Spring chickens. Words that are not necessarily used to describe the Vancouver Canucks, heading into the 2016 season. The top four players on the projection list were drafted in 1999, which means that the leadership group has quite a bit of experience, but they are the guys that are going to be leaned on and that doesn't sound very safe.
The Canucks have some youth trickling through, bubbling up through the ranks, but none appear to be ready to make that step forward and assume some of that leadership that the Canucks arguably need this season.
Vancouver managed to win an astounding number of games last season and some of them, they seemed to have no business to be in, so it is a tribute to the resiliency of this club, but that's the sort of thing that won't help us poolies, unless you have a portion of the goaltending tandem. The Pacific Division got a lot harder, North of the border, which puts the Canucks in a very difficult spot.
I don't see the Canucks being a great team to pick from this year, especially their depth, so they'll be labeled as a 'buyer beware' kind of team.
| Player | Pos | 15/16 Proj | Rookie |
| Daniel Sedin | F | 75 | |
| Henrik Sedin | F | 75 | |
| Ryan Miller | G | 70 | |
| Radim Vrbata | F | 60 | |
| Bo Horvat | F | 45 | |
| Christopher Higgins | F | 35 | |
| Alex Burrows | F | 35 | |
| Jannik Hansen | F | 35 | |
| Brandon Sutter | F | 30 | |
| Alex Edler | D | 30 | |
| Jacob Markstrom | G | 30 | |
| Linden Vey | F | 25 | |
| Dan Hamhuis | D | 25 | |
| Brandon Prust | F | 25 | |
| Ronalds Kenins | F | 25 | |
| Sven Baertschi | F | 25 | |
| Nicklas Jensen | F | 25 | Y |
| Derek Dorsett | F | 20 | |
| Yannick Weber | D | 20 | |
| Chris Tanev | D | 20 | |
| Frank Corrado | D | 20 | |
| Luca Sbisa | D | 15 | |
| Jake Virtanen | F | 15 | Y |
| Matt Bartkowski | D | 10 | |
| Hunter Shinkaruk | F | 10 | Y |
| Taylor Fedun | D | 5 | |
| Alex Biega | D | 5 | |
| Blair Jones | F | 5 |
Table last updated on August 14th
Most Intriguing or Breakout Player
There is going to be a lot of pressure on young Bo Horvat in the 2016 season, but since he was the best Canucks rookie to hit the ice since Pavel Bure, I think he is well-equipped with the tools to be a pretty good player, especially playing centre in the Pacific Division.Horvat was leaned upon late in the year with the key job of taking defensive zone faceoffs, which was great for his confidence and every day that the Canucks got away with a tough win, he was right in the middle and it wasn't long before his confidence bled into his offensive game, making some nice finishes at the other end of the ice.
With Nick Bonino off to Pittsburgh in this off-season, there will be an audition process for that 2nd line centre and Horvat will have a good case to make, ahead of Brandon Sutter, who came the other way in the Bonino deal. I think that's what gives him the edge in the breakout nod.
First Round Picks
The Sedin twins showed that they were not quite done yet in the 2015 season, but once the coaching staff decided to even out the offense, moving Radim Vrbata down to the 2nd line, the twins were not quite as hot as they were earlier in the year. Still, they have a shot at being 1st round picks, although they'd be late, if they were. They are the closest thing to a 1st round pick from the Canucks this year, although Ryan Miller could sneak in, during the goalie love-in.
Other Pool Worthy Forwards
It looks like, if the Canucks are going to put up anywhere near the same amount of wins, they'll need a different player to come up big every night or something close to that. Vrbata will be a good compliment in the mid-rounds, while Chris Higgins, Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen are poised to be late-round or Waiver Draft pick-ups this year, depending on how deep the draft goes. Beyond that, it doesn't look terribly rosy, rather, it will be those small contributions throughout the year.
Other Pool Worthy Defense
The defense has also got a bit of a new look to it, heading into 2016, and a lot of it is unproven, leaving question marks abound. Alex Edler and Dan Hamhuis return to anchor the blueline, both should figure into the pool conversation, but it does get a bit sketchy, scoring-wise, after those two. Yannick Weber comes back and he'll step into power play time, while Chris Tanev stays steady as an all-around defenseman.
Goaltending Situation
Right off the hop, this will be Ryan Miller's team and he will be charged with the number one minutes. He will get a solid push from Jakob Markstrom, who had an excellent year in the AHL, helping the Utica Comets to the Calder Cup Finals. The questions on defense will certainly keep these two busy and neither one will want to falter, since the other is prepared to pick up the slack.
Team To Pick From Late?
The depth for the Canucks are not extraordinary, by any stretch of the imagination. It's hard to bank on this team's potential, especially come the hockey pool draft. They have a few players that should be turning into good pool players, but they are rocking some long odds and those are not what you want at the draft, unless you're feeling extra ambitious.
Unsigned Players and Salary Cap
The team finished up their restricted free agents fairly early in the Summer as well, leaving a few unrestricted free agents to head out to pasture. There'll be no holdouts or contract concerns, heading into training camp.
The Canucks have a fairly solid base of players to draw from, working a projected total of 20 players (12 forwards, six defensemen and their goalies), leaving a couple of spots open among the skaters and they have $2.8 million to work from, approximately. This doesn't give the team a great deal of flexibility this year, but with a good base of young talent to draw from, they can work from within to try and find that good chemistry in the big side's lineup.
No comments:
Post a Comment