Bleacher Report - Articles by daniel lockwood

Five Reasons the Vancouver Canucks Are Canada's Best Stanley Cup Hope

daniel lockwood — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:23:16 -0400

No one needs to tell Vancouver hockey fans that we haven't won a Cup. We know that. Better than those that seek to use that to add to our despair. From the heartbreak and stupidity of a riot in '94. The 4 game sweep of '82, where no one thought that team would go anywhere. Here are 5 reasons why the Vancouver Canucks are on a path to be the first Canadian team to win the Cup since Patrick Roy's Canadians in '93.

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Congrats on the Wedding, Mats, but are You Playing Again?

daniel lockwood — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:14:21 -0400

I am sure we all wish Mats Sundin all the best with his forthcoming nuptials. But he will have people wondering what he is going to do until he either retires or announces he is coming back. Here's a fan's take on it.

First of all, if he comes back, he has to come back for a whole season. Wherever he lands, it just isn't feasible to do the half-season thing again.

But was it really that bad?

Sure, when he was getting up to speed, Mats looked bad the first ten games he was back, but after that you could see the way he affected the team. It isn't a coincidence that the Canucks had a record losing streak and a fantastic second half. Most of the former was when Mats was struggling, and once he got going, his influence helped greatly with the latter.

The Canucks had two good lines, and even though you could see Mats was still a little slow (some respected Leaf fans have always told me speed never was his main attribute), he created matchup problems for other teams, took heat off the Sedins and forced opposing teams to use at least one of their big defensemen to check him. He was still great in the circle and talented behind the net.

This Canuck fan thought the Mats Experiment was a limited success. It would be impossible for anyone to live up to the hype around him after he made his decision to play.

Twenty-eight points in 41 games was good enough. Eight playoff points in eight playoff games was even better.

Now, I want everyone to remember that when Mats was interviewed after his last game, he always said things like, " I loved being a Vancouver Canuck. While I am not sure if this is my last game, or if I am coming back, if I do, it will be with the Vancouver Canucks."

Yet on rumour sites like Hockeybuzz, the "Ek" says it is the Wings, Rangers, Ducks, and Flames he might head back to. But three out of four of these teams are already in a worse position cap-wise than the Canucks. Talk to any Leaf fan about Mats and they'll tell you he's staying with the Leafs. Because who would want to be a Canuck if you could be a Leaf?

I think if he gives any team that discount it will be the one that he played for last year. Until I hear the man say something otherwise to make me rethink it, he comes back to the Canucks. One year at about two or three million dollars should be fine. I would welcome him back.

If he comes back. Maybe having millions and being newly-married are big enough reasons to retire.

In the coming weeks I will be writing at another site as well. Four times a week at Fanhuddle.com.

I look forward to checking in and contributing here from time to time as well. Think of it not as goodbye, just that we don't see each other so much since I got a second job!

Peace.

Russian Prospect Sergei Shirokov May Be Headed to Vancouver Canucks

daniel lockwood — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:53:30 -0400

While it has not been officially confirmed, The Vancouver Canucks look to have locked up 2006 sixth-round pick Sergei Shirokov. Could this be another late round Russian steal? Well, he is no Pavel Bure, but he is pretty good.

According to the website russianprospects.com, as well as others, it seems that an August 10 deadline to have Shirokov signed with his club CSKA Moscow has passed, and, to quote the article:

"I'm leaving for the NHL with a clean conscience, I always dreamed to play in the world's strongest league. There are no resentments with CSKA, before the session I had a talk with head coach Sergei Nemchinov and we understood each other. I will soon leave to take part to Vancouver's development camp."

There is a thin possibility that the Moscow team could trade him elsewhere in the KHL, but since the deadline has passed, it seems that he is now suspended by the KHL for one season.

According to the player, he would accept a trade within the KHL, but now that it looks like the time for that has passed. It seems likely the player will be in the NHL or AHL next season.

His stats for last year (56GP/17G/23A/40PTS) were good enough for 23rd overall in that league. He is described as a strong skater with vision and finishing abilities. Being a sixth-rounder is not a barometer of his talent as Russian players have fallen in draft rankings for several years now. That fall has far more to do with politics than talent.

While it sounds like this initially began as a dispute with his Moscow team, we should all remember that there were numerous reports that he had signed with the Canucks in early June. While they were never confirmed, it looks like Gillis's low key approach and persistence may have enriched the talent pool in Vancouver once again.

Whether he makes the team or not, (and as a 23-year-old, with improving stats every year in the KHL, he will be given a chance to prove himself at camp I am sure), having another talented player here in Vancouver or in Winnipeg with the Moose can never be bad.

Definitely not as highly touted as Pavel Bure, its good to see the team once again dip into the Russian talent pool. Here's hoping he is the first Russian in the Blue and Green since Artem Chubarov in 03/04. And that he turns out more Pavel than Artem.

Just Cool It: Possible Lawsuit For Alex Burrows' On-Ice Incident Is Overreaction

daniel lockwood — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:48:00 -0400

It seems that no-one really wants to comment on Burrows and the Pond Hockey League incident, on advice from lawyers and all that. Here at Bleacher Report, as fans, we have no such restrictions.

So, let me take a shot at it.

Knowing how Burrows plays from watching him in Vancouver, I have no doubt that he was just trying to win. Even in a 4-4 Pond Hockey League where he is probably the biggest star now, where he is just playing to stay in shape somewhere close to his Montreal home.

Burrows played for a ball hockey team until he grew too big for that league, he was being targeted by guys trying to make a name on his back. People running him in a "no hitting" league. Dirty plays in the corners and in front of the net. Hockey is indeed an intense game, "no hitting" or not.

This has the definite scent of the same sort of thing: "The 19 year old goalie Koray Celik would not comment about the incident on the advice of lawyers" (according to TSN and RDS)

Tells you where this is headed.

What do I think happened? Well, from reading all over the Net on this one, there seems to be some assertion that the goalie had been spearing Burrows repeatedly throughout the game. Knowing how he plays in the NHL, I am sure he would not have let that stand, and lost his temper.

Alex Burrows is the type of player that drives the net, and scores in close. This would rile most goalies. That it riled a 19-year-old college goalie from the University of Southern Maine is understandable. This is not to absolve Burrows completely either—he should not have struck the young man.

But really, let's use some common sense with the info we have. The police were called, but no charge was filed.

That would seem to lend some credence to the assertion that there may have been some mitigating factors. Perhaps the local police are familiar with "hockey incidents" like this. They may have quickly figured out it was more a "tit for tat" incident rather than an unprovoked attack.

I would tend to believe the assertion that this wasn't just Burrows going off on a young guy like that. He is an intense player, but not a dirty one (though I am sure he is to Hawks fans for the rest of his career!).

I have a feeling that when there are no charges filed, we may hear of a civil suit from this goalie. Sadly, in today's sport culture, where everyone knows to the penny the salary an athlete earns every year, there will be occasions where an incident gets blown out of proportion for what it truly is. An on-ice confrontation between Mr. Celik and Joe Six Pack would have a very different conclusion...

And far less press.

Vancouver Canucks Finally Looking Outside Their Own Back Door

daniel lockwood — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:07:40 -0400

It seems the Gillis Era in Vancouver has found a cost effective way of recruiting players. After years of ignoring the Giants and local prospects during the Burke/Nonis reigns, the Canucks are finally trying to find the next great local star.

Personally, when Lucic was running over the competition in the WHL, I couldn't believe our draft wizards were trumpeting Grabner.

All Lucic did after being drafted in 2006 was help the Giants win the Memorial Cup in 2007, before heading off to fame and fortune in Boston (and really, after the ghosts of Cam Neely...that's just mean).

A year later we had Patrick White, with another Giant in Jonathon Blum going two picks before to Nashville, and St. Louis regular David Perron being picked right after (sigh!). Though, in that year, they did try hard to trade up to get local whiz kid Kyle Turris.

Now, Gillis has seen the advantage of having a great junior team just 15 minutes from his D/T office, where prospects can be easily seen and grow in a winning environment.

Kevin Connauton, a third round defenseman with upside, has decided to leave school at Western Michigan to start his pro career. He'll go to camp, and play for the Giants this year, close by if needed.

Nolan Toigo has been given a free agent look at camp this year. He has played with the Giants on two occasions, and could become a very good player. He will be a 20-year-old for the G-men this year.

Talented Slovak Mario Bliznak, another Giants alum, has been impressing and honing his game under the eye and tutelage of Craig Hiesinger and Scott Arniel for the Moose (and Mike Keane, the 42-year-old Winnipeg local who has been invaluable in the careers of guys like Kesler, Burrows, Rypien and others).

He is my pick for a player that could be a dark horse at camp in a month or so.

Signing local boys Mike Funk and Kellan Tochkin, two Abbotsford natives looking to kick start their careers, in addition to Prab Rai (Surrey) and Dan Gendur (Vancouver) has given the Canucks some local flavour that has been missing.

And hey, it cuts down on the scouting trips...

Peace

You Want Who? Better Throw in a Draft PIck

daniel lockwood — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:34:57 -0400

During these hot and lazy days of summer, there is a time honored tradition in hockey cities: building the next Cup winner.

Most fans in places like Vancouver and Toronto think we are just as good at it as the men paid millions to make those decisions. We will wail and moan about a player thrown in to make the deal, sure that he will come back to bite us in the future.

The first "wrong" move a GM makes will cause radio show phone lines to go nuts, wondering how this guy ever got the job. Men like Mike Gillis and Brian Burke often look tired and harried at times. With the weight of our expectations, it is no wonder.

Fans can be just as ruthless in assessing the talent, letting guys go, or knowing the cap hit to the penny and how a player's future contract bonuses will affect it.

Sure, all sports have fantasy leagues and virtual GMs abound in all sports. In hockey we are the same. The summer is a special time for us, though. The draft and free agency have finished and there are new acquisitions and potential superstars to discuss.

Training camp heralds the end of summer, but the start of the season.

And of course, that one deal that will make this team the one. The secret glee when first reading the trade details, when a fan knows in the heart that our team got the better of the other.

"We got him? And a pick? And we only had to give up that bum that was always injured? Nice."

Daniel and Henrik Sedin: They Aren't "Sisters," They're the "Wonder Twins"

daniel lockwood — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:31:42 -0400

OK, it was funny the first time. Maybe when they were younger and looked so young, but get it straight now... they are indeed the Wonder Twins.

Daniel and Henrik are probably the two most underrated superstars in the NHL.

Sure, there are other flashier and more transcendent talents. There are the Ovechkins and Crosbys. Malkin, Iginla, Datsyuk and Parise all had more points. The Sedins were tied for 14th with 82 points last year.

They are also the only players in the Top 15 outside of the Cup Champs ,Malkin and Crosby, and Iginla and Cammalleri in Calgary last year that are in that elite company on the same team.

The Flames other half of that one-two is in Montreal now.

Having watched the Sedins all the years they have been here, I get how some fans of other teams don't get it. I have sat in the stands yelling "SHOOT" a couple times myself. Now I have learnt to just watch and enjoy their talent. Their sublime passes and fantastic vision of the ice, this preternatural KNOWING where the other is could only come from being Twins.

A funny thing happened last year. When AV put Burrows on their line, he expected him to bang and get them the puck. He may have even thought that Burrows could give some offense with the Twins. But he also changed their game.

The Sedins still can cycle better than anyone in the NHL. But they also create offense off the rush. On the breakout, they may not be the fastest skaters in the league. But where they are, like MOST players...fast enough when it counts.

Watching them with Burrows last year, by the end of the season, they were roughing it up after whistles. Making hits. People forget that they are both 6'2" and in very good shape.

Both have played since '99 and both have missed less than 10 games in that time. They take the hits, and it doesn't bother them. Every Canuck fan remembers Daniel getting a stick in the mouth and losing teeth...and still scoring last year. (The second half of the season game escapes me, I think the Wild for some reason. Please correct me if I am wrong)

Watch next year. They go into the corner in the offensive zone, and while not shaking the boards, waaayyyyy more often than not they come out with the puck.

Keep getting better and let the team grow around you. Other teams' fans may call you "sister" to try for the cheap laugh. Canuck fans will just watch in "wonder"...and appreciate how you play the game.