WWYDW: Summer Hockey

Tony Gallagher was a guest on TSN 1040 earlier this week to discuss Canucks prospects and the WJC Summer Showcase. There have been a few well-publicized battles between Canucks Army and Gallagher in the past, but that doesn’t mean he’s incapable of making salient points. I’d actually argue it’s something he does with relative frequency.

Gallagher had a bone to pick with the showcase and the concept of playing hockey in the summer in general. The Canucks have a history of bad luck with prospects playing summer hockey that goes back further than Elias Pettersson aggravating an injury earlier this month. Jared McCann also suffered an injury in 2014 at a summer event.

Gallagher’s argument was essentially that high-end teenage players already play too much hockey to begin with and would be better served hitting the gym in the summertime, and getting some rest. I’m inclined to agree given how important a prospect’s first summer is in their development. What I think is irrelevant, though. We’re here to find out what you think.

What do you think of summer hockey? Should the Canucks keep their players out of the summer showcase in the future?

Green and Baumgartner have had lots of time to get to know Subban and what he’s capable of over the past couple of seasons in Utica. It’s ultimately Green who decides who is in the lineup every night – if he wants Subban and thinks Subban deserves a shot, he’ll be there.

I hope we get a chance to see whether he can hack it at the NHL level. Given that management brought in players like Del Zotto and Gagner in the off-season, it seems like they’re more open to playing the high risk/high reward game that is Subban’s calling card.

I think he definitely has a future with the club, I just see him as a late bloomer who needs a bit more development

I don’t think he will earn a spot in training camp (but at least keep him around longer this year!), as it is likely not enough time to prove that he has improved enough defensively. But if he proves that he has rounded out his game and deserves an NHL roster spot after a month or two with Utica, make room for him by trading/demoting Wiercioch. I think it’s worth hanging on to him for at least another season at least, as his offensive upside has value beyond what you probably get back in a trade. His AHL stats line looks an awful lot like Adam Clendening’s, though, so we should temper our expectations for Subban as a Canuck or as trade bait.

Unless Benning’s changed his mind again about what he wants the team to look like, Subban’s path to the NHL is blocked by Stecher. Stecher did well last season and Benning has a vested interest in seeing him succeed.

I think this iteration of management made up their minds very quickly about Subban (remember what a chore it was even to sign him), and have been hesitant to move off that first impression. So while some may allege that the name recognition gives Subban unwarranted hype or even an inside track, all else being equal, I think the odds have been largely stacked against him from the beginning. At this point, with whatever “reputation” he has (which is probably a combination of simply observing that he is small and the fact that all offensive defensemen are just sort of presumed to be net negatives these days despite any math), it would be near-impossible for him to earn his way onto the team, and I expect he will be cashed in for a late pick during or just before the season.

I think back to last time the Canucks were really bad, and I remember a number of phoenixes rising from the ashes despite not having the highest of expectations at the time — Näslund, Bertuzzi, Aucoin, Cooke. The luxury you have when your team is in a trough is that you’re not operating with no room for error. Give the kid a chance, why not?