Canucks assign Rodin to Utica for conditioning; Pedan and Labate also assigned

Prior to the Canucks contest against the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon, the organization made some roster moves. That was assigned Andrey Pedan and Joseph Labate back to the Utica Comets, and assigned Anton Rodin to the AHL on a conditioning stint.

With Jannik Hansen returning to the lineup today, Labate was now the 14th forward, so sending him back down makes sense. He appeared in three contests for the Canucks where he was held off the scoresheet with the exception of 7 PIM and +1.

Andrey Pedan was recalled after the injury to Philip Larsen in New Jersey – he did not appear in any games during his time with the Canucks this year.

The intriguing player of the three was Anton Rodin. After appearing in the pre-season for the Canucks, Rodin has been sidelined with lingering effects from his ligament cut last season. He has been working out, rehabbing and skating on his own since the beginning of the season. Sending him to Utica allows Rodin to test the knee in game action before making his NHL debut. According to News 1130, the plan is for Rodin to appear in two contests and go from there:

Since Rodin is on a conditioning stint, he is limited to up to two weeks in Utica. The schedule for the Comets is as follows:

Given the information above, I would expect Rodin to play on Wednesday against Albany, and then one of the games on Friday or Saturday. If everything goes well, he could be recalled to the Canucks or remain in Utica to play on Wednesday December 21st versus Providence.

Rodin was very good in the pre-season, and if he can fully recover from the ailment, could provide a boost to the Canucks offence. However we won’t know how his knee will react until he plays some games.