The Vancouver Canucks are about to embark on their 54th National Hockey League season. And yes, Canucks fans are well aware of the ups and downs over that period. From the highs of ’82, ’94, and ’11, to the lows of the Keenan/Messier/Torts eras and all points in between. It’s been a roller coaster ride.
With training camp looming in less than two weeks, Sept. 19th to 22nd, at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, there is a buzz around this team. A feeling of optimism and hope after a successful 2023/2024 season that saw the Canucks finish first in the Pacific Division and take the Edmonton Oilers to Game 7 of Round 2 before bowing out.
That optimism and hope is driven by the desire of General Manager Patrick Allvin, and President of Hockey Ops Jim Rutherford, to build a winner in Vancouver.
New additions Jake Debrusk, Danton Heinen, Kiefer Sherwood, Daniel Sprong, Derek Forbort, and Vincent Desharnais, are expected to help with that and complement the likes of JT Miller, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes.
And then there is goaltending. Rick Dhaliwal of team CHEK reports that Thatcher Demko may not be ready for training camp due to his off-season rehab being slower than expected, and Arturs Silovs was pulled out of Latvia’s Olympic qualifier due to a minor knee injury. Elliotte Friedman, on the 32 Thoughts podcast, also reports that Demko will have to learn to play through this type of knee injury.
“Well isn’t that typical” and “That’s just Canuck luck” are some of the comments that flood Canucks Twitter, or X now. But in reality, it is the nature of the beast, injuries happen. And it is fully expected that the Canucks will sign a veteran backup goaltender to help solidify the position. In the meantime, Jim Rutherford has stated that both goaltenders are back skating and he expects them to be ready for training camp.
Many of the players have arrived in Vancouver early, and are skating and practicing in advance of training camp, including most of the newcomers. This seems to be the new normal with a lot of NHL teams, and I truly believe it helped the Canucks get off to a great start last season.
Head coach, Rick Tocchet, is another reason for the Canucks recent success. The players buy into what he’s selling, and he seems to be well respected, both in Vancouver and around the League.
So, it’s a new season Canucks fans. Excitement is high, and this is a fun team to watch and follow again. And barring serious injuries, or god forbid, a total collapse, the Canucks should be able to make another run at a Pacific Division title. In reality, they should be neck and neck with the Edmonton Oilers, as I suspect the Oil will get off to a much better start this season as well.
Sit back and enjoy. Get out to as many games as possible, or at least as many as you can afford.
For yours truly, I live in the Kootenays of southeastern B.C., so it can be challenging to get to games. But I do enjoy covering the Canucks, and I will strive to bring you many articles over the course of the season.
