Five things to look forward to for Canucks Fans

With the 2016-17 Season being the Centennial Season of the NHL and the Canucks' 45th Season in the NHL, this is a list of things the Canucks and us fellow fans will look forward to.

5: Tanking for Nolan
Many fans are still admiring the flashy young prospect their team acquired during the first round of the draft. Others have moved on and are looking forward to the season, some looking forward to the next draft and draft lottery. If things don't turn out well, the Canucks could find themselves somewhere at either the bottom of the barrel (Top 5 chances), a Mediocre but slight improvement (Top 10 chances) or just unlucky with the wild card (Top 14 Chances). Of course, that's not what we're going to look forward to at all.

4: Return to the Playoffs
The Canucks were so close to lifting Lord Stanley's grace in 2010-11. But after the blowout game against the Bruins, things were never the same for the Canucks. They would get blown out in the first round of the playoffs everytime they made it in. It gets annoying. But as long as it's better then missing the playoffs by the wild card slot, then we'll accept it.
Hopefully, with boosts from new players like Gudbranson and Eriksson, as well as more experienced sophomore Virtanen and Hutton, as well as another 40 to 50 point season from Horvat, and veterans playing like their prime, then maybe we might see a good cup run. I mean, it would be amazing if we made the playoffs, but if we made it into the second round and held off until Game 7, then that would be a year to remember for Canucks fans.

3: DEMKO=SCHNEIDER
Perhaps had goaltender Cory Schneider not been injured, the Canucks may have had a chance to win the Stanley Cup in 2011. So far, Schneider has become a possible Vezina candidate in 2 or 3 years. He is well in his prime, and can become something extraordinary and will lead the New Jersey Devils into becoming the Dark Horse of the NHL next season.
I plan on doing a simulation on NHL 14 to see how the 2013-14 season would've turned out had Schneider stayed in Vancouver, so when that happens, I will post.
Fortunately, Canucks fans have another American goalie from Boston College to look forward to. Thatcher Demko, a second round draft pick by the Canucks, has the potential to end up like Schneider. He could have been drafted around the same place as Schneider, but because of an injury, he was picked in the early 2nd round. Now, let's note that only 10 picks seperated the 2 goalies. As far as I'm concerned, Demko is going to prove he deserved to be drafted 10 picks earlier. We'll see how well he does in AHL's Utica Comets as Richard Bachman's potential back-up, and we might see him become a starter if Bachman goes down to injury, meaning we'll see some Garteig as well (He may end up joining the ECHL's Alaska Aces though).

2: Welcome to Vancouver
In 2016-17, we'll see forward Loui Eriksson and defencemen Erik Gudbranson join the team. Gudbranson was a former top 5 draft pick in 2011 for the Florida Panthers, and Eriksson previously played for the Boston Bruins.
Loui Eriksson was probably the most exciting moment during free agency for the Canucks. He is an elite player who can fit into the role of first line centre.

1: We Love Hockey, We Love The Canucks
What we're most going to look forward to is without a doubt the fact that there's going to be Hockey to watch in Vancouver. Hockey is Canada's sport. Vancouver loves Hockey. We love Crosby, we love Gretzky, we even love Ovechkin. The point is, the reason people watch the Canucks play, be it on TV or live, is because we love the sport and we love our city and our team. The Canucks is Vancouver's Team. It's our most oldest sports franchise, and as far as I'm concerned, it's our most beloved franchise. So let's enjoy another good old season of Canucks hockey.

The OHL: Why are the London Knights always the best team?

Let's not lie here, this is a question any fan of junior hockey should be asking. The London Knights seem to be on top of the world. That is, if the world consisted of junior hockey teams. They are presumably the most prestigious major junior hockey team, and arguably the 2nd most successful franchise in the Ontario Hockey League, just behind the classic Toronto Marlboros, currently the mediocre at best Guelph Storm. So therefore, the London Knights are the most successful active franchise in not just the OHL, but the entire CHL.
But how?
How could one franchise garner so much success and keep the pace? This is a question many people who understand junior hockey would ask. You see, a team in the CHL holds many prospects. If they have a roster full of prospects that are projected to be drafted in the first round, then they would be in the top of the world, just like the London Knights. However, when time comes for the draft, their players get drafted, then next season play for the  NHL team. Let's duly note that overages would also become professional either waiting for some team to sign him, or they're playing in some weaker junior league for overagers. Then, that major junior team will have some players who are draft eligible this season and some new freshmen, as well as 1 or 2 players drafted last year but then didn't make the NHL roster. So we have some overagers in their third year of major junior. Let's note that they could be in their fourth if they have a late December birthday or received special Exceptional Player status and could play in the OHL a year earlier. This rule only happens in the OHL, and players like McDavid and Tavares received this honorable status.
So there you have it. The team went from having players who will forge hall of fame careers to a small group of freshmen, some overagers who are in their last year of Major Junior and only a little residue of the previous talent on last year's roster. They go from OHL, potentially CHL champions, to missing the playoffs as a whole.
Remember the Guelph Storm that we mentioned early on as the current form of the Toronto Marlboros. Well, they were actually once the OHL champions in 2013-14. They finished with 108 points, the top record in the entire league. Even though they failed to take home the Memorial Cup, you have to admit it was a pretty good run, considering they had 84 points in the previous season. Scott Kosmachuk, the team's leading scorer, had 100 points and finished 3rd in regular season points. In the playoffs, the top 4 leading scorers were all Storm players. The leading scorer in the playoffs was Kerby Rychel, with 32 points. That was 9 points short of how many points the Sarnia Sting had during the regular season, 41! Amazing right? Kosmachuk is currently trying to find the same clutch he had in that miracle season with Guelph, currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets franchise.

Rychel, a Blue Jackets draftee, is currently a prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs, just like many young prospects who were OHL alumni. 

Moving along, the following season, Kosmachuk and Rychel left to become professional players, making their debuts in the levels of the American Hockey League. The Storm was left with nothing very relevant from their previous season, and despite making the playoffs and winning a solid series against the Owen Sound Attack, they were swept in the second round by the Greyhounds. And so, the collapse happened.

The previous season, the Guelph Storm finished DEAD LAST in the OHL. DEAD.Last. This sums it up. In the span of not even 3 seasons, a team can go from champions to dead last.

So, how could the Knights still stay so stable in the league and hardly finish dead last? The Canadian Hockey League consists of the 3 leagues. 1 in the Western Canada to form the WHL, 1 in Central Canada (Ontario)to form the OHL and one in the East, or the Maritimes, to form the QMJHL. Teams playing in these leagues are not expected to stay in prime shape, as the idea for these teams is to develop players into high quality players, capable of making it into the NHL, not to keep them and form a dynasty.

The London Knights are the equivalent of the Chicago Blackhawks of the current 2010s. They've won 3 OHL titles in less then a decade, a feat only teams such as the Marlboros could accomplish. Ironically, Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane was a London Knight alumni, as well as John Tavares (Tavares was more of an alumni of Oshawa, however, he played for London in his draft year).

In a span of 2 to 3 seasons, a major junior team's roster can change drastically. The 2011-13 Roster of the Knights that won 2 consecutive OHL titles had current NHL powerhouse prospects, such as Domi, Horvat (A fellow Canuck), Griffith and Maata. The team saw the departure of Maata and Griffith in 2013-14 and Horvat in 2014-15, as well as Domi in 2015-16.
So, with the big names in their dynasty gone, the London Knights didn't get swept early in the playoffs, or miss it entirely or even go dead last! They won another championship, and they took home the big prize of the Memorial Cup! They had powerhouse names like Matthew Tkachuk, Marner, Christian Dvorak, and another fellow Canuck Olli Juolevi. All of them were top 5 picks in NHL drafts.
When their entire former roster was drained out, they came back with an even stronger roster? How could this happen? Well, that's a tough question. But the evidence is enough to convince you.  The London Knights are truly the greatest amateur franchise of the decade.

Olli Juolevi Highlights

For those who can't wait for Juolevi to make his Canucks debut, here's a nice highlight montage of Olli Juolevi playing for the London Knights. Credit goes to the original uploader of the video.
https://youtu.be/KEl31Cc5mXg

Grenier and Pedan

On Tuesday, the Canucks re-signed forwards Alex Grenier and Andrey Pedan, adding to the pool of depth in the Canucks AHL team of Utica.
Grenier, 24, was 2 points shy of the 50 point mark with the Comets. He was the leading scorer on the team. He also played in 6 games for the Canucks, where he was scoreless, and had a -4 in +/-. The contract is a 1 year deal worth 600k, according to Cap Friendly.
Pedan, 21, was a New York Islanders prospect who was acquired by the Canucks in 2014-15. He was drafted in the 3rd round in 2011 by the Isles Last season (2015-16) he played in 13 games with the Canucks, going scoreless, as well as a -3. In Utica, he dominated. With a +17 +/- and 21 points in 45 games, those were impressive numbers by this young man from Russia.
Overall, these resignings help the Canucks out. Pedan is a crafty playmaker, who also lead Utica in Assists. Pedan is an underrated player who is a good contributor as well as a solid 2-way grinder. They will certainly help the Utica squad that made it to the Calder Cup Finals in 2014-15.

Michael Carcone: My thoughts

Canucks have signed 20-year old Michael Carcone to a 3-year entry level deal today.
Carcone played in the QMJHL (for the) Drummond Voltigeurs. He posted insane numbers in 2015-16. He had 89 points in 66 games, only missing a total of 2. He had a +/- of 1, and a total PIMS of 80.
The previous season, Carcone played 50 games and amassed 41 points. He had a +/- of 5 as well.
Carcone is a clear stud, and it makes sense why Vancouver decided to take him to the next level. We'll se how he does in preseason, as well as AHL's Utica Comets. However, Carcone does need to work on his discipline. He needs to lower his PIMS by at least half.

Why Olli Juolevi won't make the team for 2016-17

Olli Juolevi has a slim chance of making the roster this year.
The Canucks currently have 7 defencemen, including Erik Gudbranson. Even if there was only 6, Juolevi wouldn't have much time. It seems like another season in London is guaranteed.
The only way of Juolevi making the roster is if Nikita Tryamkin and Alex Biega are sent down to the AHL Utica.
With that in mind, let's note that Juolevi hasn't signed a contract yet, therefore sealing the deal that he will return to OHL London Knights.

Check it out

Check out Ryan Miller practicing over the summer. Miller has 1 year left of his contract and had a .916 save percentage with a 2.70 GAA
https://youtu.be/SMNN6BkaAvU

Richard Bachman re-sign with Canucks

Generally,  when talking about a contract signing, I generally just say the year, the pay , and how well that player did last season. But for this resigning, it's different.
The Vancouver Canucks have resigned goaltender  Richard Bachman. I won't be going over the contract detail, but rather how this helps the Canucks with the expansion draft.
The Canucks need to have one goaltender exposed to be a possible draft selection. Markstrom had resigned a contract as well, but Markstrom is going to be our presumed starter until Demko becomes capable of playing in the NHL level, then of course, they would split the starts.  Markstrom was born in 1990, Bachman  in 1987. They turn 27 and 30, respectively.
What about Miller? His contract expires at the end of the next season, so he is ineligible to be in exposure.
Goaltending seems to be much simpler, with Joe Cannata gone, it seems like the road has been paved for Canucks goalies.
Miller will not be resigned following next season, at the age of 37. Markstrom will become our starter. If Bachman is not drafted by Las Vegas, then they probably have no interest in him anymore, and they would trade him. Then Demko can make the NHL at 22. If they still want him to develop, then simply keep Bachman and let him backup the Canucks while Demko develops as the starter in Utica.

Jacob Markstrom 3 year contract extension

Jacob Markstrom has signed a 3-year contract extension, says General Manager of the Canucks Jim Benning. Markstrom, 26, has been playing for the Canucks and their organization since being acquired in the Luongo trade in 2014. He played a full season in 2015-16, and had a saves percentage of
.915 as well as a GAA of 2.73. He spent most of the season as (Ryan) Miller's backup, but during the second half of the season, the starts were split evenly. Markstrom played 33 games, with a record of 13-14-4.

Vancouver signs Loui Eriksson

The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Loui Eriksson to a 6 year contract. Eriksson had 30 goals and 63 points in 2015. The Swedish player has had experience with fellow Swedes Henrik and Daniel Sedin. This could be the 1st line Right Winger that is going to replace Radim Vrbata. However, there is also Jannik Hansen in our roster as well.

Dan Hamhuis has signed with Dallas

Dan Hamhuis has signed with the Dallas Stars, after 6 seasons in Vancouver. This ends any speculation about his future.

JULY 1ST, 2016

In breaking story, David Backes has become a Boston Bruin,signing a 5 year 30 million dollar contract, while David Perron becomes a St. Louis Blue, and Frans Nielsen a Detroit Red Wing. Backes had 45 points in 79 games, and was the captain of the Blues for years. Perron, 36 in 71. Nielsen had 52 in 81. I will keep you in track of any news stories that break today.