Canucks Army Roundtable: Sent Packing

 

The Canucks are now two pre-season games deep, with another coming tonight, and they’ve also made a number of cuts to their current roster. Some have been sent to Utica, while others to their junior franchises and some interesting names have emerged from the group. Players like Jordan Subban and Michael Carcone draw some initial eyebrow raises, but it’s the nature of the business this time of the year. With that in mind, I asked our writers this week who they wish the Canucks had kept around a little longer.

Question: Who do you wish would have been kept around to get a closer look?

Jordan Subban. I wrote that he is a better prospect than Troy Stecher a few days ago, and now I look stupid. He’s still very much a good prospect but, I mean, come on guys. Throw a blogger a bone. Give me a chance to save face here.

Subban and Carcone. Both looked good in their limited time and would’ve liked to see them get another game.

I think the obvious answer, as has been stated, is Jordan Subban. But I don’t think it would be a stretch for me to suggest that his quick demotion was altogether unexpected. It’s not a well-kept secret that the current Canucks brass isn’t as high on Subban as much of the fanbase might be, so I think I was prepared to seem him reassigned early. I did like Carcone’s game, but, let’s face it, he was never going to crack the roster, anyway. The Canucks are still waiting for several of their more established players to start their Canucks seasons in earnest after playing in the World Cup. Some room had to be made, and pretty much all of the early cuts were easy decisions.

I feel like this will be the broken record roundtable but ya, Jordan Subban. I was listening to The Province podcast yesterday and they brought up a few good points: for Subban to even crack this team he has to be better than approx 8 guys; he probably deserved to hang around a bit longer but honestly it would take a lot to make it opening night. Another great point is if his name WASN’T Subban would we feel the way we do? If his name was anything else that didn’t have a famous bloodline attached to it, would this be an issue? The endorsement of PK doesn’t help. 

We’ve seen this before when Kassian got here, he’s the next Lucic after we JUST lost to Lucic and the Bruins, he’s the next Neely….the odds of being the NEXT is practically 0% I would love to see a Subban succeed on this team and maybe he’s getting a raw deal, who knows, but there are players that have already shown they’re ahead of him.

Obviously Jordan Subban for the reasons above, but I’m also going to say Cole Cassels – not because I think he would make the team, but because it would be a good way for him to show Canucks fans where his game is at now. I am a big Cassels fan, and I think there is a misconception that he is going to end up as a career AHLer based on his disappointing first professional season. He had to spend last summer rehabbing his injuries and was never able to train properly. To make matters worse, he played through his abdominal strain all year. This summer, things are different and he’s motivated to prove everyone wrong. Playing a preseason game would be his chance to show everyone that his game is at a good place now.

I vote for Cole Cassels. YES I KNOW he wasn’t going to make the team, but just one single exhibition game would have been nice. Will all the crap that went on with him last year and all the steps he has taken since, I would have like to see the Canucks throw Cassels a bone. God knows he could probably use the vote of confidence. He looked solid in the prospects tourney, strong and structured and potting an opportunistic goal. I’m looking forward to seeing how he responds this season in Utica.

Jared McCann.

Hunter Shinkaruk, Frank Corrado, Nicklas Jensen, Jordan Schroeder, and Gustav Forsling

Much to the tune of the others, I’ll go with Jordan Subban as well. There was a lot of buzz going into camp about what kind of opportunity he might get to shine in the early going, but it seems the Canucks are more comfortable letting him grow another year away from the big club. Troy Stecher’s hot play I’m sure factors in, as there’s only so many slots on the big club for players. I hope Subban gets a shot later in the year to prove his worth.