough before he was medically cleared. It s not like you can throw on the skates and go out there, he stressed. Hockey is so dynamic and there are so many different angles and edges you re on.
There s a process of trying to get it 100 per cent and times when the body will work the way it wants to, and not the proper way. I ve battled through those. Canucks head coach John Tortorella saw enough of Booth in those allflorida matchups to have a read on his winger. Needless to say, a healthy Booth will help provide that second wave of offence. He killed us in Florida, and the biggest thing for me is, can he stay healthy? asked Tortorella, a former Tampa Bay head coach. He can be an asset in how we want to play on the puck. He slots people in different spots and we get a good player that can really help us. Sedins can t be all things to all people Tony Gallagher The Province If the twins actually end up playing defensive hockey this year, expect a drop in their numbers We all know why the Sedins are at least saying they are keen to kill penalties and take more defensive zone faceoffs this season, and it s all for the right reasons. As leaders of the team, they are keen to set the right tone with the new coach, to get in line with what he wants to do and get the season off on the right collective foot. And in a piece with our Jason Botchford found in these confines, they gave their reasoning that this is what they had always done in Sweden, and saw no reason to believe that they couldn t do it over here. And, as such, it is almost certain they are perfectly sincere with their agreement with John Tortorella that they should participate in all aspects of the forwards game, and not be given any exalted status that might have been perceived or resented in the past. But there s a problem here. While it s reasonable for them to feel that way and for the coach to feel the way he does even though he doesn t seem to have grasped the fact he isn t in New York anymore, isn t it also reasonable to extrapolate that if they do become more involved in killing penalties and spending more time in the D zone, that their production is likely to drop? After all, while they are very good, they are not supermen, something which has been quietly outlined to us in each and every playoff series they have ever played in this league, short of Henrik s five-game rage against the dying of the light against L.A. 17 months ago. Adding to that reasonable supposition is the fact they are one year older, playing against a tougher schedule than ever before, and they have an Olympics to play halfway around the world before they once again have to be at their best when it counts. And in those playoffs next April,
they will have to do more than they ve ever done in the past for this team to accomplish its ultimate goal which is get out of the first round and keep going. But no, let s not think rationally here. Let s everyone sit around pretending that they will be playing in a pretend league with pretend bodies and that somehow the Sedins will be able to do all things and be all things to all people in this wonderful Fantasy league with imagined results. It may happen just as they ve imagined for a few games, perhaps even half a season if everything goes wonderfully well. But the chances of it all coming off are about as likely Henrik punching Zdeno Chara into submission, which, come to think of it, may as well be included in his list of duties from Tortorella this season. So the question becomes, why? Why this extended stay in Fantasyland? Well, perhaps there s a reason why the Sedins don t want to talk reality here. There s a reason why nobody (re: their agent J.P. Barry) on their side of the issue is speaking up and saying hold on here, if you want these guys to kill penalties and take draws in the D zone more, you have to expect there might be a reduction in production. And it s all pretty simple. Right now, the Sedins are negotiating a long-term contract extension with the club based on numbers that they have rolled up over the past three or four seasons under the AV system, which called for the twins to place their focus on offence. And as such, their numbers are huge and will be commanding a monstrous amount of money for players heading further into the murky world of forwards in their mid to late 30s in a young man s league. They certainly don t want to muddy those talks by saying expect our production to drop if we start to diversify our game. That would hurt their position. But once they sign and start this impossible task, the moment their numbers dip, it will be the first thing out of their defenders mouths. So, in the meantime, everyone goes on talking like these guys will be able to walk on water, multiply loaves and fishes and remain totally injury-free, just to prove us nattering nabobs of negativity in the media wrong like they would so love to do. Well, frankly, there is nothing most of us would welcome more than to have these great guys jam it down our collective throats, because most of us think the world of them as people and citizens of this community. It s just that it may be asking just a little too much. Blocked learning curve evident
Luongo says new system will come but prefers old strategy Taking a team that isn t close to grasping its new system and putting it in front of Roberto Luongo for his first pre-season game sure makes for some awkward hockey. Actually, awkward is being a little too kind to the Vancouver Canucks for their 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. They spent the first 12 minutes bumbling around the ice like the Cleveland Browns front office on draft day. Then, they spent the rest of the game protecting a three-goal deficit. Brendan Gaunce scored another garbage goal. That was good. The Sedins killed penalties and if you re all for that, they didn t disappoint. They nearly had a couple of shorthanded scoring chances, too. But, really, the Canucks looked like they didn t have a clue what they were doing under John Tortorella. Turns out, they don t. Not yet anyway. We haven t looked at a lot of changes, Henrik Sedin said. We looked at a little bit of the neutral zone and forecheck, and a little bit in our own end. But it s a process. It s going to take six games, and a lot of practise. Well, there s only four left. This process could take longer for Luongo. Consider his history of struggling in October. It s generally been attributed to the theory it takes him playing games to hone his reads on the ice. There s no reason to think that will change. Now consider this year he ll be doing it in front of players who are tackling a new system, one Luongo didn t exactly request. Because, under Tortorella, the emphasis will be now, tomorrow and always blocking shots. What does it mean for Luongo? The team in front of him is going from making blocking shots one of its last options to one of its first. And those reads he s taken time to get down before may be that much more complicated this year. No one can be sure where a blocked puck is going. Does he have any words of advice? You better block it, because if you don t, I won t see it, Luongo said. A couple of times guys were trying to block shots, but they weren t sure if they should or not and they didn t end up blocking them. It goes along with the territory. There will be a learning curve. In the past, we ve worked on trying to box guys out before they get to the front of the net. If ever the other player is in front, I d front him or stay behind him to try and not create a double screen. Sometimes that worked. Sometimes it didn t.
Luongo said he s open to change. Anything that makes the team better. But admitted, given a choice over the years, he s sided with Marty Brodeur who would seemingly rather chew glass shards than see his teammates try to block shots in front of him. That (Brodeur s way) is what I ve preferred in the past, especially when the guys are far out, just make sure that they take away sticks, Luongo said. But if you re a good team at blocking shots, that s going to cut down on a lot of chances, too. If it makes our group better, I m all for it. The goals came early and often for the Oilers, who picked up just where they left off at the end of the regular season when they smoked the Canucks 7-2 in April. Jordan Eberle opened the scoring, and it was a goal that Luongo had no chance on. Luongo was pinned, and helpless, as the loose puck slowly crossed the goal-line. But the second goal, he was screened by one of those wannabe shot blockers. I was a little bit deep on that one, I probably should have made the save, Luongo said. This is going to be an adjustment for everybody. You kind of felt it a little bit tonight. Guys were trying to get into lanes, especially the d-men I found. That being said, if you re going to be there, you have to be committed 100 per cent to blocking the shot. That s going to come with time. That s not something that s going to happen from one day to the next. All of a sudden, you re blocking shots all over the place. Reality may check youth plan Canucks determined to get younger, but kids may not be ready to play In a perfect world, Zack Kassian would step on to a first line with the Sedins and give the team the 25 goals and 55 points they ve come to expect from that spot. Brendan Gaunce, meanwhile, would establish himself as a bigbody presence on the third line and be a solid contributor throughout the season. Nicklas Jensen, for his part, would make the team and start developing along the lines of a Jannik Hansen. And while we re dreaming, Hunter Shinkaruk would emerge as a Calder Trophy candidate on the second line, while Bo Horvat returned to London, Ont. leads Canada to a gold medal at the World Juniors and the Knights to a Memorial Cup. That, at least, is the dream for the Canucks. As for the reality, well, if one or two of those things come to fruition, they should consider themselves fortunate. The Canucks are committed to
getting younger this year. That s the easy part. The hard part is getting kids who are barely old enough to vote to contribute in the toughest league in the world. You hope it s a long audition, said Shinkaruk, the personable 18-yearold from Calgary shortly after the Canucks dropped a 4-1 decision to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. Obviously you don t know what the coaching staff is thinking. But every day you re trying to prove you belong here. Every game is big. Big for these players. And big for the organization. Under ordinary circumstances, the second pre-season game shouldn t engender a heightened level of scrutiny but, as new coach John Tortorella has said, these aren t ordinary circumstances for the Canucks. They want to get younger. They believe they have kids who are ready to step into key roles on their team. And they ve been given every opportunity to show they belong. The results? As you might have guessed, they re inconclusive. But it s also fair to say not one of the kids has separated themselves from the pack and you d hoped that would have started by now. Kassian, the 22-year-old man child, is auditioning for the plumb role alongside the Sedins and Wednesday night he was like a lot of his teammates: OK in flashes but no sustained brilliance. He finished minus-two and with one shot on goal. He had an impact on the power play but it went 0-for-2. It was a similar story for the Canucks other prospects. Shinkaruk and Horvat played on what amounted to a second line with Hansen and produced a couple of chances, most notably when Horvat put Hansen in cold in the second period. But they didn t hit the scoresheet after Shinkaruk scored a spectacular goal against the Sharks on Monday night. He was asked how he felt about his game. OK, he said. He was asked if OK is good enough for someone in his spot. No, not at all, he said. If I want to make this team I have to be great every single night. I m trying to give them as little reason as possible to send me back. Gaunce scored the loan Canucks goal, his second of the pre-season, and has been a steady presence in a third-line role. As for Jensen, suffice to say it was a forgettable night. Again, you don t want to judge a kid too harshly on one night but the plain fact is the Canucks only have four more pre-season games left and those will go a long way toward answering some big questions for the team. Tortorella, meanwhile, has said he won t force any of the youngsters into his lineup and therein lies a tale. Five years ago, the Canucks opted to base their player-development policy on the
Detroit Red Wings template. The plan was to assemble a group of prospects, develop them within the organization and promote them to the NHL club only when they were ready. The Wings, of course, had done it for years, refreshing their lineup with a seemingly endless supply of youngsters and making it look easy. Turns out it wasn t that easy. Cody Hodgson was the crown jewel for a couple of years but he had a falling out with the organization and was traded for Kassian. Yann Sauve never panned out. Anton Rodin was a bust. A first-rounder went to Florida in the Keith Ballard trade. Add it all up and the drafts from 2008 to 2010 didn t have the desired effect and those are the players who should be pushing for spots now. Given their credentials, it s hard to see the same thing happening with the current group. But these things also take time, even in a perfect world. Frank s for the memories and blue- line Iain MacIntyre The Vancouver Sun It s difficult to forget Corrado s potential when moulding a winner; his new coaches likely won t In the summer after his 20th birthday, there were a lot of things Frankie Corrado probably wanted to do. The guitarist could have cobbled together a band and VW bus and gone touring. Or he could have surfed in Hawaii or backpacked around Europe or simply enjoyed being young and free and hung out with other cool kids in Toronto. Instead, Corrado briefly visited Kitchener and Sudbury to see the families who had billeted him in junior hockey. Pretty much the rest of his wild summer was spent in the gym or at the rink. It was a pretty stiff schedule, Corrado said this week. Especially at my stage and where I am now, I can t miss any ( training) days in the summer. The big thing for me was to put on some weight and get a little stronger. That comes with time. You can t do it all in one summer. Corrado tried. The 6- foot- 2 defenceman arrived at the Vancouver Canucks training camp at 200 pounds after finishing last season improbably, as it was in the National Hockey League at 188. It s too early to tell; it s all about getting stronger, he said. The extra weight looks good on the numbers sheet, but if you re five per cent or 10 per cent stronger, that s what really matters. It s far more difficult to quantify Corrado s maturity, but from here it looks off- thecharts high on and off the ice with the Canucks.
He has been partnered with Vancouver s best defenceman, Dan Hamhuis, since training camp began and looks even more comfortable among NHL players than he did last spring, when Corrado was fast- tracked to the Canuck lineup only 2 ½ weeks after his Ontario Hockey League season ended in April. Corrado, who has soared since the Canucks selected him 150th in the 2011 entry draft, played three NHL regular- season games and four more in the playoffs as Vancouver burned a year on the blue- liner s contract rather than remove him from the lineup. Even after the team signed free agent Yannick Weber in July for depth on defence, then eventually re- signed veteran Andrew Alberts, Corrado could still make this team. If he maintains his current trajectory for another week, the question isn t whether Corrado plays for the Canucks this season but how much he plays. He is inexpensive ($ 599,000 Canuck salary) and portable, and the team could shuttle him waiver- free between the NHL and the American Hockey League, even if the transaction is complicated by the location of the Canucks farm team in Utica, which Rand McNally says is somewhere in New York state. Or Canuck coach John Tortorella may simply keep his best 22 or 23 players, which would include Corrado. After scraping their toupées on the salary- cap ceiling the last few years, the Canucks have more than $ 2 million of breathing room this season and can accommodate eight defencemen on the payroll. One of the best Canucks in Monday s 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, Corrado is showing now, as he did last spring, that he s capable of playing in the NHL. I m always learning, Corrado said. If I can take something away with me each time I m here and then maybe I don t play here right away and go down ( to the AHL), I can say I learned here. When the time comes, I want to be ready. Whether it s now or down the road, it doesn t change anything. I come to the rink every day to learn and get better. But I feel like I belong at this level and hopefully that s what my play will show. It s all about familiarity. I m familiar with the situations I see on the ice now. I can make plays and take the body and just play the game the right way. Corrado isn t the only Canuck who thinks he belongs. He s very composed out there, Hamhuis said. He skates well. He s strong and can play against big players. He s a good player. This doesn t surprise me. Last year was the surprise. It
was so impressive to see him play with the composure he did at that age, especially in those big playoff games. He s got a long career ahead of him. Speaking before Wednesday s pre- season game against the Edmonton Oilers, Tortorella warned against reading too much into the pairing of Corrado and Hamhuis. But it s hard to believe it s coincidental the Canucks are asking their top defenceman to play with their best blue- line prospect. It could be an opening- night pairing or simply an indication of the organization s high regard for Corrado. Either way, it s a good thing for him. He reminds me a lot of Chris Tanev, veteran defenceman Kevin Bieksa said, referencing the steady 23- year- old who became a Canuck regular last season. ( Frankie) comes in here and is confident in his abilities. He s a very good, respectful kid, good with the veterans, but he is confident in his abilities and goes out there and plays with confidence. He doesn t make a lot of mistakes. You see a lot of kids these days stepping in from junior and college and making an impact right away. It seems like the guys with the high maturity level are able to do that, and he s very mature for his age. Is Corrado as quiet as Tanev or have people heard him actually speak? No, he talks a lot more than Tanev, Bieksa said. He s a good kid a good Ontario defenceman. There aren t many of them around. The Canucks may soon have three. Like Corrado, Tanev is from Toronto. Bieksa is from Grimsby, Ont. You never want to take a demotion, so to speak, Corrado said. You always want to play at the highest level. That s what drives us as athletes. That s what makes the sport itself so great. I understand the situation and understand I need to learn. But the athlete in me wants to stay here and compete at the highest level. The coach in me would let him. Oilers too slick for prospects Brad Ziemer The Vancouver Sun Take a deep breath, Canuck fans, and repeat after me: It s only the pre- season. It s only the preseason. There, feel better? The real National Hockey League games don t start for another two weeks, thankfully, as the Canucks haven t shown much in their first two pre- season games.
They dropped a 4-1 decision Wednesday at Rogers Arena to the Edmonton Oilers in a game that was over shortly after it began. The result really doesn t matter, of course. More concerning for the Canucks was the fact that most of their youngsters, who are being given long looks in the pre- season, really haven t shown much. Winger Nicklas Jensen, who was so good during the rookie camp in Penticton, was nearly invisible Wednesday. Bo Horvat and Hunter Shinkaruk, the highly touted first- rounders from this summer s draft, weren t much better. Shinkaruk and Horvat both finished the night minus- two and had just one shot between them ( by Horvat). Jensen was held without a shot. Brendan Gaunce, who looked ordinary in Penticton, has been the best of the youngsters so far. Gaunce, Vancouver s first pick in the 2012 draft, scored his second goal in as many games Wednesday. I liked him, I thought he was steady today, said Canuck assistant Glen Gulutzan, who ran the bench Wednesday. He is a big body out there. He is a good young player. Playing left wing, too, I thought that line did a real good job. The kids are running out of chances to impress new coach John Tortorella, who again watched the game from the press box area. Only four preseason games remain and Tortorella is on record as saying he wants to use the final two to dress the team that will start the regular season on Oct. 3 in San Jose, Calif. The Oilers had a 4-0 lead before the first period was 13 minutes old. Goalie Roberto Luongo, making his first appearance since being blindsided by the Cory Schneider trade, had a miserable start as Jordan Eberle beat him on a wraparound on an Edmonton power play at 4: 49 of the first. Eberle actually swept the puck into Luongo s pads and Luongo then dragged the puck over the line. Martin Marincin made it 2-0 when he beat Luongo short side with a wrist shot at the 7: 07 mark and 31 seconds later David Perron scored from a sharp angle to make it 3-0. I m obviously not very pleased with the way things went, Luongo said. The good news is it s all little details of the game that could be easily fixed. I just have to keep working like an animal out there, keep improving every day and make sure you just build up to being ready opening night. After Jesse Joensuu made it 4-0 at 12: 24 of the first, the Canucks got on the board when Gaunce skated into the crease area and chipped a rebound past Oiler goalie Devan Dubnyk at the 13: 06 mark.
I think my performance was like the team s, said Gaunce, who skated most of the night with Mike Santorelli and Brandon DeFazio. You have to win games to make an impact. A goal is good, but in a losing cause it doesn t really mean much. What was disturbing from a Vancouver standpoint was the fact there was little pushback from the Canucks when they fell behind early. None of the players fighting for a job stepped up to stir things up. That bite Tortorella is looking for was nowhere to be found. Sometimes the game goes that way, Gulutzan said. The game just didn t take on that life. Sometimes they do and get crazy and sometimes they don t. It just never went that way. The Canucks were much better in the second period, but had nothing to show for it. They outshot the Oilers 10-4 but could not beat Dubnyk. Rookie Joacim Eriksson replaced Luongo in goal in the third period and stopped all nine shots he faced. The Canucks had to play most of the last two periods with just four defencemen after losing John Negrin and Patrick Mullen to undisclosed injuries. That meant big minutes for Kevin Bieksa, Jason Garrison, Chris Tanev and Peter Andersson. Santorelli dropped back to play a few shifts on the back end. That s tough, your first game for those guys and we were down to four for 40 minutes, so it s a lot of ice, Gulutzan said. I thought Santorelli did a good job. We put him back there on the power play and couple of times on PK. Garrison logged 33: 03 of ice time, while Bieksa had 31: 04. CHIP SHOTS: Centre Brad Richardson had a great night in the faceoff circle, where he won eight of nine draws... The Canucks have Thursday off, then they travel to Edmonton for their third of six pre- season games on Saturday. Booth back on ice, but for how long? After busting his left ankle last March, Vancouver Canuck winger David Booth has just one thing in mind this fall: be ready when he and his mates open the National Hockey League s regular season on Oct. 3 in San Jose, Calif. I guess that s the biggest goal for me, Booth said Wednesday after participating in his first practice of training camp, six days behind the rest of the group. I m starting now and that gives me plenty of time to get myself where I need to be for Oct. 3. It was quite the feeling being back out there today, moving the puck and being on the team again. I ve been waiting for that for a long time. It s been a while.
Booth went down March 16 in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings. He collided with Wings blue- liner Brendan Smith deep in the Detroit zone and couldn t get up. He broke the ankle, tore ligaments and required surgery. It was his third severe injury since he joined the Canucks in a trade from Florida on Oct. 22, 2011. He has also suffered through major knee and groin problems. Last season, he appeared in just 12 of 52 games ( including playoffs). Canuck coach John Tortorella saw plenty of Booth when he was in Tampa and Booth was still with the Panthers. He liked what he saw. He killed us in Florida, said Tortorella. The biggest thing for me is can he stay healthy because I ve seen him play. I watched him in Florida and I ve watched him since then. He can be an asset on how we want to play. I mean, he could be a really good player. The question is health and that s out of my control. I know the trainers and everyone are really working with him to try to help him stay healthy. If we can get a good player like that healthy and staying in the lineup, it s going to help us. By his own admission, Booth hasn t provided much of an impact since joining the Canucks. He felt he was playing his best hockey when felled by a knee- on- knee hit Dec. 6, 2011, by then- Colorado Avalanche forward Kevin Porter. It s been mostly frustration and non- production ever since. Booth, 28, is a three- time 20- goal scorer and has hit the 30- goal mark once. He has two years remaining on his contract at $ 4.25 million per season. He said the last nine months have been especially difficult. It s probably been the toughest time in my career, conceded Booth, who also suffered a severe concussion during the 2009-10 campaign ( from a Mike Richards hit) when playing for the Panthers. I just want to get back to being the player that I know I can be. No one puts as much pressure on me than I do. I just want to help this team be the best it can be and that s my goal. If I am given the opportunity, I think I can really be a force in this league. I m looking forward to the year and really showing my teammates, myself and the city what I can do. Luongo struggles as Canucks fall to Oilers Canadian Press Sportsnet VANCOUVER Jordan Eberle is making an early case for his inclusion on Canada s 2014 Olympic team.
Eberle scored a goal and added two assists as the Edmonton Oilers downed the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Wednesday in NHL pre-season action. He produced his points in the first 7:38 of the game with all of the scoring completed in the opening period. "It just seemed like the puck was going in," said Eberle. "The biggest thing in pre-season is, you want to get some confidence and help yourself get to the regular season and that happened tonight." Eberle, a 23-year-old Regina native, is a candidate for the Canadian squad that will compete in Sochi, Russia in February. He now has a goal and three assists in two exhibition appearances. He attended Team Canada s orientation sessions in the summer but none of the Olympic hopefuls skated because of potentially high insurance costs. "The Olympic team is, obviously a goal," said Eberle. "But with no tryouts, the only thing you can do is play as well as you can in the season. I m looking forward to (the rest of) this training camp, obviously, and getting some confidence and moving forward to the season. "The most I can do is fight my way onto that team and give myself the best option. That s playing here and doing well. In exchange, it s going to give us get to the level we want to be at. I ll just worry about this team first." Around this time last year, Eberle had many worries because of the NHL lockout. He is glad to have more certainty this year after starting last season with other young Oilers, including Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with their Oklahoma City farm club. "It s obviously a little more familiar than last year," said Eberle. "Last year, you didn t know where you were going to be and you didn t know what was happening. This year, it s nice to have a set date in the way you re starting, and you can prepare yourself a little easier." Martin Marincin, David Perron and Jesse Joensuu also scored for the Oilers, who are now 2-1-1 in the pre-season. But, like the host Canucks, Edmonton showed little in the final two periods of a game that contained little, if any, emotion or excitement. "It would have been nice to lay it in a little bit, stick it to them," said Eberle. "But at the end of the day, we got the win and that s all that matters." He stood out as Edmonton was playing the second of back-to-back games. Oilers goaltender Devan Dubnyk called Eberle s effort "par for the course." Dubnyk also delivered a steady performance as he stopped 25 of 26 shots while playing the whole game. "I thought we came out flying and were doing all the right things and just beating (Vancouver) to pucks," said Dubnyk.
The Oilers scored four goals in the first 12:24 on Canucks No. 1 goaltender Roberto Luongo, who struggled in his first exhibition appearance of the year. "Obviously, Luongo didn t have too much help back there," said Dubnyk. "I don t care who was in net. I don t think it would be much different of an outcome with how hard we were going." Brendan Gaunce, with his second goal in two pre-season games, scored for Vancouver. The Canucks went with several core players among the 10 NHL veterans they dressed, including Daniel and Henrik Sedin and defenceman Kevin Bieksa. Edmonton s lineup contained 12 NHL regulars, with Taylor Hall, Nick Schultz and Ryan Smyth among them. Eberle opened the scoring 4:49 into the game as he slid a wraparound in off of Luongo. Then he made the first passes as Marincini and Perron scored on similar long shots 31 seconds apart to put the Oilers up 3-0 before the game was eight minutes old. The Canucks remained winless in two games under new coach John Tortorella, who watched again from Vancouver s management box. Fielding questions for his boss after the game, assistant coach Glen Gulutzan suggested the Canucks will be better once they have played more games and get more into the systems that Tortorella will begin implementing in coming days. Luongo finished with 14 saves on 18 shots in two periods of work. He was replaced by Joacim Eriksson, who is vying for Vancouver s backup job with fellow Swede Eddie Lack. Eriksson was credited with nine saves, but was rarely tested with Eberle having already helped the Oilers inflict all of the scoring damage necessary. "(Eberle) quietly went about his business," said Edmonton head coach Dallas Eakins. "He ended up with three points and he played a solid game. When his opportunities were to put (the puck) in the net or on somebody s stick, he executed." Eberle logged a modest 15:54 of ice time, which was below many other players. He played just under six minutes in the first period and less than five in the second and third. "I didn t play him a whole tonne," said Eakins. "I was trying to look at some other guys but he certainly produced." Notes: The Canucks lost defencemen John Negrin and Patrick Mullen to injuries in the first period. Negrin was hurt when he crashed into the boards. He was favouring a leg as he skated to the bench with difficulty. Nail Yakupov was one of two Oilers scratched. Ty Rimmer dressed as the Oilers backup goaltender. The 21-year-old Edmonton native was never drafted and is seeking a contract after completing his junior eligibility with Lethbridge of the WHL last season. He showed enough at a prospects tournament in Penticton, B.C. to get a tour of duty in the pre-season. Vancouver top 2013 draft picks Bo Horvat (13th overall) and Hunter Shinkaruk (24th overall) dressed for their second consecutive game along with top 2012 pick
Gaunce and 2011 first-round choice Nicklas Jensen. All other Canucks suited up for their first pre-season action. Oilers 4 Canucks 1: Luongo left in limbo under new shot-blocking system Jason Botchford The Province Taking a team that isn t close to grasping its new system and putting it in front of Roberto Luongo for his first preseason game sure makes for some awkward hockey. Actually, awkward is being a little too kind to the Vancouver Canucks for their 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. They spent the first 12 minutes bumbling around the ice like the Cleveland Browns front office on draft day. Then, they spent the rest of the game protecting a three-goal deficit. Brendan Gaunce scored another garbage goal. That was good. The Sedins killed penalties and if you re all for that, they didn t disappoint. They nearly had a couple of shorthanded scoring chances, too. But, really, the Canucks looked like they didn t have a clue what they were doing under John Tortorella. Turns out, they don t. Not yet anyway. We haven t looked at a lot of changes, Henrik Sedin said. We looked at a little bit of the neutral zone and forecheck, and a little bit in our own end. But it s a process. It s going to take six games, and a lot of practice. Well, there s only four left. This process could take longer for Luongo. Consider his history of struggling in October. It s generally been attributed to the theory it takes him playing games to hone his reads on the ice. There s no reason to think that will change. Now consider this year he ll be doing it in front of players who are tackling a new system, one Luongo didn t exactly request. Because, under Tortorella, the emphasis will be now, tomorrow and always blocking shots. What does it mean for Luongo?
The team in front of him is going from making blocking shots one of its last options to one of its first. And those reads he s taken time to get down before may be that much more complicated this year. No one can be sure where a blocked puck is going. Does he have any words of advice? You better block it, because if you don t, I won t see it, Luongo said. A couple of times guys were trying to block shots but they weren t sure if they should or not and they didn t end up blocking them. It goes along with the territory. There will be a learning curve. In the past, we ve worked on trying to box guys out before they get to the front of the net. If ever the other player is in front, I d front him or stay behind him to try and not create a double screen. Sometimes that worked. Sometimes it didn t. Luongo said he s open to change. Anything that makes the team better. But admitted, given a choice over the years, he s sided with Marty Brodeur who would seemingly rather chew glass shards than see his teammates try to block shots in front of him. That (Brodeur s way) is what I ve preferred in the past, especially when the guys are far out, just make sure that they take away sticks, Luongo said. But if you re a good team at blocking shots, that s going to cut down on a lot of chances too. If it makes our group better, I m all for it. The goals came early and often for the Oilers, who picked up just where they left off at the end of the regular season when they smoked the Canucks 7-2 in April. Jordan Eberle opened the scoring, and it was a goal that Luongo had no chance on. Luongo was pinned, and helpless, as the loose puck slowly crossed the goal line. But the second goal, he was screened by one of those wannabe shot blockers. I was a little bit deep on that one, I probably should have made the save, Luongo said. This is going to be an adjustment for everybody. You kind of felt it a little bit tonight. Guys were trying to get into lanes, especially the D-men I found. That being said, if you re going to be there, you have to be committed 100 per cent to blocking the shot. That s going to come with time. That s not something that s going to happen from one day to the next. All of a sudden, you re blocking shots all over the place.
Gallagher: Sedins can t be everything to everybody Tony Gallagher The Province If the twins actually end up playing defensive hockey, expect a drop in their numbers We all know why the Sedins are at least saying they are keen to kill penalties and take more defensive zone faceoffs this season, and it s all for the right reasons. As leaders of the team, they are keen to set the right tone with the new coach, to get in line with what he wants to do and get the season off on the right collective foot. And in a piece with our Jason Botchford found in these confines, they gave their reasoning that this is what they had always done in Sweden, and saw no reason to believe that they couldn t do it over here. And, as such, it is almost certain they are perfectly sincere with their agreement with John Tortorella that they should participate in all aspects of the forwards game, and not be given any exalted status that might have been perceived or resented in the past. But there s a problem here. While it s reasonable for them to feel that way and for the coach to feel the way he does even though he doesn t seem to have grasped the fact he isn t in New York anymore, isn t it also reasonable to extrapolate that if they do become more involved in killing penalties and spending more time in the D zone, that their production is likely to drop? After all, while they are very good, they are not supermen, something which has been quietly outlined to us in each and every playoff series they have ever played in this league, short of Henrik s five-game rage against the dying of the light against L.A. 17 months ago. Adding to that reasonable supposition is the fact they are one year older, playing against a tougher schedule than ever before, and they have an Olympics to play halfway around the world before they once again have to be at their best when it counts. And in those playoffs next April, they will have to do more than they ve ever done in the past for this team to accomplish its ultimate goal which is get out of the first round and keep going. But no, let s not think rationally here. Let s everyone sit around pretending that they will be playing in a pretend league with pretend bodies and that somehow the Sedins will be able to do all things and be all things to all people in this wonderful Fantasy league with imagined results. It may happen just as they ve imagined for a few games, perhaps even half a season if everything goes wonderfully well. But the chances of it all coming off are about as likely Henrik punching Zdeno Chara into submission, which, come to think of it, may as well be included in his list of duties from Tortorella this season.
So the question becomes, why? Why this extended stay in Fantasyland? Well, perhaps there s a reason why the Sedins don t want to talk reality here. There s a reason why nobody (re: their agent J.P. Barry) on their side of the issue is speaking up and saying hold on here, if you want these guys to kill penalties and take draws in the D zone more, you have to expect there might be a reduction in production. And it s all pretty simple. Right now, the Sedins are negotiating a long-term contract extension with the club based on numbers that they have rolled up over the past three or four seasons under the AV system, which called for the twins to place their focus on offence. And as such, their numbers are huge and will be commanding a monstrous amount of money for players heading further into the murky world of forwards in their mid to late 30s in a young man s league. They certainly don t want to muddy those talks by saying expect our production to drop if we start to diversify our game. That would hurt their position. But once they sign and start this impossible task, the moment their numbers dip, it will be the first thing out of their defenders mouths. So, in the meantime, everyone goes on talking like these guys will be able to walk on water, multiply loaves and fishes and remain totally injury-free, just to prove us nattering nabobs of negativity in the media wrong like they would so love to do. Well, frankly, there is nothing most of us would welcome more than to have these great guys jam it down our collective throats, because most of us think the world of them as people and citizens of this community. It s just that it may be asking just a little too much.