McCann stays. He’s proven himself more capable in my opinion, and I think he slots into the bottom of the lineup better than Virtanen does.

Hutton to the AHL. I went into detail in another comment – basically he needs to get used the 82-game schedule in the pros after 3 years of the easy college schedule. Plus keeping him means exposing an asset to waivers.

Virtanen back to the WHL after 9 games – he’s good, but I disagree with people that say he can’t learn more in junior. He came back from a major injury last year, and it seemed to take him most of the season to catch back up. I think going back down there and leading his team would be better for him than playing a minor role in the NHL this year. He’ll get a taste, then back to Jr, then to the World Jr’s again.

Full-time: if I had to pick one I’d say McCann Mature: Hutton Kloser Look: Virtanen

But really I’d say Kloser look to both Virtanen and McCann. I’m not sure that once the regular season gets going, either will prove they should be in the show full time at this point. I just think, from what we’ve seen so far, McCann is the one I’d bet on to prove that he belongs after a 9 game look.

I would actually give Hutton a closer look too, but it would be terrible asset management to lose any of our waiver-eligible defenders at this point, consider how many defenders we should expect to go through throughout the season with injuries. Hutton will benefit from starting in the A, and he will get his call up soon enough. If they are still considering trading Hamhuis for draft picks at the trade deadline, then Hutton should expect to finish the year in the NHL, if his development continues as it has.

In a perfect world, we could consider ONLY “who deserves to be there now”, but it’s not a perfect world, these are assets, and you have to consider things like contract status and waiver eligibility if you are building a team for the future – which the Canucks should be focused on. Yes, all three have proven they probably deserve it more than some of the veterans on the team, but you don’t just give away players for nothing (ok, you shouldn’t anyway). Management has to follow a scenario that allows them to keep all of their assets in the system, until they’re able to trade them for other assets, or they have definitely proven they are not, and will never be of any value to the club.

I realize some people think Vey and Sbisa have already proven that. But Vey is young, it would be silly to give up already. It would be great if he could go back to the AHL but he can’t. Maybe some other club will be silly enough to trade us something for him to open up another roster spot; that option should at least be explored before waiving him. And the options get pretty dicey for defence call-ups once you get past Hutton, Subban and Biega. I wouldn’t be giving a defender away for nothing at this point, even Sbisa.

Generally, I am not so easily swayed by preseason play. Once bitten, twice shy, so to speak, based on the all-star performances of AHL-calibre players in past years. So I don’t really think that guys who were regulars on the roster last year should lose their jobs outright based on a few games of shinny-style hockey. Give the regulars at least a few games of regular season to get things together and play in a structured system.

With that in mind, I would send down Hutton – there will be opportunities to bring him up, and probably sooner rather than later. He can play big minutes in the AHL in the mean time.

Virtanen just doesn’t seem ready to me – if an injury opens up a spot in the last few days of preseason, give him a few regular season games. Otherwise send him down.

McCann definitely seems to have earned at least a tryout – anything else sends a terrible message to young players. I remain to be convinced that his strong play will continue into the regular season, but he has earned the chance to prove himself.