Canucks Army Roundtable: Into the Stretch Run
7 years ago
It’s that time of the week again for the Roundtable, and today’s question focuses on the stretch run for the Canucks. With a playoff berth a major longshot at this point, what is there to get out of the rest of the season?
I’ve asked our writers what they deem to be a successful end to the season.
Jackson McDonald
Losing every remaining game and drafting in the top 3
J.D. Burke
I want the Canucks to perform like the Toronto Maple Leafs of last year down the stretch. Keep losing, but do so in glorious fashion with a plethora of youth making their NHL debut’s and getting legitimate chances in positions where they can succeed. Obviously, the desired goal here is a high draft pick. To that exact end, you’ll have to pardon my nihilism, but I want this team to lose and often. I just wouldn’t mind if they looked half-decent throughout the process.
Vanessa Jang
Play the young players and give them the opportunity to succeed. We’re probably going to be drafting in the top 10 regardless of whether Willie coaches to win, so might as well get to that position with some entertaining, youth-filled hockey!!
Tyler Horsfall
A successful season from this point on is playing their top young guns in more prominent roles and accepting the fact that they likely will make mistakes, but will grow with proper coaching. This means playing them in all situations, whether it’s defending a lead or trying to tie it up in the last minute. It means not benching a rookie after they’ve made a turnover or error. It means having them rub elbows with the Sedins, Edler, Miller, Eriksson to learn about what it takes to win, proper work ethic, proper training, and proper mental preparation. If the Canucks commit to playing their youth more, the end of game results don’t matter. If the team wins while playing youth more? Great! If the team loses while playing youth more? Great! The whole point of a rebuild or tank is to inject youth into the lineup and get them used to the NHL game and help them grow. That’s what the rest of the Canucks season should look like: giving the young guns like Goldobin, Horvat, Baertschi, Gaunce, Tryamkin, Stecher, etc. every opportunity to improve their game, learn from their mistakes, learn from the veterans on what it takes to succeed, and grow.
Taylor Perry
Play the prospects. Play the young kids who the organization views as the future of the franchise. If they win that way, fine – I just want them to approach the remainder of the season with an eye towards the future. When Desjardins plays Megna and Chaput in prominent roles, when we know they are not part of the Canucks’ future, it suggests the team (or at least Willie) is still focused on short term goals, like “making the playoffs.” If the Canucks play the kids and win – even if it costs them a few spots in the draft lottery standings – then that’s a middle ground on which I believe most every fan can stand. If the kids try their best and lose, the Canucks draft lottery odds improve. With this season a lost cause in terms of winning a championship, it’s time to fully look towards the future.
Matthew Henderson
It’s giving the younger players the experience and not worrying about ice time for the aging veterans that won’t be here passed next season.
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