Presser punches up Canucks’ prospects
Benning’s remarks on calling up young talent may finally give fans the future they’ve been waiting for
These days it seems the hockey world has advanced stats on just about every aspect of the game.
There’s fancy stats on breakouts, both controlled and those started by Michael Del Zotto. There are stats on zone entries, both controlled and those conducted by Loui Eriksson. There are, roughly, 324 categories on shot attempts, shot suppression, shots which hit the net, shots which don’t and who’s responsible for generating and/or suppressing those shots.
I think they’ve given the name Corsi to one of those categories. I also think that’s your dad’s advanced stat.
There’s one, area, however, which hasn’t been claimed by the analytics community, and we’d like to rectify that today. The world might not be ready for a statistical breakdown of a Jim Benning press conference, but given recent events, we feel it is both a revealing and necessary exercise; one which says a lot about the Canucks, their current state and this market. At least we think it does. You be the judge.
Following the conclusion of the NHL trade deadline on Tuesday, Benning held a press conference in which he fielded questions for about 16 ½ minutes.
There were just over 30 queries raised in that time period, and the first nine were all similar in theme: Why didn’t the Canucks acquire draft picks at the deadline instead of Brendan Leipsic and Tyler Motte?
The questions, to be sure, were framed differently and had divergent entry and exit points. But they all had Benning justifying his deadline moves.
Putting it another way: he was playing defence and that’s become a familiar pattern for his administration. Yes, there were other questions — some do with the logjam now in the organization, some to do with Leipsic as a player, one to do with the dearly departed Philip Holm.
But the presser generally found itself back in the same place, which wasn’t a good look for either Benning or a Canucks’ team which could use some, err, positive news. Or so we’ve heard.
Now, if you turned off Benning’s presser at the 15-minute mark, you likely would have been confused, frustrated, disappointed or some combination thereof which has also become the default position for the faithful over the last three seasons.
But, at the 15-minute mark, The Botchford asked a question about a potential shakeup to the Canucks which took Benning down a new road — a bright new road, which, as things transpire, leads us away from 28th place and to an exciting future. For the past three years, Benning and Trevor Linden have been promising this future to their fans and, while you’d never know it from their inexpert messaging, it’s arriving in the next couple of weeks.
Where it takes us remains to be seen, but it’s the most significant moment in Canucks’ history since Game 7 of the 2011 Cup final, even if people seemed more interested in third-round draft picks.
In response to Botchford’s question, Benning hummed and hawed before suddenly pivoting to a place which should have been one of his main talking points: “We’re going to sign some of our good young players we’ve drafted the last couple of year who are going to turn pro.”
Benning was then asked what the plans were for those players.
“When all our young players have completed their season — whether they’re in junior or Europe — they’re going to join Utica at the end of year,” he answered.
And there it is.
Look, I’m aware there was an element of drama missing from the pronouncement, but this was also the point where the Canucks should have set off fireworks in the media room. When Benning talked about the young players who should end up in Utica, he was talking about Adam Gaudette, Jonathan Dahlen, Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich and Olli Juolevi. Elias Pettersson would have been part of the group, but he’ll likely play for Sweden at this year’s world championship.
As it happens, those are the young players the faithful has been waiting for what seems like an eternity; the group which offers the faithful hope, the group which will deliver them from bondage.
And they’re arriving. Last week, the Canucks signed Lind to a threeyear entry level deal. Gaudette, one of the two or three best players in the NCAA, will follow when Northeastern’s season concludes. Craig Button had Dahlen ranked 31st on his list of the game’s best prospects, and we’ll finally see him in North America. Juolevi has reportedly made strides this year playing for Sami Salo in Turku.
Along with Gadjovich, they could all be in Utica this spring with Nikolay Goldobin, Motte and Thatcher Demko.
I mean, it’s here, people. Our I-have-seen-the-future-of-rock-nroll-and-his-name-is-Bruce-Springsteen moment has arrived. Admittedly, it will be more pronounced at next year’s training camp when Pettersson and Rasmus Dahlin — hey dream big or go home — join that group, but this will be this market’s first taste of the vanguard who’ll lead us from the darkness.
There have been a few comparable moments in the Canucks’ history. Old-timey fans talk about the ’7879 season when Stan Smyl, Curt Fraser and Thomas Gradin joined the team as rookies. There was Pavel’s first game against the Jets. I’d throw in the ’05-06 season when the Sedins returned from the lockout year as players transformed.
But, in terms of quantity and quality, this franchise has never had a group like this, and we haven’t mentioned Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and whatever it is Jake Virtanen is becoming.
Are there holes? Of course there are, and you may be aware the developmental arc of young hockey players is neither smooth nor predictable. But a glorious new era is finally arriving and that’s a story this province is yearning to hear.
You just hope the Canucks learn to tell it better.