The Official 2013/2014 Canucks & NHL Thread

[winson604]

I don't know, the Leafs made the most sense to me though.

- Saturday Night
- Hockey Night In Canada
- Early game (5pm) so the ceremony won't get in the way of an extended evening

*Bonus* For anyone who hasn't been to a Leafs game in Vancouver. It is truly one of the best regular season games to go to by far in my opinion. So much energy in the crowds compared to other games. The back and forth cheering on both teams is pretty fun.

[Gumby]

Went to Stubhub this morning, and was 1 click away from buying two $200 tickets in row 10 of the upper level for the Nov 2nd game. But money's kinda tight for me now and I shouldn't be spending it on "entertainment".

Will watch it on TV...

[originalhypa]

Originally Posted by winson604

I don't know, the Leafs made the most sense to me though.

Thinking with your brain, the Leafs make sense. They are the biggest market in Canada, they rep the East, and the other good points that you mentioned.

It's just that the Leafs represent so much hatred to the west. Our hatred of Nonis, Toronto in general, the Kadri situation. It's all just garbage.

[lilaznviper]

got a presale code. going to try to get tickets to the TO game

edit: damn sold out for that game.... can't find any tickets on ticketmaster

[winson604]

Originally Posted by lilaznviper

got a presale code. going to try to get tickets to the TO game

edit: damn sold out for that game.... can't find any tickets on ticketmaster

I got a pair at 10:04am and right after tried for another and it was sold out already. This is one time I'm glad I got woken up by my gf getting ready for work. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been up to receive the email regarding the presale code.

[Tim Budong]

this is crap
that is all

[DanHibiki]

When was the last time the leafs beat us
Posted via RS Mobile

[kwy]

went to a game vs the leafs a couple seasons ago, I think we won by a large margin and Reimer was pulled in favour of Gustavsson. It was actually a bit embarrassing because there were as many TML fans as Canucks fans in the crowd and they were way louder than us.

[Tim Budong]

Originally Posted by kwy

went to a game vs the leafs a couple seasons ago, I think we won by a large margin and Reimer was pulled in favour of Gustavsson. It was actually a bit embarrassing because there were as many TML fans as Canucks fans in the crowd and they were way louder than us.

oh that was fun

[lilaznviper]

planning a cali trip with my buddy for the 3 games in november

[Not really racist!]

The Vancouver Canucks valued Bo Horvat more than Cory Schneider.

Such was the splash of the NHL Entry Draft in June, when Canucks GM Mike Gillis traded his former No. 1 goalie to the draft-host New Jersey Devils in exchange for the ninth-overall pick, which he used to select Horvat.

It was a move that shocked Horvat, the fan bases of both teams, caused Roberto Luongo to black out, and slapped a mischievous grin on the face of the NHL’s commissioner.

“I think you’re gonna want to hear this,” Gary Bettman said, with the giddiness of a man about to announce his wife’s pregnancy at a family dinner.

And then the commish dropped the Schneider bomb that will forever be part of an 18-year-old centreman’s bio.

“It took quite a bit of time to sink in. It’s kind of all surreal, actually, the way it all happened,” says Horvat, who was ranked 15th among North American skaters by the Central Scouting Bureau entering the draft. “It’s an honour for them to think that highly of me, for them to trade up to get me like that. It’s extremely humbling to know they wanted me that bad, and now it’s up to me to prove they made the right choice.”

The Rodney, Ont., native was hot off his Ontario Hockey League playoffs MVP performance, where his league-best 16 goals in 21 postseason games had earned him the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award. He had met with the Canucks just once – an interview at the NHL scouting combine – and leading up to June 30, Horvat believed other clubs were more interested in the services of a six-foot, 206-pound beast up the middle.

“It was quiet. It was a shock to me and everyone when Cory Schneider got traded. They kept it very quiet — didn’t talk to me or anyone,” Horvat says. “There’s always teams you thought you could’ve went to or teams that talked to you more. But it worked out for me to get drafted by Vancouver.”

Since joining the team – the kid inked a three-year, $5.325-million entry-level deal this summer – Horvat had little contact with the Canucks during the summer and has yet to speak with new coach John Tortorella. His attendance at development camp marked his first time in “beautiful” Vancouver. Already, he says, it’s his favourite NHL city (good answer).

“(Alex) Burrows messaged me on Twitter, but other than that, they’re off doing their own thing during the summer, spending time with their families,” Horvat says of his hopeful future teammates.

After racking up 91 points in just two seasons with the London Knights, Horvat’s summer has been dedicated to his skating. Five days a week he worked both on and off the ice in an effort to become more explosive.

“Skating’s always been my weakness, but I’ve been working on quick feet to be that much quicker and have more to give on the ice,” he says of the change he made to his offseason training. “I’m working on my explosiveness and quick feet, trying to get a lot faster.”

Getting his photo snapped for his debut hockey card before training camp reminds him of his binder-filling days as a child, when he’d watch old tapes of Wayne Gretzky and seek out cardboard images of the Great One.

If matching Schneider in terms of value isn’t a lofty enough bar, Horvat is looking to shape his approach around Stanley Cup champion centres like Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews.

“Those are the kind of guys I want to model my game after. I take a lot of pride in my faceoffs. They have strong defensive games and can put up big numbers as well. They’re also unbelievable leaders, and that’s what I tried to be with my club team back in London,” Horvat says.


If the first thing observers point out about Horvat isn’t his size, it’s his finish around the net. But there’s another area of the ice he should benefit the team. The Canucks ranked 25th in faceoff success last season, winning just 47.6 per cent of their draws. Horvat glides into the faceoff circle with a Jay-Z mindset: I. Will. Not. Lose.

“Every game, I want to be the best faceoff guy there. I want to win every single draw. I take a great deal of pride in my faceoffs, and I enter the draw with that mentality: I’m not going to lose. I really enjoy them,” he says. “I’ve worked on it all my life. My dad used to drop pucks for me in the basement. My former coaches helped me out, too. (Knights assistant coach) Dylan Hunter was a huge help for me. He was a centre himself. I just work on it every practice and every chance I get. You kinda get in the rhythm of it and learn different techniques from different guys that way.”

Horvat gives a little credit to his God-given talent, saying it helps to have deft hand-eye coordination, but more important for winning faceoffs is repetition and practice.

“Some guys may not think draws are that important, but they’re one of the most important things in hockey,” he says. “At the end of the game, in the dying seconds when you have to win that draw to get possession and get the puck down the ice — those are the most important ones for me.”

With Canucks training camp set to begin next week, the most important draw now for Horvat is drawing into an official NHL roster.

“That’s my biggest goal: to crack that lineup and have a role on the team,” Horvat says. “If not, there’s always things I can work on, always things I can improve on. Get better, get stronger.”

He already shares the mission of the Canucks.

Horvat's mission: Draw into Canucks lineup - Sportsnet.ca

We're playing Calgary tonight... not sure why Gaunce is a healthy scratch, he really needs a good bounce back game

[Tim Budong]

Stubhub for Bure game it is

[Not really racist!]

Canucks’ top prospect Hunter Shinkaruk aims to make hometown Flames pay for passing on him twice in NHL draft

‘It’s definitely going to be something that will drive me every time I play against them,’ says Vancouver’s late first-round pick

BY ELLIOTT PAP, VANCOUVER SUN SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Canucks top prospect Hunter Shinkaruk aims to make hometown Flames pay for passing on him twice in NHL draft

Vancouver Canucks wing prospect Hunter Shinkaruk skates during practice on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013 at the South Okanagan Event Centre in Penticton, as part of the Young Stars rookie tournament, which hosts prospects from teams including the Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks.
Photograph by: Ward Perrin , PNG
PENTICTON — You can just imagine how Vancouver Canucks prospect Hunter Shinkaruk felt at last June’s NHL entry draft.

He was a consensus first-round pick and the Calgary Flames, his hometown team, had two selections in the opening round, No. 6 and No. 22.

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The Shinkaruk family were Flames season-ticket holders — “ever since I can remember” — and Hunter was playing junior down the highway in Medicine Hat. He was hardly hidden from the team’s view. But the Flames passed on Shinkaruk with both their picks, opting instead for forwards Sean Monahan and Emile Poirier. Ouch.

“For sure, it was tough,” said Shinkaruk, who eventually went 24th overall to the Canucks. “They had two chances to take me and, after they didn’t take me with that second pick, I kind of sat back in my seat. That’s not to say that the player they took is not a great player. Obviously they just had a different look at who they needed.”

Interestingly, Poirier is listed as a left-winger, the same position Shinkaruk plays. Poirier scored 47 goals for the Gatineau Olympiques his last two junior seasons while Shinkaruk netted 86, included 49 in 2011-12 alone.

It still seemed to be eating up Shinkaruk on Thursday, prior to the Canucks’ first outing at the Young Stars rookie tournament in Penticton.

“Being a competitive kid, I want to make sure the Flames wished they had taken me with that pick,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be something that will drive me every time I play against them, for sure. If I can get out there and make them pay for not taking me it would be pretty nice.”

If Shinkaruk needed further motivation, he was also passed over by the Edmonton Oilers (seventh), Winnipeg Jets (13th) and the San Jose Sharks (18th), the other three teams competing in the Young Stars tourney. That’s a fairly decent chip to carry on one’s young shoulders. Bitter? Who, him?

“When I was in the gym and on the ice this summer, it was definitely something I was thinking about,” he said. “I knew basically every team here had a chance to pick me. I’m going to make sure they’re going to pay for it.”

That’s a lot of paying. From a Canucks standpoint, what could be better? Shinkaruk hasn’t made the big club yet, and probably won’t this year, and he’s already miffed at three divisional rivals.

“Hunter takes the game seriously,” noted Utica Comets head coach Travis Green, who is running things for the Canucks in Penticton. “He’s got a hunger in his eyes. It looks like he wants to be a hockey player. My first impression is that he’s a really focused kid.”

Shinkaruk understands he is up against it to make the Canucks this season. Vancouver is well-positioned on left wing with veterans Daniel Sedin, David Booth and Chris Higgins. Even Alex Burrows can play the left side. There isn’t much room for an 18-year-old kid, even an elite junior scorer. Shinkaruk turns 19 on Oct. 13.

“You realize it’s pretty tough to make the NHL team but that’s still my goal,” he said. “Obviously those players you mentioned are great players. If I can get into (main) camp and try to fight for a job, that’s all I can ask. It’s definitely nice to see that in the near future, I’m going to have a little bit more of an opportunity, I guess. But at the end of the day, it’s hockey and you’re going to be fighting for jobs the rest of your life.”

At a listed 5-10 and 181 pounds, Shinkaruk isn’t the largest of bodies. His assets are his speed, his hands and his finish, plus an apparent ability to get mad at a bunch of teams.

“Obviously when you come to an NHL camp, you don’t know what the organization and coaches are thinking about,” he said. “So every time you get on the ice, you want to make an impression. I’m going to try to keep doing that throughout the week. I want to show them who I am as a player and as a kid.”

Read more: Canucks? top prospect Hunter Shinkaruk aims to make hometown Flames pay for passing on him twice in NHL draft

Which reminds me, Bo vs Sean later today...probably the first of many H2H battles in the future being division rivals

Will laugh at Feaster in a couple years when Shinny and Bo outplay Porier and Monahan

Luongo arrives in Vancouver looking forward
Friday, 09.06.2013 / 7:25 PM / News
By Kevin Woodley - NHL.com Correspondent

VANCOUVER -- Roberto Luongo returned to the city he thought he'd left for good Friday, pulling on a Vancouver Canucks practice sweater for the first time since the team shocked everyone -- especially Luongo -- by instead trading Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils at the NHL Draft.

Almost two months later, Luongo said it still seemed strange to come back.

"It was a bit odd flying here," Luongo said after an informal hour-long skate with more than a dozen teammates. "But now that I am here I am just focused on getting training camp started and making sure I am where I want to be physically."

As for where he is mentally, Luongo insisted it's a good place.
"I have been focused on getting ready for training camp the last month or so, trying to eliminate every distraction possible," he said. "And at this point in time that's all I really want to be focused on, just playing the game, and making sure I get back to where I was two years ago and re-establish myself as one of the best in the League."

It was a consistent theme throughout Luongo's 10-minute chat with local reporters, a large gathering he helped create by announcing his return on a no-longer secret Twitter account (@Strombone1) the night before.

Luongo ended his tweet with "#divatour2013," a reference to a "Ya Done Being A Diva" headline that ran in the Vancouver Province in late August along with a story suggesting he dragged things out by not talking soon after the trade and played a role in being the one who wasn't dealt.

Luongo said Friday he wants to finally end a saga that started almost two years ago, when Schneider took over as the starting goalie two games into the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, leading Luongo to say it "was time to move on."

But when asked directly if he wanted to be back in Vancouver now, Luongo, who has nine seasons left on a 12-year, $64 million contract, didn't provide the kind of definitive response that might have put a stop to any lingering questions about his long-term future.

"I've said all along I want to play, and right now I have that opportunity so I want to take advantage of that and go as far as we can and hopefully try to win a Stanley Cup," Luongo replied. "This is a big year for me. I have been sitting on the bench for a while and I want to show everybody what I can do. We all know it's an Olympic year so I just want to make the best of it."

As for that long-term future, Luongo said he has stopped worrying about it. And if Friday was any indication, he will soon stop talking about it, which was one of the reasons he took to Twitter to announce his return to Vancouver.

"Try to get it out of the way as quick as possible so it is less of a distraction once training camp starts. I really don't want it to be around the team once we get going," Luongo said. "It's a situation that's tough to figure out. You just have to stop trying to figure it out and just let it play out as it plays out. It's a bit out of my hands and I don't want to worry about that stuff. I don't want to hurt my teammates and I don't want to hurt the organization, so I don't want this to carry on all season and have to talk about it."

His teammates don't seem worried about an awkward situation dragging on.

"It was weird. You feel bad for the guy, but at the same time, he is a world-class goalie and we are happy to have him on our team," Ryan Kesler told NHL.com. "He's a professional. I think he is going to have his best year yet."

Roberto Luongo returned to the city he thought he'd left for good Friday, pulling on a Canucks practice sweater for the first time since the team traded Cory Schneider to the Devils at the NHL Draft. (Photo: Jeff Vinnick/NHLI)
That professionalism meant Luongo never considered not reporting to camp -- "not my style," he said --and he said he doesn't hold a grudge against general manager Mike Gillis, who visited Luongo at his Florida home shortly after the about-face trade of Schneider.

"There was no animosity there," Luongo said of a meeting described by Gillis earlier this summer as jovial. "I don't know if it was as rosy as he painted it, but we had a couple of laughs. They are just trying to do their job, and I don't hold that against them at all."

Luongo said he is looking forward to his wife and two children joining him in Vancouver after they stayed at their Florida home for the abbreviated 2012-13 season. And the 34-year-old has a chip on his shoulder about reclaiming his spot among the NHL's elite goaltenders.

"Not angry. It's not anger," he said. "You feel like even though you have been in the League such a long time you always feel like you have something to prove and that's the way I feel, that's the way I have approached this year. … When you are the backup, whether you like it or not, your reputation goes down a little bit. People don't give you a much credit as when you are playing 70 games a year. I just feel that way. Some people see it differently, but for myself I just want to show everybody I can still do it."

Luongo said he is looking forward to playing for new coach John Tortorella, whom he talked to several times over the phone. Luongo said he expects Tortorella to bring a "spark to the boys" and sees no problem playing behind a team promising to block more shots. The ensuing bounces can leave an over-aggressive goalie stranded out of position, and though Luongo is no Henrik Lundqvist in terms of his positioning, he has played inside the crease on end-zone plays since goaltending coach Roland Melanson arrived in Vancouver three seasons ago.

"I'm a 3/4 depth guy now so I'm not too worried about it," Luongo said.

There wasn't much Luongo seemed to be worried about. But after expecting to leave Vancouver for good for almost two years, he wasn't willing to say he is now prepared for anything.

"Just when you think you've seen it all, right, there's always something else," Luongo said with a laugh. "I don't know what the future holds, but right now I am just focused on the season."

[jeedee]

"Interestingly, Poirier is listed as a left-winger, the same position Shinkaruk plays. Poirier scored 47 goals for the Gatineau Olympiques his last two junior seasons while Shinkaruk netted 86, included 49 in 2011-12 alone."



Flames gonna flame

[kwy]

Who's already done their fantasy drafts? What do your rosters look like?

[punkwax]

Massive save by Flames tender on Jensen.

[OGCStrike]

Corrado scores!

[radioman]

Feed finally stopped shitting all over itself. Power play goal!@

[OGCStrike]

lames score again
lames 2 canucks 1

[spideyv2]

Originally Posted by OGCStrike

lames score again
lames 3 canucks 2

what game are you watching? it's 2-1

[radioman]

[OGCStrike]

my mistake sorryyyy
EDIT: lames score again.... D: 3-1
EDIT EDIT: make that 4-1...

[seakrait]

wtf. 4-1 now for the flames.

[Mike Oxbig]

Are both Mallet related?

[OGCStrike]

Originally Posted by Big Earl

Are both Mallet related?

nope! its maillet and mallet
EDIT: canucks lose 4-1