<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Did you feel that on Friday night? Were you hit by that wave of excitement and relief and comfort that another hockey season has begun? The Canucks are 2-0 at Young Stars. Main camp is about to start. Optimism abounds. And you have questions. So many questions. As usual on Mondays, we open up the mailbag and try to answer as many of your queries as we can. By the time next week’s mailbag rolls around, the Canucks will be through training camp and on the eve of their preseason opener. Let’s get to it.</span></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Should there be an age limit at the &quot;young stars&quot; tournament? I don&#39;t see the benefit of testing yourself against 18 year olds when you are in your mid 20&#39;s.</p>
<p>&mdash; Ktownchef (@ktownchef) <a href="https://twitter.com/ktownchef/status/1834710366506696873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a word, yes. Although I’m not so sure a hard and fast age limit is what’s really needed here as much as a threshold of games played as a professional. Take Christian Felton as an example. He’s 24, but is coming off four years of college hockey. This is his first chance to play games in a Canucks uniform. I’m alright with a player like Felton suiting up at Young Stars. Truth be told, this showcase doesn’t need Aaty Raty, Arshdeep Bains or Max Sasson. These aren’t the guys the event was designed for. Raty and Bains have NHL games on their resumes and Sasson had 42 points in the American Hockey League last season. I think the way to go would be to cap the number of games played as a pro (at 75 perhaps) and maybe combine with that with a U-24 age restriction. Then maybe you give the participating teams three ‘overage’ slots to permit a little bit of wriggle room in the event there is a mature player coming off injury (Akito Hirose for example) who needs a few games before advancing to main camp.</span></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">What happens if the Canucks start the season like the Oilers last year? Sad club.</p>
<p>&mdash; Mat the Carpenter (@mayeng88) <a href="https://twitter.com/mayeng88/status/1835007590163763386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sad club? Far from it. If they follow the Oilers path, they’ll rattle off 16 straight wins at some point and shoot straight to the Stanley Cup Final. Isn’t that how it works? I think most fans would look forward to that.</span></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">With regards to a high-volume shooter like Sprong, will Toc try to rein that in, or is the idea to loosen the reins a bit and give the shooters more freedom this year?</p>
<p>&mdash; CaliCanuck (@CanuckCali) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanuckCali/status/1834703268938961259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I look forward to seeing how much bend there is in Tocchet’s stringent demands. But I do think he recognizes that 15 and 17 shots on goal in Games 6 &amp; 7 against Edmonton wasn’t the blueprint to success. I understand not wanting to ‘waste’ shots, but there has to be a happy medium between holding onto the puck waiting for the perfect play to materialize and taking chances to test goalies. Elias Pettersson led the Canucks with 207 shots on goal last season. That was tied for 67th in the NHL. So lots of others were shooting a whole lot more than the Canucks top shot producer. Not every shot is going to beat a goalie cleanly, but pucks on net can be deflected, produce rebounds or wind up in the blue paint. The Canucks need to do a better job of getting pucks to the net and hopefully the coach will encourage that philosophy from Sprong and everyone in the line-up.</span></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">What’s your best guesstimate for regular season point total for the Canucks?</p>
<p>&mdash; GeeNVee (@GeeNVee) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeeNVee/status/1834704237567377673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Peering into my crystal ball, I’m going to say 102 points (46-26-10). A slight step back from last season, but still a highly competitive total that should leave no doubt that they are once again a playoff team – and likely to push for home ice in the opening round.</span></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Assuming Debrusk starts with Petey, who would be your choice to lineup alongside Boeser and Miller?</p>
<p>&mdash; Drew (@canuckguru) <a href="https://twitter.com/canuckguru/status/1834705488069771500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I guess that means DeBrusk can’t play with Boeser and Miller, too? Because I’d like to see him in that slot at some point. I think he&#8217;d be a great fit with those two. But for the sake of this argument, I’ll say Danton Heinen. I think his speed could open some space for Miller to operate and I think he’s shown enough offence in his game to hold his own on a line like that.</span></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Any players you expect to see significantly outperform their previous season.  Which new Canuck  do you think will be the fan fav?</p>
<p>&mdash; Mik (@garrulous_nut) <a href="https://twitter.com/garrulous_nut/status/1834729634426159165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I certainly expect Jake DeBrusk to score considerably more than the 19 goals he scored last season. With so many posting career-highs for goals and points, it’s hard to find anyone from last year’s roster that I would expect to see ‘significantly’ outperform their numbers from last season. Dakota Joshua, if he stays healthy, could have a shot at 25 goals which would be a sizable bump in production. As for fan favourite, I think Kiefer Sherwood has the inside track if he performs like the buzzsaw he was for Nashville against the Canucks in the opening round of the playoffs.</span></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Do you think they should split Hughes/Hronek and if yes, do you think they actually will?</p>
<p>&mdash; ali (@earthto_ali) <a href="https://twitter.com/earthto_ali/status/1834721501796552829?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No and maybe. I like the idea of the Canucks having one of the best play driving duos in the NHL. So selfishly, I’d like to see those two stick together and spend most of their shifts in the other team’s end. But I do think the Canucks – rightfully – worry about the puck-moving capabilities beneath Hughes and Hronek on the depth chart. Carson Soucy and Tyler Myers handled tough assignments in the post-season, but barely touched the puck. They kept opponents to the outside, but had far too many lengthy shifts where they were hemmed in their own zone. I think the Canucks would like to strike a balance that allows them to have two pairings that can transport the puck and to facilitate that, they’d likely need to break up the Hughes-Hronek combo. It’s something worth watching as main camp and the preseason get underway.</span></p>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Did you feel that on Friday night? Were you hit by that wave of excitement and relief and comfort that another hockey season has begun? The Canucks are 2-0 at Young Stars. Main camp is about to start. Optimism abounds. And you have questions. So many questions. As usual on Mondays, we open up the mailbag and try to answer as many of your queries as we can. By the time next week’s mailbag rolls around, the Canucks will be through training camp and on the eve of their preseason opener. Let’s get to it.</span>
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https://twitter.com/ktownchef/status/1834710366506696873

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In a word, yes. Although I’m not so sure a hard and fast age limit is what’s really needed here as much as a threshold of games played as a professional. Take Christian Felton as an example. He’s 24, but is coming off four years of college hockey. This is his first chance to play games in a Canucks uniform. I’m alright with a player like Felton suiting up at Young Stars. Truth be told, this showcase doesn’t need Aaty Raty, Arshdeep Bains or Max Sasson. These aren’t the guys the event was designed for. Raty and Bains have NHL games on their resumes and Sasson had 42 points in the American Hockey League last season. I think the way to go would be to cap the number of games played as a pro (at 75 perhaps) and maybe combine with that with a U-24 age restriction. Then maybe you give the participating teams three ‘overage’ slots to permit a little bit of wriggle room in the event there is a mature player coming off injury (Akito Hirose for example) who needs a few games before advancing to main camp.</span>

https://twitter.com/mayeng88/status/1835007590163763386

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Sad club? Far from it. If they follow the Oilers path, they’ll rattle off 16 straight wins at some point and shoot straight to the Stanley Cup Final. Isn’t that how it works? I think most fans would look forward to that.</span>

https://twitter.com/CanuckCali/status/1834703268938961259

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I look forward to seeing how much bend there is in Tocchet’s stringent demands. But I do think he recognizes that 15 and 17 shots on goal in Games 6 &amp; 7 against Edmonton wasn’t the blueprint to success. I understand not wanting to ‘waste’ shots, but there has to be a happy medium between holding onto the puck waiting for the perfect play to materialize and taking chances to test goalies. Elias Pettersson led the Canucks with 207 shots on goal last season. That was tied for 67th in the NHL. So lots of others were shooting a whole lot more than the Canucks top shot producer. Not every shot is going to beat a goalie cleanly, but pucks on net can be deflected, produce rebounds or wind up in the blue paint. The Canucks need to do a better job of getting pucks to the net and hopefully the coach will encourage that philosophy from Sprong and everyone in the line-up.</span>

https://twitter.com/GeeNVee/status/1834704237567377673

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Peering into my crystal ball, I’m going to say 102 points (46-26-10). A slight step back from last season, but still a highly competitive total that should leave no doubt that they are once again a playoff team – and likely to push for home ice in the opening round.</span>

https://twitter.com/canuckguru/status/1834705488069771500

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I guess that means DeBrusk can’t play with Boeser and Miller, too? Because I’d like to see him in that slot at some point. I think he'd be a great fit with those two. But for the sake of this argument, I’ll say Danton Heinen. I think his speed could open some space for Miller to operate and I think he’s shown enough offence in his game to hold his own on a line like that.</span>

https://twitter.com/garrulous_nut/status/1834729634426159165

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I certainly expect Jake DeBrusk to score considerably more than the 19 goals he scored last season. With so many posting career-highs for goals and points, it’s hard to find anyone from last year’s roster that I would expect to see ‘significantly’ outperform their numbers from last season. Dakota Joshua, if he stays healthy, could have a shot at 25 goals which would be a sizable bump in production. As for fan favourite, I think Kiefer Sherwood has the inside track if he performs like the buzzsaw he was for Nashville against the Canucks in the opening round of the playoffs.</span>

https://twitter.com/earthto_ali/status/1834721501796552829

<span style="font-weight: 400;">No and maybe. I like the idea of the Canucks having one of the best play driving duos in the NHL. So selfishly, I’d like to see those two stick together and spend most of their shifts in the other team’s end. But I do think the Canucks – rightfully – worry about the puck-moving capabilities beneath Hughes and Hronek on the depth chart. Carson Soucy and Tyler Myers handled tough assignments in the post-season, but barely touched the puck. They kept opponents to the outside, but had far too many lengthy shifts where they were hemmed in their own zone. I think the Canucks would like to strike a balance that allows them to have two pairings that can transport the puck and to facilitate that, they’d likely need to break up the Hughes-Hronek combo. It’s something worth watching as main camp and the preseason get underway.</span>

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JPat’s Monday Canucks mailbag: Young Stars age limit, season point prediction, splitting up Hughes-Hronek, and more

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