Oil Spill: Canucks Drop Young Stars Opener 4-1

Quick Hits

• If these early signs are any indication, the Canucks plucked a gem at fifth overall when they snagged Olli Juolevi of the London Knights. He came as advertised. Juolevi effectively snuffed out any Oilers forecheck sent his direction with ease. Any time the Oilers came within checking distance of the Finnish defenceman, the puck was already in transition in the opposite direction. At best, Edmonton was able to land one, maybe two hits on Juolevi. These short tournaments don’t afford the opportunity to develop much in the way of structure, an element that one might expect is crucial for the smooth-skating Finnish defenceman to succeed in. Clearly, that’s not the case.
• Watching Thatcher Demko rebound from an ugly, chaotic and frankly lopsided first period was encouraging. Not sure if Demko wanted to ease into the tournament, but the Canucks were paying him no such courtesy. You’d like to see Demko stop one of the two first period markers, but the body of work as a whole was nothing to scoff at.
• I can’t imagine last season was harder for any of the Canucks prospects on a personal level than Cole Cassels. After capping off an illustrious junior career with a Memorial Cup win that he was crucial in securing, it had to be difficult watching his ice time, role and production fall in short order. Obviously, health played a role. He’s admitted as much. And frankly, that should be obvious. Making the transition to professional hockey can be an especially daunting task without any extenuating circumstances; for Cassels, who was recovering from abdominal tears, it proved overwhelming. We’re one game into a sub pre-season tournament, so I’d caution against getting too carried away with anything from this sample, but by that same token, it was nice to see Cassels hitting his stride again. He came out of two puck battles in the first, outmanned, with the puck. I’m not sure that’s a play he’s capable of last season. As for his skating, Travis Green agreed that Cassels improved from where he was last season. Hopefully, the results will follow.
• As much as I was encouraged by Cassels, the real intrigue from the Canucks forward group came courtesy their invites. Though Canucks Army has long banged the drum for the likes of Alexis D’Aoust and Kyle Maksimovich, it was Marc-Olivier Roy who potted the Canucks’ sole marker on the night. Goal aside, it was, naturally, Maksimovich and D’Aoust who stuck out. Maksimovich, a slight player, made his mark most especially in the defensive zone. In spite of his size, he made a few key backchecks where he muscled the Oilers player off the puck. D’Aoust, on the other hand, made his presence felt in the offensive zone. He had a nifty setup in the second, made possible by a patient passing play in tight on the Oilers crease.

• I hate to finish this on a sour note, but Tate Olson looked terrible. The Oilers forecheck was giving him fits, and in spite of his large frame, he struggled to hold up physically. Seriously, every time Olson was on the ice the Oilers wasted no time knocking him on his ass. He seemed to get better as the game went on, but that’s hardly noteworthy. I’d think it impossible to play any worse than he did in the first period.