WE LIKED OUR GUY BETTER

I asked him another time thinking maybe just maybe he didnt understand that I wanted more information, I said. “But Brian why?, he comes from a tough background, hard worker has size and could be a power forward. He looked me straight in the eye, leaned down towards my seat and said as loud as possible without yelling at me…..

WE LIKED OUR GUY BETTER

Anthony Stewart is not being qualified by Panthers… Hmmm we sure like our guy better…

The Canucks record stands at

21W – 15L – 5 OTL for 47 points (on pace for 94 points which may be the minimum for 8th place and a 4 game sweep from the San Jose Sharks)
117 Goals For (on pace for 234 Goals For)
108 Goals Against (on pace for 216 Goals Against)

in Comparison to last year the Canucks had at the 41 game mark the following record
23W – 14L – 4 OTL for 50 points (Was on pace for 100 points which failed miserably and fell to 88 points and missed the playoffs)
104 Goals For (Was on Pace for 208 Goals For and ended with 213 Goals For)
93 Goals Against (Was on Pace for 186 Goals Against and ended with 215 Goals Against)

We are currently 3 points off last years pace and with more signifigant injuries to our Goaltending especially Roberto Luongo who is likely to be out for another 3 weeks. Those 3 points can easily be attributed to again a terrible record on the Shootout especially with 2 points being thrown away the last 2 games.

We will now go through each players review for this season that has played a minimum 5 games this season (last years totals in brackets)

Daniel Sedin, 41GP 19G 22A 41 PTS +9 14 PIMS
on pace for 82GP 38G 44A 82 PTS +18 28 PIMS (29G 74 PTS)

Daniel is on pace to equal a point per game and increase his points from last year by 8 points. Daniel has been on fire this season and continue to show his importance as a goal scorer and leader on the Canucks. Rating B+

Henrik Sedin, 41GP 7G 30A 37 PTS +6 30 PIMS
on pace for 82GP 14G 60A 74 PTS +12 60 PIMS (15G 76 PTS)

Henrik is on pace for 2 less points than last year but looks to increase his penalty minutes by 4 . Henrik has had probles this year staying out of the penalty box at critical times and continues to elect to pass in high % scoring areas causing concern for the future when those goals matter the most. In the playoffs. Rating B-

Pavol Demitra, 31GP 11G 11A 22 PTS +1 06 PIMS
on pace for 62GP 22G 22A 44 PTS +02 12 PIMS (15G 54 PTS)

Pavol is pretty much on pace for his last few years. Not completing a season and in the 20 goal mark. Not what we really wanted for $4M a year but this should improve with Mats Sundin coming and most certainly will play with him on a regular basis. He also may increase his games to 72 Games and thereby increase his goals as well. He has shown streaky flashes of brilliance and long periods of concerned drought. Rating C+

Ryan Kesler, 41GP 9G 11A 20 PTS +3 31 PIMS
on pace for 82GP 18G 22A 40 PTS +06 62 PIMS (21G 37 PTS)

Ryan looks to be on pace for a career year for point despite dropping in goals. Kesler has taken a more important role in the leadership department and is showing that he will be an integral piece on the Canucks for a long time coming. Rating C+

Kevin Bieksa, 32GP 5G 15A 20 PTS EVEN 36 PIMS
on pace for 64GP 10G 30A 40 PTS EVEN 72 PIMS (2G 12 PTS)

Kevin is on a bounce back year from a serious injury that saw him in limited games last year. He is showing why his $4+M salary is being earned and has shown a fire and passion that has been lacking from the Canuck backend for sometime. Rating B.

Kyle Wellwood, 36GP 14G 5A 19 PTS +7 00 PIMS
on pace for 72GP 28G 10A 38 PTS +14 00 PIMS (8G 21 PTS)

Kyle is the poster boy for bounce back. After some serious injury riddle seasons with Toronto and being placed on waivers and recall waivers this year (almost seeing him sign overseas) Kyle is now a solid regular in the lineup scoring big goals (and pretty goals) at timely moments. Kyle will probable make about 77 games this year and score over 30 goals which is a nice addition to a team that requires scoring for all areas. Rating B+

Steve Bernier, 40GP 7G 12A 19 PTS +6 13 PIMS
on pace for 80GP 14G 24A 38 PTS +12 26 PIMS (16G 32 PTS)

Steve is having a tough year finding a comfortable area from which he can find his game. When he played his first 2 games against Calgary for the Canucks GM place was chanting his name while the Saddledome was cursing it. He came out as a true power forward and dominated the Flames only to see that vanish and disappear under a shadow of shyness and bad luck. Steve needs a major fight (and victory) to get his power confidence back up and maybe playing with Sundin will give him more time to develop his game that is needed the most. Rating C -

Mason Raymond, 41GP 9G 10A 19 PTS +8 20 PIMS
on pace for 82GP 18G 20A 38 PTS +16 40 PIMS (9G 21 PTS)

Mason is having a good year. not great, not bad just good for his role, age and time in the NHL. A promising player that needs more development time with both younger players and older ones in the NHL not the AHL the NHL. His time in the AHL is done and its time now to make it or break it in the NHL. Blazing speed and wonderful hands, he just needs to be stronger on the puck and make smarter decisions. As Tommy “Gunn” Larcheid said.. “Its faster to pass the puck than skate with it” Rating C.

Alex Burrows 41GP 8G 9A 17 PTS +2 72 PIMS
on pace for 82GP 16G 18A 34 PTS +04 144 PIMS (12G 31 PTS)

The New Pest in town is turning out to be a Pest that can make incredibly smart decisions and score some goals. Alex is proving that he is no fluke from the ECHL and has earned himself a long term contract and is enjoying a career year in goals. Rating B+

Alexander Edler, 39GP 3G 14A 17 PTS +1 30 PIMS
on pace for 78GP 06G 28A 34 PTS +02 60 PIMS (8G 20 PTS)

Alexander is the Turn over machine right now and while it has not cost the Canucks badly it will eventually when it matters most. He needs to calm down and stop thinking so much on the ice and just react that showed why his new contract is worth it. while he is on pace for career point totals his goals are down and his play has been erratic. He will still be a top 4 defenseman for a long time but needs to work with Salo and Ohlund on both areas of Defense and Offense. Rating C+

Jannik Hansen, 37GP 4G 13A 17 PTS +4 27 PIMS
on pace for 74GP 08G 26A 34 PTS +8 54 PIMS (0G 0 PTS)

Jannik has earned a nickname “The Great Dane”. While this might be a little much for his production he is showing that he can play the NHL game in all roles. He has provided some offense, and serious grit while still playing his role and remaining a + player. Rating C+

Mattias Ohlund, 41GP 3G 10A 13 PTS +13 52 PIMS
on pace for 82GP 6G 20A 26 PTS +26 104 PIMS (9G 24 PTS)

Mattias is in a contract year. He has shown bone crushing hits and has struggled in offense while picking up a more defensive role and leadership role. Mattias is needed on this team not just for this year but for 2 more years especially if we are serious about making a run for the cup. Rating B+

Willie Mitchell, 41GP 1G 10A 11 PTS +7 41 PIMS
on pace for 82GP 02G 20A 22 PTS +14 82 PIMS (2G 12PTS)

Big Willie has been fantastic this year. Already almost tying his career seasons for points he is on pace to blow that out of the water with a whopping 4 goals pace and 22 point season. But that is not his game. His game is to shutdown the top players and provide stalwart defense all season long. That is being achieved and then some. Rating B+

Taylor Pyatt, 36GP 4G 6A 10 PTS -3 33 PIMS
on pace for 72GP 08G 12A 20 PTS -6 66 PIMS (16G 37 PTS)

Taylor Pyatt? Taylor Pylon? take your choice, A bad season for a player that needs to show more toughness and scoring. He has struggled this season and is now on the IR in a contract year. Rating D.

Sami Salo, 25GP 2G 8A 10 PTS +2 14 PIMS
on pace for 50GP 04G 16A 20 PTS +4 28 PIMS (8G 25 PTS)

Oh Sami have you ever had a full season? The answer is NO. This will be Salos last contract with the Canucks. He has proven to be way to unreliable for games played and has taken up too much cap space for not being there. His shot is one of the hardest in the league and his offensive mind is needed on most teams. Too bad he is always on the IR. I almost forgot he played for us. Rating D-.

Darcy Hordichuk, 37GP 4G 1A 5 PTS +3 76 PIMS
on pace for 74GP 08G 02A 10 PTS +6 182 PIMS (1G 3 PTS)

Darcy has been a VERY welcome addition in the toughguy Department. He can fight with ferocity and can WIN those fights. He has added career totals in goals already and has more to come when playing the gritty areas an excellent addition. Rating B.

Shane O’Brien, 41GP 0G 5A 5 PTS +2 118 PIMS
on pace for 82GP 00G 10A 10 PTS +4 236 PIMS (4G 21 PTS)

Shane has been another nice addition in replacement of a very soft Lukas Krajicek. who only has 6 points in Tampa Bay. A great trade for Gillis. Shane is the most improved Dman for the canucks from the start of the season. His stupid penalty quota is going down and his value is going up. Rating C+.

Jason Jaffray, 13GP 2G 2A 4 PTS -2 14 PIMS
on pace for 26GP 04G 04A 08 PTS -4 28 PIMS (2G 6 PTS)

A project in the making. Has great attitude, hussle and can pop a nice gritty goal. Has to show more consistency to stay with the NHL club but is worth the risk. Rating C.

Ryan Johnson, 22GP 1G 2A 3 PTS +1 4 PIMS
on pace for 44GP 02G 04A 06 PTS +2 8 PIMS (5G 18 PTS)

Ryan is injured and is a warrior for playing with those injuries for as long as he did. His shot blocking is legendary and it caught up to him. he will be welcomed back very enthusiastically on the PK and for important face-offs. Rating C+

Rob Davison, 15GP 0G 1A 1 PTS -1 34 PIMS
on pace for 30GP 00G 02A 02 PTS -2 68 PIMS (0G 0 PTS)

A Nice addition for depth and toughness. Has filled in nicely as a #7 dman and is a good teammate. Rating C+.

L Nycholat, 12GP 0G 1A 1 PTS +4 6 PIMS
on pace for 24GP 00G 02A 02 PTS +8 12 PIMS (0G 0 PTS)

Something for nothing. Lawerence has shown he is worth more to this team than Ryan Shannon was (not to belittle shannon as he didnt get a chance) however we got good depth for someone that wasnt going to crack this NHL team. Rating C+.

Mike Brown, 19GP 0G 1A 1 PTS -4 85 PIMS
on pace for 38GP 00G 01A 02PTS -8 170 PIMS (1G 1PTS)

A project still in the making again but has shown considerable toughness and grit for one his size. Has to work on his game some more but has lots to offer. Rating C.

Curtis Sanford 17GP 7W 6L 2.52GA .910% 1 SO
(no pace as you dont know if the coach will start him more)

On the IR and has shown good fight for a goalie of his size. Needs to work on consistency and has to stop letting in a bad goal a game. May have lost his spot to LaBarbera is Jason keeps up his stellar play. I think he lost some confidence on a Saturday night in Calgary where AV decided to go with the rookie over his earned HNIC start. Rating C.

Cory Schneider 8GP 2W 4L 3.38GA .877% 0 SO
(no pace as you dont know if the coach will start him more)

Cory is NOT ready for the NHL. He may be 2 seasons in the AHL not ready. He has shown why he was a 1st round draft pick and has shown flashes of brillance with some saves some NHL starters could not make. He has also shown that he is not fast enough yet for the NHL game and that showed (albeit not fairly) in his start against the NHLs best San Jose Sharks. He is going to be a very good NHL goalie, his determination and practice will show if he will be a great one. Rating C-

Roberto Luongo 19GP 11W 5L 2.17 GA .928% 5 SO (no pace as its difficult to guess on when he is back)

Bobby Lou? Where are You? We miss you. Badly. We may be up with Detroit if you had not been injured in Pittsburgh (stupid NHL schedule). You were on pace to win everything this year. Vezina, Hart, everything and you were going to break all Canuck Records and you are the heart and soul of this Canucks team and rightfully its leader and Captain. Hell if you come back soon you can still break the Canucks shutout record of 8. But you are still 3 weeks away if Lorne Henning was quoted properly. You are a Franchise player. you are the best goalie in the league. Rating A (no + as the injury hinders you badly).

Mike Gillis – Rookie General Manager. You are showing that you have the brass cahonas to play with the big boys in the NHL. You have proven your words were not just that…words. You are backing up everything you said the Canucks would be and would do. I cant wait to see what your next move is. You are also showing you are not waiting until its too late to make a move to shore up weak areas (e.g. LaBarbera). Rating B+.

Alain Vigneault – You are a good coach. Not a great coach yet but a good one. I think you still need to work on line combos and not juggling them so much and dont give up on the lines you have going so quickly. Im glad to see you are using youth more even if it is dictated by Gillis. Rating C+

2008-2009 Canucks Team

Overall this is way better team than the last 2 years under Nonis. Lou is the reason we are not 10 points above Calgary right now in the division and on pace with Detroit. We are scoring more and until Lou went down with injury we were keeping the puck out of the Net. If we can maintain .500 hockey until he returns (which with Sundin we may be playing .550) we will win the Div title and be 3rd in the conference. We will probably play Calgary in the first round in that case which may be the best playoff match up for us to start. Assuming San Jose gets knocked out in the first 2 rounds we could have a very productive year in the playoffs if we add the right 2 pieces at the deadline.

Things needed

Offensive Defensmen and PP QB
Top 6 Forward.

Team Rating B.