Losing blueliner Nikita Tryamkin big blow for Canucks
Blueliner’s split to KHL will affect Canuck’s plans for both expansion and amateur draft
For a rebuilding team with chronic blueline issues, Nikita Tryamkin seemed like the hockey gods’ gift to the Vancouver Canucks.
A 6-foot-7 physical marvel who skates like Kurt Browning, the 22-year-old Russian was an unfinished product, but his upside was immense. In two years he projected as a Top 4 D-man. Beyond that, it’s conceivable he could have been a top-pairing guy and maybe, just maybe, that No. 1 who’s eluded the Canucks over five decades.
Off all the Canucks’ prospects, Tryamkin was the most intriguing talent with the highest ceiling, which is why his decision to bolt for the KHL is a kick in the groin to the organization. More than anyone, Trevor Linden knows this, and while he disputes the circumstances under which Tryamkin left, the Canucks’ president is acutely aware of what he lost.
“He has the potential to be a top-pairing guy and a real difference-maker,” Linden said. “It’s disappointing, obviously. But we just assume everyone wants to live in North America and play in the NHL, and that’s not the case.”
Linden, like everyone with the Canucks, is dealing with the fallout of Tryamkin’s fateful decision and its wider implications. It will impact the expansion draft and its aftermath. It will impact their draftday decisions.
More to the point, it will have a huge impact on next year’s lineup — are you ready Olli Juolevi? — and beyond.
But it’s also a reflection on the organization that Tryamkin would chose Yekaterinburg Automobilist over the Canucks and the presumption is the administration alienated their prize prospect.
Linden, of course, is aware of that perception, but he paints a different picture of Tryamkin’s relationship with the Canucks, a picture of someone who’d bought in and was fitting in.
“Of course people look to place blame,” Linden said. “Unfortunately that’s how people operate. I think we did a really good job of integrating him to our team.
“The way he bought in to the training and the nutrition was so impressive. He transformed his body this year.”
Which is interesting because this depiction doesn’t square with other accounts of Tryamkin’s time in Vancouver. It’s been reported the big blue-liner bristled when he wasn’t in the lineup at the start of the season, and he was unhappy with his ice time throughout the year. Throw in a dispute with the coaching staff and it seems Tryamkin had a sense of entitlement which was out of proportion for a 22-year-old rookie.
But Linden reports he bought into the team’s conditioning regimen fully and completely, and reduced his body fat from 15 per cent to 10 per cent during the season. Along the way he set up a second home in the Canucks’ gym while developing a close relationship with strength and conditioning coaches Roger Takahashi and Bryan Marshall.
“They had to literally kick him out of the gym,” Linden said.
So why would he leave after putting in all that work? In the end, Linden said the Tryamkin’s decision was rooted in one simple desire. He wanted to go home with his wife.
“Sometimes, these things are beyond your control,” he said.
As for those things which are in his control, Linden has a couple of items on his agenda these days. He was asked about the Canucks’ coaching search, which produced two interesting responses.
One, Freddy Krueger has a better chance of being the Canucks’ next head coach than Ralph Krueger, and, two, Travis Green remains the leading candidate to coach the Canucks next season.
“I don’t see a lot of organizational changes,” Linden said when Krueger was brought up.
As for Green, Linden said: “He’s an excellent candidate. It’s a real positive to have Travis in our organization.”
And he wasn’t done extolling Green’s virtues.
“He communicates well with young players,” Linden continued. “You just have to talk to (Canucks goaltending coach) Dan Cloutier and (director of player development) Ryan Johnson about the work he’s done in Utica to know that.
“(Green) has a program and a level of accountability. Relating to young players is so important in today’s game. I think the coaching game has changed.”
Linden was asked about a timeline.
“We’re well on our way,” he said. “I don’t expect this to drag on.”
No, the business of the game is always changing.
And that’s in the good sense and the bad sense.