Have Canucks brought back the buzz?
Vancouver’s winning ways and fresh star power packing Rogers Arena with renewed optimism
From the first moment we saw Elias Pettersson, we knew things were going to be different.
In this very space, the young Swede, still a teenager for another week-and-a-half, was compared in the same breath as one Pavel Bure. And with every stride, he’s just solidified that lofty comparison.
There is still a great deal of work ahead to build this team into a contender — and one can always look a little to the north and east for an oilstained lesson in that — but to find a young player who so clearly is going to be an elite No. 1 centre is a superb start.
Friday’s entertaining 7-6 overtime win, one where Pettersson dazzled again, was yet another point of positivity for a franchise that’s been desperately lacking in positive points.
“Goosebumps when we tied the game late,” Pettersson said. “That was a cool game to play.”
“I haven’t heard the building like that in a while,” Travis Green said.
So, is the buzz back?
There was a time when the building would be full, night after night, with no doubts.
It still isn’t. There are many empty seats around the barn on West Georgia.
You wonder if there was another home game right after Friday’s gem if there would be an immediate rush for tickets. But alas, the Canucks are headed out on a six-game road trip. And they play nine of their next 11 games away from Rogers Arena.
Will the fans wait? Or does is it give the Canucks a chance to push out a proper “see Elias live” campaign?
Of course, there’s also the terror that maybe the bubble bursts, that the Canucks, who are dealing with the reality of having six players on the shelf with injuries, will simply hit the wall.
They’re already managing Bo Horvat’s practice time. He’s playing 25 minutes a night and taking more than 30 faceoffs per game.
They’re also already managing netminder Jacob Markstrom’s time, giving that his normal backup, Anders Nilsson isn’t expected back in action until the middle of the month at the earliest.
That tells you the on-ice challenge they’re battling.
But off-ice, they’ll be happy the chase is now on to get bums in seats and that project actually has a bright light to wave in front of the ticket-buying public.
TSN 1040’s The Sport Market host Tom Mayenknecht said when a team has shortterm success, there can be a payoff.
“It could result in bigger walk-ups for individual game sales,” he said. “But when it begins to extend into more midterm and a trend, it is more likely to be translated into quarter-season game packs of 11 games and other ticket packages.
“That’s the ultimate goal for the Canucks: To continue to repatriate season ticket holders who’ve fallen off since 2012, and especially since
2013-2014.”
Having a stable of young, fresh faces to present to fans is a start. Still, change won’t happen overnight.
“But games like Friday night and the buzz it created will go a long way toward getting there,” he said.
Postmedia’s website metrics suggest that maybe, just maybe you folks are turning into believers: for a game that finished just shy of 10 p.m. on Friday, which is normally a dead-zone for web traffic, 3,500 people had already read the game story by 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
So, a good run on the road, building into a good run at home is the goal. And it’s fair to say the Canucks are hopeful that will turn into a long run of success for the team, and of course the brand.
That’s the ultimate goal for the Canucks: To continue to repatriate season ticket holders who’ve fallen off.” Tom Mayenknecht