First off, all of us here at Inside the Rink want to wish Dakota Joshua all the best. His recent announcement of having surgery for testicular cancer is a good reminder to stay on top of your health. Dakota will miss training camp and said any further updates will be from the team.
On to better news, Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract to officially retire a Canuck. He is one of the most decorated and steady defencemen in Canuck history. His career will be celebrated on Friday, Oct. 11th, against the Philadelphia Flyers at Roger’s Arena in Vancouver. Edler is the Canucks franchise record holder in games played, goals, assists, and points by a defenceman.
Some notes from training camp at the Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, British Columbia:
President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford, General Manager Patrik Allvin, and head coach Rick Tocchet all met with the media before training camp commenced. Tocchet spoke of higher expectations and how the team can improve from last year. His new slogan is “Embrace the hard.”Rutherford stated that he believes this team is better than last year’s Pacific Division champions and that, again, everything has to go right to be successful. Allvin talked about the depth of the organization being better than in previous years, and the players are all excited to get going.
Star goaltender Thatcher Demko met with the media on Thursday in Penticton. He stated that “He hit a wall” in his rehab over the summer. He told Canucks reporter, Chris Faber, “I’ve been able to rehab a ton this summer, and sure, it’s taking a bit longer than I would have liked, but over the past few weeks, I’m feeling a lot better now, and there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.” He also added that there is a lack of research on the type of muscle injury he has, but he expects to get back to 100%.
The players themselves ran through several on ice drills and competitions today. With Jonathan Lekkerimaki getting a look with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. Again, Lekkerimaki looks good, no matter who he plays with.
Goaltender Arturs Silovs was facing shots from Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Now, that’s a great way to get ready for the upcoming season!
Training camp concludes on Sunday, Sept. 22nd, and the Canucks first exhibition game is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 24th, with the Seattle Kraken in town.
