I’d like to say that the Vancouver Canucks can’t catch a break this season, but they managed to catch two in one night against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

First, the Canucks lost Alexander Edler to a broken fibula on a blocked shot. Not long after, Brandon Sutter took a deflected puck to the face, resulting in a broken jaw. Both were sent home to recover and are expected to miss a significant amount of time as a result.

In response to these injuries, the Canucks made a pair of call-ups from the Utica Comets. To replace Edler, they recalled Yannick Weber; for Sutter, they’re banking on Alex Friesen.

While these are moves of little to no consequence, they caused a stir among the Canucks fan base. The omission of Hunter Shinkaruk being especially egregious for some. So, I asked the Canucks Army writers who they would call up instead.

I have no issue with who they ended up calling up. Yannick Weber has shown in spurts that he can be a formidable NHL player and fits a role where he can potentially grow with more opportunity on the back end. As for Alex Friesen, it’s nice to give another young player a taste of the big leagues. Now obviously you could make the argument for Jordan Subban, and he has definitely proven his worth in Utica this year, but much like Shinkaruk I don’t mind leaving him there to get a full season of stability in Utica.

I can’t argue with the Weber callup – he might be having a rough season, but he’s definitely one of the top 6 defenceman on this team right now, and he shouldn’t have been sent down in the first place. Friesen on the other hand is a bit of a head-scratcher for me, as he really hasn’t played the kind of season in Utica that screams “call me up to the NHL”. I would’ve liked to see Gaunce get another cup of tea, given that his first was so limited and he’s been so impressive for the Comets this year.

I have no issue with calling up Yannick Weber. As I said at the time, given what we know about how Willie sets his lineup, it’s likely that whoever gets the call up is going straight to the press box. In this case, it’s probably better that Weber returns and Pedan continues to play big minutes in Utica.

As for the Friesen call up, the timing is a little odd. He probably deserved a call up more so in December than now. At this point, any of the Comets top line of Mike Zalewski, Brendan Gaunce and Hunter Shinkaruk would be deserving. Applying the same logic as the defence call up, I’d be perfectly happy with selecting Zalewski as the call up and allowing Gaunce and Shinkaruk to continue developing unhindered down the stretch in Utica. When the Canucks capable of self-destructing at any point, I’m not really convinced that now would be the best time to throw the organization’s two best AHL prospects into NHL action, particularly when the lineup is already brimming with young players.

I would call up Gaunce because he seems like a nice kid and he’s doing well and I’d call up Pedan because he won all of those super skills contests so he should be rewarded for that.

I would recall Zack Kassian. Trade him for Bo Horvat and bring him back.

I honestly don’t hate the Yannick Weber recall, if we’re being honest. Maybe Brendan Gaunce, just because he seems like an opportunist and the team sorely needs some help – they had some sparks against the Coyotes this week, but this team needs plenty of help. So… Gaunce, I suppose, if I had to pick someone who hasn’t already been brought up.

This is the time of year where having Cory Conacher would have been useful, but the team doesn’t have a great comparable for him this time around. I suppose Wacey Hamilton would be fun to see again, just because I love his name and he once followed me on Twitter… But real talk, he’s got a decent NHL ability and could staunch some of the bleeding if needed.

Before I get into who I would like called up, I’ll qualify my statement with the fact that I’m not overly upset that Shinkaruk isn’t getting a shot right now. 

Honestly, I’d have recalled Pedan. The team needs to replace their quasi-Lithuanian contingency, now that Kevin Bieksa is playing with the Ducks and Pedan sort of qualifies. Secondary nationalities aside, Pedan has a great shot and showed well in his previous stints with the big club. Certainly wouldn’t hurt to give him another shot. Besides, the Weber experiment is pretty much over anyways.

In sticking with the youth theme, I would’ve gone back to the Gaunce well. They’ve been playing Gaunce at centre in Utica anyways, so if they absolutely need to find a short-term fill-in at the face-off dot, Gaunce should be able to hold his own.