This Week in Media Transcripts: Sbisa and Hansen’s Role on Team Europe
By Vanessa Jang
7 years agoWith the World Cup of Hockey a month away, players have started to get back onto the ice after an off-season of mostly rehabilitation and training. The Canucks will have two players on Team Europe, as both Jannik Hansen and Luca Sbisa will be playing amongst their continental peers against the best players in the NHL.
Although he has had his fair share of inconsistencies in Vancouver, 26 year-old Luca Sbisa may be heavily relied upon by Team Europe’s head coach, Ralph Krueger. Jannik Hansen, on the other hand, is fresh off a 22-goal season and Krueger expects him to be a solid, two-way player. The upcoming tournament will prepare both players for another season in Vancouver, as well as give fans sneak peek of what to expect out of their play going into the 2016-17 campaign.
Luca Sbisa plays an old-fashioned, physical, and defensive game. However, at the end of the 2014-15 season, he admitted that his consistency as well as other aspects of his game needed to be improved on. He most definitely takes his fair share of beatings on social media, but it would not be far-fetched to say that the Canucks blueline missed him when he was out with injuries. Sbisa showed glimmers of impressive plays when he was in the lineup, and we can only hope that this comes on a more consistent basis this season.
As one of the more well-known defenseman hailing from Switzerland, Sbisa has represented his country over seven times throughout his career. He is usually thought to be a staple on the Swiss blueline, often playing in a top four role. In a recent interview with Jeff Paterson, Sbisa received much praise from a familiar coach in Ralph Krueger.
Ralph Krueger on Sbisa: “Having coached Switzerland for 13 years, I know Luca really, really well. He’s played for me and one of the highlights was when he came from junior to Vancouver in 2010 and he was the only junior player to play in the olympics. He’s going to help our team (at the World Cup) in giving us a two-way game. He’s a tough player both physically and mentally. He’s a good tournament player.”
Just as he is a leading defenseman when representing Switzerland, Sbisa will likely play the same type of role throughout the World Cup. He has the trust and confidence of his head coach, who will rely on him to be a solid, defensive player.
Krueger: “One D and one forward will have to sit. But all things being normal, I’d expect Luca to play. I have no fear that he defensively can’t play up against everybody and he’ll be a good player when he comes in for us. Every team will be laden right through the lineup with talented individuals, so you can’t worry too much about match-ups. He’ll definitely be more of a penalty-killing defenseman for us, but five-on-five, I’m not worried about him.”
Moreover, after scoring a career-high 22 goals and being named to Team Europe, Jannik Hansen has made a name for himself in the NHL. Canucks fans have been well-aware of his quick acceleration and top speed, but he will be playing with fellow speedsters in Mikkel Boedker, Mats Zuccarello, and Tobias Rieder. With the likes of Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, and Anze Kopitar on the team as well, do not expect Hansen to be loading heavy minutes.
Ralph Krueger on Hansen: “When I was in Edmonton, I really liked him already. He could be a big surprise in this tournament. He has elite speed and that’s going to be important. He has so much to offer. He’s a very complete individual who has strong character, and he can be a strong physical presence to. He will be more of a penalty-killing type player on the team, but he has an option to come into the power play with his right-handed shot. His minutes will be solid. He’ll be closer to the top half of the minutes than the lower half just because of the kind of player he is. Jannik is certainly a key player for us and one we selected early, which shows how important we think he is on this roster.”
A total of six Canucks players will not be present for training camp in Whistler, as they will be busy representing their countries in the World Cup. Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Jacob Markstrom, and newcomer Loui Eriksson will be on the defensively-loaded Swedish team. If the lines go as planned and Eriksson is put on the same line as the Sedins, Canucks fans will be getting a glimpse of the impressive chemistry that was displayed during the 2013 World Championships.
Source: The Province
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