Pre-Season Power Rankings V5

Updated Rankings After 6 Games...

1. Mayson Raymond (1) - Spot on second line guaranteed.
2. Jannik Hansen (2) - Should start season on 3rd line
3. Kyle Wellwood (3) - Held pointless, no shots on goal, didn't see the game, but the word is he had a solid game.
4. Rick Rypien (7) - Another entertaining fight, pushing hard to make the cut, Coach V likes him, played 4:05 on the PK! I think he's in.
5. Matt Pettinger (4) - According to Ben Kuzma, Pettinger has hip-flexor injury. Hard to say what's going to happen with him now, depends on the roster options available to Canucks.
6. Jason Krog (5) - "In the replay" on Sharks goal resulting in a -1 on the night, played on both PK & PP, will likely have one last chance to give the Canucks a reason to keep him. The Canucks are probably looking at sneaking him through waivers and assigning him to Manitoba.
7. Mike Brown (8) - Vigneault likes him, chances have improved with subtraction of Cowan and injury to Pettinger. Update: Brown is heading to the waiver wire. Vigneault: "Brown was close but we think Rypien right now is just a little bit ahead of him"
8. Cody Hodgson (9) - May make it to Sunday, but he is heading back to junior. Update: Also according to Jason Botchford, Hodgson will not play on Sunday.
9. Jeff Cowan (6) - Did not play against San Jose, he's in real trouble (Edit: Placed on waivers as I was writing this post)
10. Michael Grabner (10) -
11. Jason Jaffray (11) -

Rankings are a combination of how they've been playing and how coaches have been using/commenting. Five forwards should make the team assuming Canucks carry 14 forwards. Last rank shown in ().

Previous Pre-Season Power Rankings:

• October 1st
• September 28th post game
• September 28th
• September 27th

McIver lost on waivers, Cowan also waived

The Vancouver Canucks depth on defense took a bit of a hit today as Nathan McIver has been claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. McIver was a decent option as a callup to fill in at the #7 hole, but let's face it, the chances of him having a career as a regular NHL defenseman aren't that great. If everything goes well for McIver he could be a decent bottom pairing defenseman who adds toughness to the lineup. It's unfortunate that the Canucks had to lose him for nothing, but in the end it's not going to have any affect on the outcome of the season.

Meanwhile, Jeff Cowan's quest to make the team is over as he has been placed on waivers. Cowan simply hasn't been the same player as the one who earned the knickname "Brabarian." Last season he struggled through injuries and was asked to play the role of enforcer something for which he wasn't well suited. The jump in his skating was noticeably absent and because of it, he was not effective. The Canucks gave him a fair opportunity in the pre-season, but he was never able to show that he could do any one thing better than those competing for his job.

In other waiver news, both Nolan Baumgartner and Zack Fitzgerald have cleared waivers. They have been assigned to the Manitoba Moose.

Around the Web (Oct 4 Ed.)

• The NHL regular season kicks off today on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada with the Rangers and Lightning squaring off in Prague, followed by the Penguins and Senators from Stockholm. (CBC.ca)
• Also on CBC tonight, voting for the Hockey Night in Canada Anthem Challenge kicks off. (CBC.ca)
• Ian MacIntyre gives his thoughts on the new look Canucks heading in to opening night. (Van Sun Article)
• TSN offers up their Vancouver Canucks preview as part of their 30 teams in 30 days series. (TSN.ca)
• The Canucks will be revealing their 3rd jersey November 15 against the Leafs. Speculation is that it will most likely be an updated/modified version of the "stick and rink" jerseys. Yawn. (Van Sun Blog)
• Mike Gillis contiunes his "thinking outside the box" approach as the Canucks are explore the science of sleep. (Van Sun Article)

Canucks Roster Down to 31

The Vancouver Canucks have made another round of cuts.

Cory Schneider, Alex Bolduc and Shaun Heshka are packing their bags for Moose camp while Zack Fitzgerald will be on his way after(if) he clears waivers.

No surprises here. With only two pre-season games remaining Luongo and Sanford are likely to split the duties between the pipes, so there wasn't much point in having Schneider stick around. It's time for him to get prepared for his season with the Moose.

All of the other cuts had pretty decent camps, in particular Alex Bolduc, but none of them had any real chance of making the team.

The Canucks take on the Sharks tonight. Unfortunately the game is not televised, but will be streamed live on Canucks.com.

Pre-Season Power Rankings V 4

Updated Rankings After 5 Games...

1. Mayson Raymond (1) - Great game against Calgary, locked up his spot if it wasn't already.
2. Jannik Hansen (2) - 2 Goals, looked very good with Kesler and Burrows, locked up his spot.
3. Kyle Wellwood (4) - Continues to showcase his offensive skills, rest of his game improving... still where does he fit on a regular basis?
4. Matt Pettinger (3) - May be in trouble, but I still don't see two others who can take his job. Had a strong effort, still lacks finish.
5. Jason Krog (5) - Did not play against Calgary, must have strong performance in his next game.
6. Jeff Cowan (6) - Got the message after his 3rd period benching, it's between him and Krog now, do they want a faceoff/shootout guy or another gritty guy?
7. Rick Rypien (7) - Did not play against Calgary
8. Mike Brown (9) - Not doing enough to unseat anyone who must clear waivers to be sent down.
9. Cody Hodgson (8) - Simply not ready to play on a team with playoff ambitions. Needs to improve his skating and strength to compete in the NHL.
10. Michael Grabner (10) -
11. Jason Jaffray (11) -

Rankings are a combination of how they've been playing and how coaches have been using/commenting. Five forwards should make the team assuming Canucks carry 14 forwards. Last rank shown in ().

Previous Pre-Season Power Rankings:

• September 28th post game
• September 28th
• September 27th

Canucks 6 - Flames 1 - Game Notes

The Canucks had their most impressive outing of the pre-season, outplaying a Flames team who looked like a pre-season team despite dressing a fairly strong lineup, particularly on defense. On to the game notes...

• The first goal was an encouraging sign for Canuck fans as Demitra made a great pass to Edler as Pyatt drove to the net opening up the ice.
• Lukas Krajicek has the pressure on him, with others playing very well he cannot afford to make poor plays as he did on a 1st period power play breakout, missing the first pass coming out from behind his own net. Those are the types of plays that he should excel at, as he is supposed to be an offensive defenseman.
• Mason Raymond was simply great, making Phaneuf (who somehow did not take a penalty on any play on a night where there were some pretty weak calls) look like an average NHL'er. His spot on the roster is secure.
• The Canucks "3rd line" has officially taken shape. A pretty first period goal, followed by another one in the 3rd period. Hansen has locked up a spot and looked very good with Kesler and Burrows.
• Lawrence Nycholat had another good game, perhaps his best. He made a few minor giveaways but he carried the puck well, threw a nice hit, scored a nice goal and perhaps most importantly, didn't shy away from taking a hit... one of the week points in Krajicek's game.
• The naming of Luongo as captain had an obvious effect in the first period, as the Canucks were not taking any sh*t in the crease. Luongo also had a great game. You could almost "feel his presence as captain"
• It's only the pre-season, but this team looks like a team... nothing to do with the six goals, just the way the entire team supported each other.
• Ray Ferraro did a pretty decent job (especially considering his new location), often sloppy and talking too much, but the analysis at times is a step above 90% of the guys out there. Give him another 2 years under his belt and he is going to be one of the best analysts, something sorely lacking in sports broadcasting.
• Johnson has better wheels than thought, nice job coming back on early 2nd period PK
• Kyle Wellwood just made the team on a great pass by Nycholat. The big question is still where does he fit?
• Right now Cody Hodgson doesn't have the speed and strength to compete at the NHL level.

All around it was a very strong game by the Canucks, albeit a very weak effort by the Flames. It's easy to get excited when your team has the only perfect record in the NHL pre-season, but there are a lot of things looking really good. Two games to go and it's off to the real thing...

Roberto Luongo Named Captain of the Vancouver Canucks

Today the Vancouver Canucks named Roberto Luongo captain and Willie Mitchell, Mattias Ohlund and Ryan Kesler as assistant/alternate captains.

So, for the first time in 60 years, a goaltender will be the captain of an NHL franchise. Who saw that one coming? Now it's no secret that Luongo has had a huge presence in the locker room and is essentially the key leader of the team, but naming him captain is interesting to say the least.

I can't say that I disagree with the decision, but I almost have to ask what's the point? Luongo would be one of the top leaders of the team with or without the "C"... err wait a minute he can't where that anyway. Mitchell will essentially be the "on ice captain" in terms of performing the duties of a captain, while Ohlund will act as the captain for ceremonial faceoffs etc. So again what's the point of naming Luongo captain? Why not Mitchell?

I'm a little concerned about what message this sends to the other captain candidates. "Sorry we don't think you're really the right choice to where the 'C', so were giving it to a guy who isn't allowed to even wear it". Obviously the players passed over have too much class to make a stink about it, but if I'm Willie Mitchell or Mattias Ohlund I would feal a little slighted. This situation isn't that big of a deal, but it's something to keep in mind.

Overall this is just an interesting story, it's not going to have much of an affect on the outcome of the season. Still, it will be nice to hear the words "Roberto Luongo come get the Stanley Cup" from Gary Bettman :).