Vancouver Sun

Green wants to see some fight from Canucks ‘right from Day 1’

- JASON BOTCHFORD jbotchford@postmedia.com twitter.com/ botchford

Troy Stecher did everything right and it still wasn’t enough.

Not to make the Canucks last season, anyway.

One of the team’s best six defencemen through training camp and pre-season, Stecher got caught in the numbers game and the NHL squad’s desire to protect veterans, believed to be assets.

Stecher was shipped out before opening night, in a decision thencoach Willie Desjardins never seemed comfortabl­e with, to keep players such as Alex Biega secured in the organizati­on, among others.

It worked out for Stecher just fine when an early Chris Tanev injury provided the opportunit­y he should have had anyway. And when the season was over, he inarguably was one of Vancouver’s best blue-liners.

The experience does raise an interestin­g question about whether there will be spots for the team’s best young players. At least on paper, the Canucks have significan­tly more than they did a year ago. They already have 13 signed forwards who they believe can play in the NHL and that’s not including restricted free-agents Bo Horvat, Brendan Gaunce and Reid Boucher.

That brings the list to 16 forwards before you get to prospects like Nikolay Goldobin, Brock Boeser and Jake Virtanen, all of whom could be — should be? — playing NHL games this year.

But if that’s going to happen for opening night, they’re going to need to be really good and probably lucky, too.

It’s the same on defence, where the Canucks will run nine deep with defencemen they believe can play in the NHL, not including hopeful prospects who are at a stage where they could be ready, including Jordan Subban, Andrey Pedan and Olli Juolevi.

Why the big numbers?

In part, it’s what the new head coach wanted.

“I want guys to fight and battle for jobs,” Canucks head coach Travis Green said. “I want guys to compete to make the team. There are obviously some guys who are trying out and I want guys to be ready right from Day 1.”

The Canucks have vowed they will make room for any prospect who outplays more experience­d players, although that’s not exactly what happened for Stecher a year ago.

“Whenever you say, ‘This guy is on the team no matter what. This young guy or this vet is on the team no matter what,’ you aren’t promoting the necessary ingredient­s for the right culture to have a really competitiv­e group,” Green said.

“I think it’s different for each organizati­on because of where they’re at. You come off a Stanley Cup win, you probably know who is on the team.

“When you don’t and you have to get better, you need competitio­n.”

The Canucks have done quite a bit to ensure Green’s goal from an ultracompe­titive training camp and pre-season is reached. Desjardins’ favourites Jayson Megna and Michael Chaput were signed and so was Anton Rodin, the 26-yearold who may still have potential in the NHL, but has some monster obstacles in his way to get into the Canucks’ lineup.

Derek Dorsett is expected to be healthy enough to compete, but even though he makes $2.65 million and has a role few others in the organizati­on can fill, he’s no lock to be among the Canucks’ starting 12 forwards.

And there’s no obvious spot in the lineup to slot in either Virtanen or Goldobin.

There have been some questions about how healthy Gaunce will be following off-season shoulder surgery and he does not have a job on lock.

Neither does Boeser, who was really good in the nine games he played to finish last season, scoring four goals. Both he and Juolevi participat­ed in the team’s July prospects camp, Green’s first on-ice experience as Canucks head coach.

“As far as Boeser and Juolevi go, I think it’s obvious when you watch them,” Green said. “They’re high-end players and they have the chance to be really good NHL players with long careers.

“I think our group did a great job of telling them what they need to do, the steps they need to take. Part of the onus is on the player. They have to come in and they have to be ready.

“Younger guys are usually weaker than older guys. So how hard are they going to work in the summer to make that gap smaller? The vets know how hard it is. They know how hard you have to train and how hard a training camp can be.

“You hope, and I’ve talked to several young guys, that they get themselves off on the right foot.”

 ?? RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES ?? Despite outplaying others during last year’s training camp, Canucks defenceman Troy Stecher, right, ended up starting the regular season in the minors so that the club could protect veteran assets. But that won’t happen this year if new head coach...
RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES Despite outplaying others during last year’s training camp, Canucks defenceman Troy Stecher, right, ended up starting the regular season in the minors so that the club could protect veteran assets. But that won’t happen this year if new head coach...
 ??  ?? Travis Green
Travis Green

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