No "I" in team: What the Canucks need from each player this season (Part 1)

Orland Kurtenbach and Henrik Sedin

 

 “I think we’re one of four or five teams that are considered to be capable of winning the Stanley Cup.” - Mike Gillis

Kids are back at school, the UBC and SFU busses are overflowing with passengers, people are starting to ask about "pumpkin spice lattes" at Starbucks, and the skies are undecided about whether they want rain or sun.  It must be fall in Vancouver.  And we all know what that means: it's also hockey season!  Hockey is never far from the minds of Canadians, but after a summer full of stories about Tomas Kaberle's dad, Ilya Kovalchuk's contract, and Patrick Kane getting stuck on a fire ladder we can finally rejoice in the fact that rookie camps, main camps, and the NHL pre season are about to get going, which means we are about to have real hockey news in the newspapers.

The Vancouver Canucks come into this NHL season with higher hopes and expectations than most other teams in the league.  General Manager Mike Gillis has made it clear that the future is now for the Canucks and that he expects this core group of players to reel in the franchise's first Stanley Cup in the next few seasons.  He's spent a busy summer signing player who he believes will help get the team to that goal.  On paper and in theory the Canucks look like a winner but, as we all know far too well, winning a Cup is more about what happens on the ice and less so about what analysts, magic 8 balls, and fortune tellers predict. To gear up for the Vancouver Canucks' 40th Anniversary season I will offer my thoughts on what the team needs out of every player who (I believe) will see action with the Canucks this season.  The blog will be split into two parts - Part 1: Goaltenders and Defenceman.  Part 2: Forwards

Goaltenders


Roberto Luongo
When it comes to Bobby Lu, C's are what matter.  Contract? Nope, Gary Bettman stood on the NHLPA's neck until they agreed to new conditions under the CBA but Luongo's contract remains intact and it's something he won't have to worry about for a long time.  Captaincy? Well, sort of but not really.  It'll be interesting to see who is "wearing" the C when the season officially begins on October 9th but, in my opinion, whatever happens is not really critical to Luongo.  He will always be the leader of this team.  Not having the official designation of captain will merely get him a few free passes when he doesn't feel like dealing with the Vancouver media but it won't change his role amongst his peers.  The real C that matters for Luongo is consistency.  Since his first season in Vancouver when he single-handedly led the team to a Northwest Division championship and was nominated for three NHL awards, Luongo has not been able to elevate his game to that level again.  He's shown flashes of that brilliance but, for the most part, he has been only a little above average.  This season he will have one of the strongest defensive cores in the league in front of him, not to mention 3 solid lines of forwards to provide him with scoring support.  However, at the end of the day, Luongo will be making $10 million dollars so we can assume that his job will involve more than moving aside when the ice girls come to shovel snow out of his crease.  He has to learn to control his emotions and become more consistent than he has been in seasons past.  Luongo needs to get back to basics - forget about the media, forget about the hype, and just play hockey.  We will need him to carry this team on his back and that can't happen if he's seesawing between performances.

Cory Schneider
Welcome to the big show kid, it's about time you made it!  The Canucks have been patient with Schneider who was drafted 26th overall in 2004.  Mike Green (29th), Brandon Dubinsky (60th), David Krejci (63rd), and Brandon Yip (239th) are all players who were drafted after Schneider but who have already established themselves as legitimate NHLers.  Now it's his turn to prove that he can back up his success in the AHL with similar results in the NHL.  His last NHL game was a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars but Schneider was fantastic in that game.  Several of his 45 total saves were of the highlight reel variety and it gives him something to build on.  This season will be his first full season in the NHL.  He needs to get comfortable in the role of Luongo's backup but he also has to be ready to step in when called upon and deliver big performances.  The Canucks have already agreed that Luongo's workload will be reduced this season so Schneider will get his chances to show what he can do.

Defencemen
  
Andrew Alberts
All we ask of "A minor" is that he stays out of the penalty box and that he not pass the puck right up the middle.  Alberts' defensive-zone giveaways last season led to Luongo having to make some of his more showstopping saves but as this is not the Harlem Globetrotters we don't need Alberts to set Luongo up for gymnastic-like acrobatics.

Keith Ballard
Goal number 1: Don't whack Luongo across the head when he lets in a goal.  Yes I'm referring to the wicked slash that Ballard accidentally delivered to the head of his goalie Tomas Vokoun last season after Vokoun let in a goal.  Ballard was, of course, angry at himself and not Vokoun but his ill-aimed stick wipe sent Vokoun to the hospital with a bleeding ear.

Goal number 2: Adjust to the fishbowl of Vancouver quickly and help the team defensively and offensively on a consistent basis.  Ballard has the potential to be a shut down D man, put up 25-30 points offensively, and be a physical presence with his 5'11", 208lbs. frame.  With the loss of Willie Mitchell to free agency, Ballard will be key on the PK and his role is essential to make sure that the Canucks address the defensive flaws that led to their playoff struggles last season.

Kevin Bieksa
After hearing his name being thrown around in trade rumours all summer long it is somewhat surprising that "Juice" is still a Canuck.  However, with the long-term injury to Sami Salo, Bieksa has an important role to play on this team.  There is a myth about him which states that, because of some serious injuries, he has struggled defensively in the past few seasons.  The truth is, Kevin Bieksa has never really played solid D.  In his first few seasons in the league he was a minus player but his offensive output masked his defensive flaws.  As his point-totals have dwindled it has drawn attention to his inability to protect the puck and make quick decisions on the ice.  Bieksa will slide down the depth chart a bit this season because the team is so much deeper on the back end.  This means that he needs to find some consistency in playing solid defensive hockey to earn his minutes each night.  Because he's a right shot, his services will be much needed on the PP but that time too should have to be earned by him playing responsible hockey in his own end.

Alex Edler
The guy always looks like he'd rather be asleep than playing a hockey game so we needed DNA evidence to confirm that the guy who steamrolled Drew Doughty in the first round of the playoffs last season really was Alex Edler.  Amazingly, dental scans and figerprinting have confirmed that it was indeed Edler who released his inner beast and left Doughty seeing stars.  The team needs more of that from Edler.  He struggled early last season but found his niche in time to be a force in the playoffs.  At 6'3" and 215lbs Edler has the frame to thrown around and intimidate opponents but his focus should be his defensive game.  He has improved steadilly from season to season and that needs to continue.  Young blood is key on any team and Edler will be patrolling the blueline for many years to come.  As his defensive instincts get stronger this season he can then also chip in offensively with his cannon point shot and exceptional vision of the ice in front of him.

Christian Ehrhoff
Hoff was a pleasant surprise for the Canucks (not so much for the Sharks) last season.  He set career highs in goals, assists, and points and was defensively solid all season long.  He's not the biggest guy out there so his game is mainly positional rather than physical.  There's not much to say about him other than that if he can have a repeat of last season the Canucks will be in good shape.

Dan Hamhuis
Out with Port McNeill's Willie Mitchell.  In with Smithers' Dan Hamhuis.  One of the biggest fish in the free agent pool, Hamhuis actually accepted less money than he was being offered elsewhere to sign with the hometown Canucks.  Hamhuis has over 500 NHL games and numerous international tournaments under his belt so he has the experience to be a top-pairing player.  He, like Ballard, will have to adjust quickly to the fishbowl of Vancouver and start contributing defensively and offensively right away.  His defensive play will be what determines how much PP and PK time he gets but he's capable of being a high-minutes player and that should be his goal this season.

Shane O'Brien
First and foremost, it should be OB's goal to not end up in coach Alain Vigneault's doghouse.  He can do this by staying in shape all season long and making sure that he has a disguise of some sort on when he hits the clubbing scene during hockey season.  OB is not the most disciplined player out there but he is endearing.  He seems to have the love of his team mates (and many Vancouverite females!) so that's something for him to build on.  At times he has shown a lot of defensive poise so he is capable of being a top 6 player.  This season he needs to continue to become more comfortable with his role while also making sure that he works on his temper.  Last season OB earned 117 less penalty minutes than in the season before.  This was a huge accomplishment for him and whatever he did to achieve it, he needs to continue with this year.

Aaron Rome
Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was Aaron Rome.  He's still a work in progress and will be called upon mainly as a 7th or 8th D man.  He will be in and out of the lineup depending on injuries but as long as he can be responsible in his own end and eat up a few minutes of shift time he'll be doing his job for the team.

Sami Salo
We all know that he has "balls of steel" but I wish we could say the same about the rest of his body.  No this is not a recording: Sami Salo is injured.  This time it is a torn achilles tendon that occured while Salo played in an informal ball hockey game in Finland over the summer.  The injury will see him start the season on the long term injury reserve meaning that in 12 seasons of NHL hockey, Salo has yet to play a full 82 game season.  When he gets back it'll take a few games for him to get his skating and coordination back but he is essential to the team's success down the stretch.  Even with the Hamhuis and Ballard signings, Salo is still the nerve center of the PP and PK.  This is likely his final season as a Canuck and maybe even his final season in the NHL.  Hopefully the extra recovery time will mean that when he does return to hockey he will be fresh and durable in the playoffs.

Young defenceman like Kevin Connauton, Chris Tanev, Lee Sweatt, and Evan Oberg will all be pushing to make the Canucks roster.  While I think they will likely end up playing in Manitoba, they may find themselves riding the AHL/NHL shuttle a lot if we do have injuries on the back end.  In the event that they do see NHL action, their jobs will be to get used to the change of pace at the NHL level and find a way to make good defensive decisions.  It'll be exciting to see how they do in their NHL debuts!

That's part 1 of my blog.  Look for part 2 to be out in the coming days.

Thanks for reading and Go Canucks Go!