Pre-Season Power Rankings V1

Introducing the Pre-Season power rankings, a list detailing the current battle for positions on the 2008-2009 edition of the Vancouver Canucks.

The power rankings consist of players who do not have an NHL job "locked up". Since the 7 defenseman appear to be set in stone barring injury they will be ommitted from the power rankings.

So, here are the initial rankings heading into tonight's game vs San Jose...

1. Mayson Raymond (NR) - At this point a top-6 forward spot is his to lose, decent game in Edmonton
2. Matt Pettinger (NR) - Many will question this ranking, but I really like Pettinger. Very versatile, strong at both ends, good size/physical play and offensive upside
3. Jannik Hansen (NR) - Off to a great start, the questions are: can he provide enough offense to stick in the top 6? & does he have a enough grit to contribute in the bottom 6?
4. Kyle Wellwood (NR) - His contract and offensive potential are the only reasons he is ranked this high
5. Jason Krog (NR) - Impressed in Edmonton, especially in the faceoff department, not likely to centre 2nd line, but if he shows enough of a two way game could centre one of the bottom 6
6. Cody Hodgson (NR) - He's going to get a long look in the pre-season and has a good shot at sticking around for a few regular season games
7. Jeff Cowan (NR) - Hordichuk may make him redundant, but if he can regain his "brabarian" form the Canucks would like his toughness
8. Michael Grabner (NR) - There's room in the top 6, his play has not ruled him out of a top 6 spot
9. Mike Brown (NR) - Two-way contract hurts his chances, will have to play his way on to the team as opposed to off
10. Rick Rypien (NR) - Poor AHL season and the new competition at centre will make things tough for Rypien
11. Jason Jaffray (NR) - Decent depth option, but at this point he barely makes this list

Assuming the Canucks carry 14 forwards (which I consider likely for at least the first few weeks of the season) 5 of these forwards will make the team.

Around the Web (Sept 27 Ed.)

• Bob Mackenzie offers an excellent preview of the Canucks season in only 2 minutes! (TSN Video)
• Jim Jamieson covers the pre-season battle for jobs at the forward position (Province Article)
• Manitoba Moose training camp opens this weekend. (Moosehockey.com)
• If you have not read it yet, check out Hockey's Future's updated top 20 Canucks Prospect list (Hockey's Future.com)
• Ed Willes chimes in on Cody Hodgeson's chances of sticking in the NHL this season (Province Article)

And in case you missed it, tonights game against San Jose will be streamed live on Canucks.com. So it looks like all of the pre-season games will be available on tv in some form. Great news for Canuck Addicts.

Thoughts After Two Games

The most noticeable aspect of the 2008-09 edition of the Vancouver Canucks is the new found emphasis on going to the net. I don't know if this has to do with the new "grittier" personnel on the ice, a stronger emphasis from the coaching staff, or a combination of the two. Whichever it is, it is certainly encouraging to see. Too many times in the past this team has been purely a perimeter team. It is no secret that this team has offensive challenges, hopefully this new attitude can help alleviate some of those challenges.

Cory Schneider had an outstanding game in Edmonton, clearly demonstrating that he is one of the organizations strongest assets. Schneider is set for a full season in Manitoba, but don't be surprised if he makes an appearance in the second half of the season should the Canucks confidence in Sanford waiver.

It's exciting to see some depth down the middle. Obviously the Canucks cannot keep every centre who has appeared in the first two games on the roster, but if they somehow manage to sneak a Krog or Wellwood down to Manitoba they will be well prepared should any injuries strike down the middle.

Rob Davison will bring some much needed size and grit to the backend. Don't be surprised if he beats out Lukas Krajicek for #6 ice-time.

The arrival of Darcy Hordichuk means that Jeff Cowan's days could be numbered, however Cowan has responded well to the challenge. There's a chance he can put his injury riddled 07-08 season behind him and maybe re-emerge as the "Brabarian".

Jannik Hansen is going to get a very long look for the rest of the pre-season.

Kyle Wellwood has been a dissapointment so far, although that's not really a surprise. He is really going to have to step it up if he wants to stick. Can the Canucks afford to keep him around as a 13th forward, power play/shootout sepecialist? Last year I may have said yes, but with the depth and versatility of this year's roster Wellwood is going to have to demonstrate that he can take a regular shift without being a liability defensively. In his lone game so far we saw the offensive talent, but we also saw that he gets beat too easily in any sort of battle for the puck or even positioning. Throw in his questionable conditioning and it appears Wellwood will have to really be productive if he wants a job.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie is BIG. If he can improve upon his skating he may have a future in the NHL.

Cody Hodgson did not look out of place at all. I really liked how he moved the puck, especially on the backhand(both passing and shooting). I'm excited to see how he does in the rest of the season, he may have a chance to get into some regular season action before he must be returned to Junior.

First Round of Cuts

The Vancouver Canucks have reduced their roster by 4 players.

• Juraj Simek (RW) has been assigned to the Manitoba Moose
• Yann Sauve (D) has been sent back to his junior club
• Taylor Ellington (D) has also been sent to his junior club
• Karl Goehring (G) has been released, but will be attendting Moose camp

None of these players had a chance to make the Canucks, but it is pretty disappointing to see that former 2nd round pick Taylor Ellington has been sent to junior so soon (I believe he is eligible to play in the ECHL). Hopefully he has a big season as an over-age in the WHL.

Vancouver Canucks 2008 Pre-Season Schedule

• Mon, Sept 22 - at Edmonton 6:00pm - RSN
• Tue, Sept 23 - vs Edmonton 7:00pm - RSN
• Sat, Sept 27 - at San Jose 7:30pm - No TV*
• Sun, Sept 28 - at Anaheim 5:00pm - RSN
• Wed, Oct 1 - vs Calgary 7:00pm - TSN
• Thu, Oct 2 - vs San Jose 7:00pm - No TV*
• Sun, Oct 5 - vs Anaheim 7:00pm - No TV*

* It's looking like all pre-season games will be streamed live on Canucks.com starting with the San Jose game at 7:25 pm PST!

Vancouver Canucks 2008 - 2009 Schedule

• October
• November
• December
• January
• February
• March
• April

Pre-season
G #	Date	H/A	Opponent	Time	TV	Result
Ex 1	Sep 22	A	Edmonton	6:00	RSN	W 4-3(SO)
Ex 2	Sep 23	H	Edmonton	7:00	RSN	W 2-1
Ex 3	Sep 27	A	San Jose	7:30	None	W 3-2 - Recap
Ex 4	Sep 28	A	Anaheim	5:00	RSN	W 5-4 SO - Recap
Ex 5	Oct 1	H	Calgary	7:00	TSN	W 6-1 - Recap
Ex 6	Oct 2	H	San Jose	7:00	None	W 3-2
Ex 7	Oct 5	H	Anaheim	7:00	None	L 4-3 (OT)

G #	Date	H/A	Opponent	Time	TV	Result
October (6-5-0) - Report Card (C+)
#1	Thu 9	H	Flames	7:30 PM	CBC	W 6-0 - Recap
#2	Sat 11	A	Flames	7:00 PM	CBC	W 5-4 (OT)
#3	Mon 13	A	Capitals	4:00 PM	PPV	L 5-1
#4	Thu 16	A	Red Wings	4:30 PM	TSN	W 4-3 (OT)
#5	Fri 17	A	Sabres	4:30 PM	RSN	L 5-2
#6	Sun 19	A	Blackhawks	4:00 PM	PPV	L 4-2
#7	Tue 21	A	Blue Jackets	4:00 PM	RSN	L 4-2
#8	Sat 25	H	Oilers	7:00 PM	CBC	W 6-3
#9	Tue 28	H	Bruins	7:00 PM	TSN	L 1-0
#10	Thu 30	A	Kings	7:30 PM	PPV	W 4-0
#11	Fri 31	A	Ducks	7:00 PM	RSN	W 7-6 (SO)
November (8-3-2) - Report Card (A-)
#12	Sun 2	H	Red Wings	7:00 PM	RSN	L 3-2
#13	Tue 4	H	Predators	7:00 PM	TSN	W 4-0 - Recap
#14	Thu 6	H	Coyotes	7:00 PM	RSN	W 1-0
#15	Sat 8	H	Wild	7:00 PM	CBC	W 2-0
#16	Wed 12	H	Avalanche	7:00 PM	TSN	L 2-1 (SO)
#17	Sat 15	H	Maple Leafs	4:00 PM	CBC	W 4-2
#18	Mon 17	A	Islanders	4:00 PM	RSN	L 2-1 (SO) - Recap
#19	Wed 19	A	Rangers	4:30 PM	TSN	W 6-3 - Recap
#20	Thu 20	A	Wild	5:00 PM	RSN	W 3-2 - Recap
#21	Sat 22	A	Penguins	11:00 AM	RSN	W 2-1 - Recap
#22	Mon 24	H	Red Wings	7:00 PM	RSN	W 3-2 (OT) - Recap
#23	Thu 27	H	Flames	7:00 PM	RSN	L 4-3
#24	Sat 29	A	Flames	7:00 PM	CBC	L 3-1
December 2008
#25	Mon 1	A	Blue Jackets	4:00 PM	RSN	L 3-2
#26	Thu 4	A	Red Wings	4:30 PM	PPV	L 6-5
#27	Fri 5	A	Wild	5:00 PM	RSN	W 2-1 - Recap
#28	Sun 7	A	Avalanche	5:00 PM	RSN	L 5-4 (SO) - Recap
#29	Tue 9	A	Predators	5:00 PM	RSN	W 3-1
#30	Sat 13	A	Oilers	7:00 PM	CBC	L 3-0
#31	Sun 14	H	Panthers	7:00 PM	RSN	W 5-3
#32	Wed 17	H	Oilers	7:30 PM	RSN	W 4-2
#33	Sat 20	H	Blackhawks	7:00 PM	CBC	L 3-1
#34	Mon 22	H	Ducks	7:00 PM	RSN	W 4-3
#35	Tue 23	A	Sharks	7:00 PM	TSN	L 5-0
#36	Fri 26	H	Oilers	7:00 PM	RSN	L 3-2
#37	Sun 28	H	Senators	7:00 PM	PPV	W 3-0
#38	Tue 30	H	Flyers	7:00 PM	PPV	L 3-2
January 2009
#39	Thu 1	A	Predators	5:00 PM	RSN	W 2-1
#40	Fri 2	A	Thrashers	4:30 PM	RSN	L 4-3 (SO)
#41	Sun 4	H	Stars	7:00 PM	PPV	L 3-2 (SO)
#42	Wed 7	A	Oilers	7:00 PM	RSN	W 4-2
#43	Fri 9	H	Blues	7:00 PM	RSN	L 6-4 - Game Recap
#44	Sat 10	H	Sharks	7:00 PM	CBC	L 4-2
#45	Tue 13	H	Devils	7:00 PM	PPV	L 5-3
#46	Thu 15	H	Coyotes	7:00 PM	RSN	L 4-1
#47	Sun 18	H	Blue Jackets	5:00 PM	RSN	L 6-5 (SO)
#48	Tue 20	A	Sharks	7:30 PM	TSN	L 2-1 (OT)
#49	Wed 28	H	Predators	7:30 PM	TSN
#50	Sat 31	H	Wild	7:00 PM	CBC
February 2009
#51	Tue 3	H	Hurricanes	7:00 PM	RSN
#52	Sat 7	H	Blackhawks	7:00 PM	CBC
#53	Tue 10	A	Blues	5:30 PM	RSN
#54	Thu 12	A	Coyotes	6:00 PM	RSN
#55	Fri 13	A	Stars	5:30 PM	RSN
#56	Sun 15	H	Canadiens	7:00 PM	PPV
#57	Tue 17	A	Flames	6:30 PM	RSN
#58	Thu 19	A	Senators	4:30 PM	RSN
#59	Sat 21	A	Maple Leafs	4:00 PM	CBC
#60	Tue 24	A	Canadiens	4:30 PM	RSN
#61	Fri 27	H	Lightning	7:00 PM	PPV
March 2009
#62	Sun 1	H	Blue Jackets	5:00 PM	RSN
#63	Tue 3	H	Wild	7:00 PM	RSN
#64	Sat 7	H	Sharks	7:00 PM	CBC
#65	Mon 9	A	Kings	7:30 PM	RSN
#66	Wed 11	A	Ducks	7:00 PM	PPV
#67	Fri 13	H	Kings	7:00 PM	RSN
#68	Sun 15	H	Avalanche	7:00 PM	RSN
#69	Tue 17	H	Stars	7:00 PM	TSN
#70	Thu 19	H	Blues	7:00 PM	RSN
#71	Sat 21	A	Coyotes	7:00 PM	CBC
#72	Tue 24	A	Stars	5:30 PM	RSN
#73	Thu 26	A	Blues	5:30 PM	RSN
#74	Fri 27	A	Avalanche	6:00 PM	PPV
#75	Sun 29	A	Blackhawks	4:00 PM	RSN
#76	Tue 31	A	Wild	5:00 PM	RSN
April 2009
#77	Thu 2	H	Ducks	7:00 PM	RSN
#78	Sat 4	A	Oilers	7:00 PM	CBC
#79	Sun 5	H	Avalanche	7:00 PM	TSN
#80	Tue 7	H	Flames	7:00 PM	RSN
#81	Thu 9	H	Kings	7:00 PM	RSN
#82	Sat 11	A	Avalanche	12:00 PM	RSN

All times Pacific

Vancouver Canucks Hockey Blog V 2.0

Coming soon...

Update: Well the new color scheme for V2.0 has been updated... things will be added and improved as the regular season approaches. First item on the agenda is to add the full schedule for the season and update some of the remaining out of date links. In the meantime you can catch the Canucks pre-season opener live on Sportsnet Monday night!

Complete 2008-2009 Canucks Schedule is now posted. Schedule includes local(BC) television information, result information and links to game recaps on Canucks.com