While there’s little to celebrate with concerns to the ankle injury Brandon Prust sustained in Tuesday night’s victory over the Montreal Canadiens, there is the faintest of silver linings. According to The Province’s, Jason Botchford, the Canucks will be kicking the youth movement into second-gear, with the insertion of Brendan Gaunce into their lineup for tonight’s tilt with the Dallas Stars.

Conventional wisdom might suggest that the Canucks dig back into the Adam Cracknell well; especially given this would be an opportunity to play him at his natural position as a winger. Instead the Canucks have opted for Gaunce, who will presumably slot in on the Canucks fourth line.

For a transitioning franchise like the Vancouver Canucks, being able to ice a lineup which includes four rookies is a positive no matter how it’s framed. The inclusion of Gaunce in a prescribed fourth line roll especially makes sense, given his strong two-way chops and ability to process the game at a high level. It also provides the Canucks with a strong secondary face-off option on the fourth line – Gaunce is a natural center, after all.

It’s been suggested that the return of Chris Higgins from injury could happen as soon as Friday, so getting a look at Gaunce in the interim is a worthwhile venture.

From the players, all the way to management, Vancouver became enamoured with Gaunce last summer. He was one of the final cuts in training camp and has since been a highly effective member of the Utica Comets top-six.

I can’t foresee any set of circumstances wherein Gaunce forces his way onto the lineup beyond the time allotted by the absence of Higgins and/or Prust, but a good showing against Dallas could go a long way towards securing future call-ups.