2009 Canucks Training Camp to Be Held at UBC, Vancouver to Add Defenceman

(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun is reporting that the 2009 Vancouver Canucks training camp will be held at the University of British Columbia's Thunderbird Arena.

The rookies will report on September 7 and the veterans will report on September 12 for the main camp.

The main camp will be only two days long as on September 14, the Canucks will begin their nine game preseason schedule in Terrace facing the New York Islanders as the town won Kraft Hockeyville 2009.

It is also expected that this year that once again there will be a rookies tournament between the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks. It is unclear if this year's tournament would be held in Camrose, Alberta last year or moved to another venue.

In another story, Pap reports that Canucks general manager Mike Gillis plans to add a defenceman before training camp begins.

"We're going to add a defenceman before the end of the summer. We've got four or five things in the air with respect to that and we'll sort through them as we move along in the next few days," said Gillis.

Currently, there are still several quality offensive NHL defenceman available on the free agent market. The list includes Derek Morris, Mathieu Schneider, Sergei Zubov, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Dennis Seidenberg, and Cory Murphy.

It should be interesting to note that Mathieu Schneider is a former client of Mike Gillis when he was still an agent.

The Canucks were rumoured to have been interested in acquiring Schneider from the Anaheim Ducks last season, but they were waiting for Sundin so ultimately they did not pull the trigger on the deal.

The Canucks once again expressed interest in Schneider at the trade deadline, but the price of a second and third round pick being asked by Atlanta was too steep.

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