I wanted to get out a few of my thoughts about goings-on in Canucks World lately.
Currently Canucks.com is running a story about Ryan Kesler returning to Vancouver this week. For me, this is good news, as Kesler is a bright star for the team. He's not the youngest guy on the team, but he's still got plenty of growing room on a team that desperately wants offense and grit up front. In addition to that, he's a future candidate for team captain, which is typical of a talented hard-worker. Last season he set a career high for goals and points, thanks largely to his chemistry with linemate Alex Burrows, who also benefited from the partnership.
In-keeping with the tradition of 'armchair coaching', I would look to keep these two guys together, albeit with Kesler putting in more time on the powerplay, since I'm sure he can further improve on last season's numbers given the opportunity. Basically, this is my official petition to give Kesler a bigger role on the team.
Something I've noticed this year is that almost all of the newly acquired players for the team got started early on their training and workouts. I think that's a good sign that they're taking this opportunity seriously. If guys like Steve Bernier and Kyle Wellwood are looking to make a big impression at camp in less than two weeks, then that's a good indication that the same enthusiasm will carry with them onto the ice and hopefully spread to the rest of the team too.
The biggest problem these guys will face is where, or whether, they will fit in with coach Vigneault's systems. I don't think we're at the stage where we can say Vigneault is infamous for his systems--maybe not even famous--but I can't dismiss the proposition that it was partly the coach's fault for there being no scoring in Vancouver last season. If I'm wrong then I'll be happy to be proven so.
Finally, I'm quite appreciative of the minimal noise about Sundin over the past week or two. I suppose when everyone put their expectations on an August 1st decision--which was unashamedly shattered by both player and agent--they stopped expecting a decision on the whole. I hope that Mike Gillis has moved on too. The offer may still be on the table, but I expect the team to be looking towards prospect camp to fill the holes in the roster thus far. Canucks have some solid players, but there's always room for improvement, so whether the few remaining roster spots are filled through training camp or via a trade or two, they need to be addressed with complete conviction that 08/09 is going to be a better season than 07/08 could ever have been.
2 comments:
Kesler is only just 24, you make him sound like a grandpop lol
I said he's not the youngest guy on the team--which he isn't. I also said he has plenty of room for growth. At 24, I would expect him to be showing signs of where his potential can take him, therefore the comment about giving him more ice.
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