Somewhat unexpectedly, the Vancouver Canucks dropped a bombshell this afternoon, assigning both Brendan Gaunce and Ronalds Kenins to the Utica Comets. The move trims Vancouver’s roster to 26 players, meaning they’re three cuts away from the magic 23 player roster.

The timing of the move is somewhat peculiar, especially given the Canucks final pre-season game is this Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. Both of these players were rumoured to be in the thick of a chase for roster spots and their play of late seemed strong enough to garner them further consideration.

By that same token, the logistics of this move are considerably easier than some of the alternatives, so maybe there is more than meets the eye.

The demotion of Kenins isn’t overly surprising. While the Latvian grinder is on a one-way contract, his waiver ineligibility made him an easy target from the start. Though just one off-season removed from a successful 30 game stint with the Canucks, a combination of the numbers game and a less than inspiring training camp didn’t necessarily help the Kenins cause. 

I wouldn’t be overly concerned with Kenins demotion, though. In all likelihood the Canucks are an injury or two away from needing his services and well, it’s a very long season. This demotion is, more than anything, an endorsement of Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann’s play. Sending Kenins down doesn’t risk losing him to waivers and there’s always the possibility they can recall him, should they require his services. Sending down McCann or Virtanen means that barring an emergency recall, they stay in the juniors for good.

This one definitely caught me off guard. Though, logistically speaking, Gaunce has similar qualities to Kenins – lack of waivers, availability for a recall and the like. It seemed as though Gaunce was quickly on his way to a roster spot, with his defensively sound if unspectacular play. If not a spot in and of itself, I figured his play had earned him consideration down to the final cuts. 

Again though, this could be entirely indicative of the Canucks desire to get the best possible glance at Virtanen and McCann – possibly in higher leverage roles. Should neither of these two crack the opening night lineup – or not last past a nine game cup of coffee – I would expect it’s Gaunce who is immediately called in for spot duty, for the injured Chris Higgins.