After three pre-season games here are the updated depth chart rankings. Check out the initial rankings here.
Forwards
- "Safe Group"
- Daniel Sedin; Henrik Sedin; Ryan Kesler; Mason Raymond; Mikael Samuelsson; Manny Malhotra; Raffi Torres; Jannik Hansen;
- "Should Make It"
- 9 Cody Hodgson (9) - Appears ready to play his first game, it's his spot to lose.
- 10 Brendan Morrison (10) - Had a strong first game
- 11 Rick Rypien (12) - Out of the lineup again, but the Canucks know what he can deliver, should still have a spot locked down.
- 12 Victor Oreskovich (11) - Not going to be the answer as an enforcer, but still should be able to find room on the 4th line.
- 13 Tanner Glass (13) - His spot isn't assured, needs to play like he did last pre-season.
- "Outside Looking In"
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- 14 Darcy Hordichuk - The Canucks might need a fighter so he has a decent chance of making it.
- 15 Joel Perrault - Decent game in CGY, RH shot would help the team in the faceoff dept.
- 16 Jeff Tambellini - Great speed, but is there a role for him?
- 17 Peter Schaefer - Decent first game, but will really need to force his way on to the team.
- 18 Aaron Volpatti - Good physical play, outside chance of a 4th line job.
- 19 Guillaume Desbiens - Needs to step up physically.
- 20 Sergei Shirokov - Coach didn't like his game and didn't show any signs of improvment over last year.
- 21 Alexandre Bolduc - Needs to get noticed out there, Perrault knocks him down the C depth chart.
- 22 Jordan Schroeder - Talent is there, but has no chance this year without some big numbers.
Defencemen
- "Safe Group"
- Christian Ehrhoff; Keith Ballard; Alexander Edler; Dan Hamhuis; Kevin Bieksa;
- "On The Bubble"
- 6 Aaron Rome (6) - With his cap friendly salary would really need to crap the bed not to make it.
- 7 Shane O'Brien (7) - Salary doesn't help his case, might need to show more.
- 8 Andrew Alberts (8) - Good start, looks a little quicker.
- "The Depth Guys"
- Nolan Baumgartner - Destined for Manitoba, decent depth option
- Lee Sweatt - Showed off his offensive skills
- Evan Oberg
- Christopher Tanev
- Kevin Connauton - Needs more pro experience.
- Yann Sauve - Still out due to injury.
- Sean Zimmerman - Awful game in CGY.
Goalies
- Roberto Luongo
- Cory Schneider - Has looked good so far, looks quicker going across the crease.
- Eddie Lack - Very impressive game in CGY, could still give Schneider a run.
- Tyler Weiman - Will be fighting for starts against Lack
Injured
- F Alexandre Burrows - Career as a colour guy seriously in doubt
- D Sami Salo
There are some interesting battles going on, especially for jobs on the 4th line. Morrison and Hodgson are likely to be the big stories over the next couple games. It's going to be interesting to see what direction the Canucks want to go. There are several guys who aren't going to make the team simply because they won't fit in to the role the Canucks are looking for. Guys like Tambellini and Schaefer really need to do something exceptional to steal a roster spot from a bigger more physical player. At the same time the physical grinder types need to step up and show they can 1)play physical consistently; 2) take a regular shift and be effective; 3) fight.
The two weekend games are really going to narrow down the field.
