The Vancouver Canucks have finalized their 2009-2010 roster and will start the season as follows:
The Forwards
- Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alex Burrows
- Sergei Shirokov - Ryan Kesler- Mikael Samuelsson
- Mason Raymond - Kyle Wellwood - Steve Bernier
- Darcy Hordichuk - Ryan Johnson - Rick Rypien
- Tanner Glass
No real surprises up front. With Demitra out, Sergei Shirikov was a no-brainer (and may have even made the team if Demitra was healthy). Tanner Glass had a great camp and finds himself on the team due to the injury to Jannik Hansen.
As for the guys who didn't make it...
Cody Hodgson is the obvious story here. Watching Hodgson last season, the main concerns with him were his footspeed and lack of physical strength. One summer was not enough for him to overcome those deficiencies and at 19 Hodgson just isn't physically ready to compete at the NHL level.
Michael Grabner gets the runner up nod for the biggest disappointment at camp. While he showed some flashes (most noticeably his hard shot and great speed) he just didn't make enough happen.
The Defense
- Willie Mitchell - Sami Salo
- Christian Ehrhoff - Alex Edler
- Shane O'Brien - Kevin Bieksa
- Aaron Rome
The most noticeable development on defense has to be Aaron Rome landing a job over veteran Brad Lukowich. I did not get to see Lukowich play much, so I don't know if this has much (if anything) to do with his play on the ice. This is all about the salary cap. Lukowich simply makes too much money to be a 6th/7th defenseman.
Lukowich has cleared waivers and will reportedly play with the Texas Stars (AHL) as the Moose are at their veteran limit. Speaking of the Moose, Lawrence Nycholat and Michael Funk have also cleared waivers and will report to Manitoba.
The Goaltenders
- Roberto Luongo
- Andrew Raycroft
There was only one battle here and in the end Raycroft outperformed Cory Schneider. The organization has to be disappointed that Schneider didn't push harder for the backup job.
Other Notes
The Canucks have named Henrik Sedin as an alternate captain, replacing the departed Mattias Ohlund. (It was strange to type up the Canuck pairings and not include Ohlund.)
For those who have asked, I will be updating the blog with the 2009-2010 schedule and the "Next Game" ticker (and maybe some other things) sometime this weekend. In the meantime, enjoy the season opener in Calgary (7:00pm CBC HD).
