4 posts tagged “canuck prospects”
I obviously have not seen this guy play, but if all the things I've read about him is true, then I definitely cannot wait to see him play.
:D All the best!
:P I was pretty horrible. I was on the bus on the way home when they were at the 23rd pick, and I was walking to my house when they announced that Vancouver is about to make their pick. Once I heard it, I ran to my house and immediately turned on my TV:
Nonis: Canucks select Patrick White
Me: WHO?
TSN guys: *shuffles papers to see where they ranked White + scouting reports*
Me: WHO??!!!!
Yeah. Sue me, I've never heard of the guy's name, but it seems like he might turn out to be a good pick for the Canucks. I've been reading a lot of reports on this guy from people who has apparently seen him play, and a lot of them were good. I've seen people describe him as a "clutch" player, great puckhandler and sniper who's not afraid to shoot. All are good comments, and now I can only hope that he gets better and better. That shouldn't be a big problem, though, as he is committed to University of Minnesota, which has a great hockey program, so I'm not so worried about his development at all.
Our 2nd round pick is another head scratcher for me, as I've never heard of him (I SWEAR I'LL START FOLLOWING JUNIOR HOCKEY NEXT SEASON. PROMISE.), but I was more of confused as to why we picked a defenceman, but after seeing the rest of the picks, Nonis did really focus on addressing our depth at center by acquiring 2 more centermen.
| OVERALL PICK |
NAME |
D.O.B. |
BIRTH PLACE |
HEIGHT |
WEIGHT |
AMATEUR LEAGUE |
AMATEUR CLUB |
POSITION |
SHOOTS/ CATCHES |
| 25 | PATRICK WHITE | 1/20/1989 | Grand Rapids, MN | 6' 0" | 186 | USHL | TRI-CITY | C | R |
| 33 | TAYLOR ELLINGTON | 10/31/1988 | Victoria, BC | 6' 0" | 200 | WHL | EVERETT | D | L |
| 145 | CHARLES-ANTOINE MESSIER | 11/4/1988 | Boucherville, QC | 5' 10" | 176 | QMJHL | BAIE-COMEAU | C | L |
| 146 | ILJA KABLUKOV | 1/18/1988 | Moscow, Russia | 6' 2" | 183 | RUSSIA-3 | CSKA 2 | W | L |
| 176 | TAYLOR MATSON | 9/16/1988 | Mound, MN | 5' 10" | 165 | USHL | DES MOINES | C | R |
| 206 | DAN GENDUR | 5/21/1987 | Vancouver, BC | 5' 11" | 195 | WHL | EVERETT | RW | R |
Taylor Matson is also committed to University of Minnesota, so both he and White will be playing for the Gophers. Ilja Kablukov plays on the same team as Sergei Shirokov, I believe...
First, he scores the first goal of the Memorial Cup final for the Vancouver Giants, and assisted on the insurance goal, then he wins the Memorial Cup with his team.
A few days after, the Vancouver Canucks has signed Mario Bliznak to a contract.
Canucks Sign Centre Mario Bliznak
Wed. May 30, 2007
Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks Senior Vice-President and General Manager Dave Nonis announced today that the Canucks have signed centre Mario Bliznak. In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Bliznak, 20, signed his first pro contract after being selected by Vancouver in the seventh round, 205th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. In 2006-07, the 6’0”, 200 lbs. native of Trencin, Slovakia appeared in 47 regular season games with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, recording 22 points (8-14-22) and 20 penalty minutes. In the WHL playoffs, Bliznak played in all 22 games with the Giants, notching 12 points (6-6-12) and 14 penalty minutes, helping lead his team to the WHL Finals for the second consecutive season.
In the CHL’s MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament, Bliznak suited up for all five tournament games with the Vancouver Giants where he finished second in team scoring with six points (1-5-6), including a goal and an assist in the Championship final, en route to the Giants winning their first ever Memorial Cup Championship. Bliznak was also a member of Team Slovakia at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Sweden, appearing in all six games for his country and registering a goal.
One year prior, Bliznak played in his first WHL season with the Vancouver Giants, notching 21 points (9-12-21) in 69 regular season games. He also appeared in all 18 playoff games with the Giants, netting 5 points (4-1-5) and 14 penalty minutes, helping the Giants capture the WHL Championship. He made his Memorial Cup debut with the Giants, appearing in all five tournament games with the Giants and recording one assist.
Of course, terms of the deals were not disclosed, but since it's an entry level contract, you'd expect the usual 3-year, two-way deal.
That being said, the hunt for the nickname begins! It seems I am not the only one who thought he has a wicked name. :D Seriously, I'd want him to make the Canucks line up soon just so I can go to GM Place and chant his name.
Someone from the CDC Prospects Forum have already begun calling him "Super Mario"... I have this urge to say "Blitzzzeeeeeeeeeeer" everytime I see his name....... so yes. ;D
Among other news that I wanted to post but just became too lazy.........
Canucks and Rogers Sportsnet has reached an agreement for the amount of games they'd be showing, plus they will soon be introducing HD telecast of Canucks games on RSN. It's still a maybe for next season, but it's definitely a yes for the season after next. (Source: Canucks Press Release)
Vancouver Canucks and the Victoria Salmon Kings has also announced an extension to their current affiliation agreement. (Source: Canucks Press Release)
The Canucks management sure got their work done today. Plus the rumors swirling (or well, I don't if they're really rumors) about them finally offering Taylor Pyatt and Jeff Cowan contracts... I expect more news in the coming week.
It's painful for me to look at the results of these because the only time I've seen them play together in World Juniors, they became my favorite defence pairing out of all the Canadian dpairs. Of course I'm a bit biased since Luc is the other half of that pairing, but I just felt more confident when both of them were on the ice rather than Marc Staal and Ryan Parent (?).
Now I grew attached to having them together as a pair, that now I can't believe that they're going each other. If this is bad enough, thinking about them going against each other in the NHL is much more horrible! At least if those two are ever going to represent Team Canada again in the future, I might still be able to see them play together. :B
That or I added Kris Letang to my prospect to trade for wishlist. Sadly, that seems like an unrealistic trade for the Canucks because we're full up to the brim with defensive prospects (Luc Bourdon, Alexander Edler, Daniel Rahimi, Patrick Coulombe, Kirill Kolstov, etc) and not to mention we pretty much locked up our Top 3 defensemen (Willie Mitchell, Mattias Ohlund, Sami Salo) for quite a while and Kevin Bieksa has a 50/50 chance of staying here (I think there's a big chance Bieksa will be staying with the club for a long time), so there's only 2-3 out of 6/7 starting positions left for the prospects in the near future. Unlike previous years, the defensive prospects of the Canucks also looks more promising, so it's not like we're filled with horrid prospects.
All in all, the future looks great for the Canucks, and I should just give up my attachment to the Letang-Bourdon duo, and other defensive prospects I like (I like too many), and just watch him from afar playing for Pittsburgh Penguins (blech).
Other prospects game tonight... Mario Bliznak (Vancouver Giants) and Evan Fuller (Prince George Cougars).
