Canucks relying a lot on a few
Team remains competitive, but injuries resulting in 20-plus minutes of ice time for Horvat, Pettersson
We’re approaching U.S. Thanksgiving and the Canucks are still in a playoff spot. Just saying. While we continue to dream, here are the Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports:
In Saturday’s 3-2 homeice loss to the Canadiens, the Canucks produced 38 shots on Carey Price, including 19 in the third period, but were undone by a fluky bounce in front of Jacob Markstrom and a braindead penalty by Michael Del Zotto.
Given their manpower situation — they’re down five key regulars — it’s hard to envision the Canucks playing much better. But to fully understand what they’re up against, simply check the ice time for some of their players Saturday.
Bo Horvat led all Canucks skaters with 23:13, which is unheard of for a forward. Most of his five-on-five shifts were also played with Tim Schaller and Markus Granlund on the wings.
Elsewhere, rookie Elias Pettersson played 21:17, more than Montreal first-liners Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin. It was the same story for Granlund (19:14) and Nikolay Goldobin (18:19). Tyler Motte played 16:52, which was more than Drouin.
The defence was fairly balanced, but Ben Hutton, whose place on the team was thought to be in jeopardy this off-season, led all blue-liners with 20:01.
It was also hoped that they would be able to move on from Del Zotto and Sam Gagner this year, but Del Zotto played just under 20 minutes Saturday and Gagner was recalled from the minors Sunday.
Coach Travis Green was asked about this after the game, asked about the unreasonable workload assigned to some players and the unrealistic responsibilities forced on others.
“We’re squeezing everyone and everyone is giving as much as they can,” Green said. “One night we’ve got a guy on the fourth line and the next night he’s on the first line. I love the way our guys are working and competing. They’re in it. Out of our last seven games we could have won five of them.”
OK, that’s a tired message for a large part of the faithful. But that’s also the Canucks’ reality and things aren’t going to get better until they start getting bodies back.
William Nylander makes sense for the Canucks on a couple of different levels, but making the pieces fit in a potential trade doesn’t seem possible.
The Leafs are looking for a high-end defenceman, preferably a right shot, and a Top 9 forward. They have a willing partner in Carolina who can offer Jaccob Slavin or, maybe, Dougie Hamilton from their blue-line.
The Canucks have Chris Tanev and one of their second-tier prospects, but that isn’t enough. The latest intel is this 12-part miniseries is finally drawing to a conclusion.
Just hope it gets some coverage in Toronto.
Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor will represent Canada at the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne this week. Both players are from Abbotsford. Both grew up playing the same course, Ledgeview. They were born within five months of each other.
The Cup used to carry more prestige, but, among the 28 teams are Aussies Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, the defending champs Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen from Denmark, England’s Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton, and Kyle Stanley and Matt Kuchar from the U.S.
Then there’s these two kids from Abby, and that’s pretty cool.
It hasn’t happened for a while, but you can easily make the case that the CFL’s two best teams in Calgary and Ottawa will meet in the Grey Cup next weekend. I just wouldn’t bet against Trevor Harris and the Redblacks offence.
And finally, when former Lions centre Angus Reid decided to write a book about his relationship with longtime Leos offensive line coach Dan Dorazio, he was urged to hire a professional to help him with the process. Reid thought about this for a spell, then decided, no, this is my story and I want to tell it my way.
The result is Thank You Coach, an unpolished gem that is, by turns, honest, revealing and heartfelt, and has something profound to say about the impact of coaches and mentors.
Reid carved out a 13-year pro career as an undersized overachiever, largely because Dorazio was able to maximize his meagre physical efforts.
For the football nerd, much is revealed on the intricacies of the offensive line, but the larger lessons about teamwork, loyalty, communication and detail have a universal application. Reid — who made all-CFL one year, but was on the all-quote team every year — now makes his living as a public speaker, where he uses a lot of these points in his presentations.
Not everyone can relate to battling a 320-pound monster at the line of scrimmage, but they can relate to stress and the vital role leadership plays in bringing out the best in an individual and a team.
This is a tribute to Dorazio, a master who has invested five decades in his craft and that’s a great story. But it’s much more than that, which makes it an even better one.