Canucks in PRE-SEASON
SOW 3-2 vs CGY - A solid first outing saw rookie Brendan Gaunce get a goal and an assist, Dustin Jeffrey score, Linden Vey pick up two helpers to make his case for opening day and all three of Daniel Sedin, Justin Williams and Joffrey Lupul score in the shootout to pick up the victory. Kris Russell had an assist and a perfect defensive game, with three blocked shots, four hits and a takeaway in almost twenty minutes of icetime. Markstrom stopped 21 of 23 shots.
W 3-2 @ BUF - Justin Williams scored two goals on a line with Chris Higgins and Nick Bonino, perhaps a preview of the regular season second line for Vancouver. Zack Kassian threw six hits. Zbynek Michalek blocked five shots and threw a hit on his second straight game paired up with Kris Russell - new coach Dan Bylsma seems to like them together and that might be a combination we see in the regular season. Thomas Greiss made 27 saves on 29 shots in his first outing in a Vancouver uniform.
OTL 3-2 vs COL - Gragnani made the most of his appearance in the lineup with the Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight), while Mark Letestu also impressed, assisting on both Vancouver goals. Frank Corrado was -2 in 25 minutes of icetime and looked awful. Greiss made 29 saves on 32 shots. Jan Hejda was the overtime hero for Colorado, handing Vancouver its first loss of the pre-season.
SOW 3-2 @ DET - Markstrom was tested big time, facing 44 shots but he held the fort, only allowing two goals. Daniel had a goal and an assist and Mark Letestu picked up his third helper of the preseason. Frank Corrado looked much better than he did in his first preseason appearance, blocking two shots and picking up an assist. Nick Holden scored the shootout winner in an incredibly long shootout and also blocked four shots and threw four hits. With both Holden and Russell in the mix on the left side, Ryan Stanton may be hard pressed to make the team in a top six role this year, however he played a solid game, blocked a shot and made three hits.
L 3-1 @ CAR - Yannick Weber had the lone Vancouver goal in what was generally a poor showing for the visiting Canucks. They mustered only 20 shots while allowing 30, and nobody stood out as playing really well outside of maybe Holden and Russell, who both played their defensive roles very well. Holden blocked five shots and had two hits, Russell blocked 3 shots, threw a body check and had a takeaway. Markstrom made 27 saves.
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Training Camp Update:
Vancouver announces round of cuts -
D Marc-Andre Gragnani - signed as a depth piece, Gragnani had one good offensive game but overall didn't impress enough to earn a spot on a deep left side.
D Frank Corrado - earning a regular role and reputation for safe two way play last season, Corrado's game doesn't look to have progressed at all and with a deeper blueline he will be one of the odd men out.
RW Nicklas Jensen - it's a bit of a disappointment that the young winger couldn't break out and earn at least a longer look, but he was relatively ineffective in the game action he saw and reportedly underwhelming in practice as well.
C Cole Cassels - the rookie was always expected to cut his teeth in the minors for a year or more before breaking into the league, and he didn't stand out enough to warrant keeping him up longer.
Vancouver will need to trim their roster by three more players by the start of the regular season.
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L 2-0 @ CGY - Calgary's big offseason free agent acquisition Devan Dubnyk earned the 14 save shutout as Vancouver struggled to get anything going while allowing 34 shots on Markstrom. Nick Holden played his defensive role to perfection, and Zbynek Michalek looked great as well with four blocks and three hits and a takeaway. Weber was solid, blocking three shots and being on a pairing with Holden that was the only one not to be scored against. Bonino and Horvat both struggled in the circle but still looked amazing defensively despite each being on the ice for a goal against.
L 2-0 vs NYR - the Canucks end the pre-season with two straight shutout losses. They were decent defensively, allowing only 23 shots on Greiss, but couldn't produce anything offensively, managing only 17 shots. The pairing of Kris Russell and Yannick Weber didn't look good, being on the ice for both Ranger goals. Horvat again looked very solid in his own end. Linden Vey made his case to stay in the big leagues for the season opener, attempting 5 shots, blocking a shot and being credited with a takeaway all in only nine minutes of icetime.
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Training Camp Update:
Vancouver announces final cuts and opening night roster -
Cuts:
C Brendan Gaunce - the rookie did well for himself to last this long after being pencilled into Utica's lineup from the outset. He played well but Vancouver is deep down the middle and more focused on developing Gaunce properly in the AHL.
LW Mason Raymond - in his second stint with the team Raymond has been only a shadow of the player that was on the 2011 Cup Finals roster, and he will start the year in Utica if he clears waivers.
RW Linden Vey - Vancouver's final cut of the preseason is a bit of a surprise, as they elect to go with 8 defensemen rather than risk losing last year's team plus minus leader Ryan Stanton on waivers. Vey was not amazing in preseason (he managed only two assists and a minus one rating in five games) but he was good enough that he could easily have made the team and is likely the first callup at forward.
Opening Roster:
Daniel - Henrik - Vrbata
Higgins - Bonino - Williams
Jeffrey - Richardson - Kassian
Lupul - Horvat - Letestu
Hamhuis - Tanev
Russell - Michalek
Holden - Weber
Markstrom
Greiss
HS: Burrows, Stanton, Bieksa