It's amazing the difference a year makes, isn't it? A year ago I was here talking to you about my struggles with depression, taking advantage of the Let's Talk initiative sponsored by Bell Canada to get people to end the silence about dealing with the painful struggle of those that suffer from depression, as well as the people who are directly affected by it: family, friends and coworkers.

I believe to this day that opening up to you all was a huge step in my recovery, a cathartic release even. I also spoke about a player near and dear to our hearts, Rick Rypien, and the struggles he was facing at the time. I suggested that it was in fact depression that he was suffering from, and while hindsight shows us that the personal leaves he took from the team were in fact that, all we had was speculation. I hate that so many of us were right, and not a day has gone by since that awful summer afternoon when we got the word about Ryp, that I don't think about him and wish that somehow he could have gotten through this. But it was his refusal to stay silent that provides the inspiration, more important than ever, that silence about depression, whether yours or someone you love's is wrong. So let's talk, shall we?

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We hope you like the new site logo in the upper left corner of the page. Yankee worked closely with Kreider Designs and we were presented with a few concepts. The NM crew voted on the one you see as the final design. So once again, a big thanks to Mr. Shaun Kreider for doing such an excellent job on the visual updrade!

What do you guys think?

KreiderDesigns.com

Kreider Designs on Twitter

Well, the time has come to sign up teams and leagues for Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Hockey, which means it's time to organize the Nucks Misconduct leagues!!

We will start with 1 league, then add more if need be.  Here is the set-up for the first league:

NM Fantasy League   (League ID#: 28015    Password: keslord)  *ALREADY FULL*

• Head-to-head league
• 20 teams, 4 divisions
• 4 acquisitions max per week
• Unlimited trades through season
• 2 C, 2 RW, 2 LW, 4 D, 2 G, 4 BN, 1 IR
• Categories: Goals, Assists, Plus/Minus, PIM, PPP, GWG, Wins, GAA, SV%, Shutouts
• Live draft scheduled for Monday September 13 at 4:30 5:30 pm PDT  (can be changed if enough people complain)
  

Register your team now.  If space runs out and you still want to play, let us know.  If there's enough people interested in another league, we'll set up another and post the new info here.

UPDATE:  The 1st league is already full, so I just created a 2nd:

NM Fantasy League 2 (League ID#: 28226    Password: mayray) UPDATE: FULL

• Same set-up as first
• Live draft scheduled for Tuesday September 14 at 5:30 pm PDT (can also be changed)
• If you are already in the 1st league, please refrain from signing up for the 2nd unless I say we need more people in this one.

SZ Note: I have created a 3rd Nucks Misconduct Fantasy Pool. <edit: full> Same rules and settings as the 2 pools missy created. Live draft is Friday October 1st at 6:00 PM PST (flexible). If you want in shoot me an email and I'll pass on the goods. Preference will go to Nucks Misconduct members, as some have already suggested that they prefer familiarity with other members of this site. Fair enough. Give me your NM username in your email so I can identify you.

We got two guys named Arthur and Daniel (no not Griffiths and Sedin) who jumped on the SBN horse cart to author a site called Anaheim Calling. Excellent! I hate the Ducks!

The Canucks play Anaheim on October 30th. I'm sure there will be some heckling back and forth there.

Go play nice. Let them know how much you appreciate Getzlaf & Perry. Or, you know, not.

I know Twitter is either an indispensable tool for some or the bane of existence for others, but from the draft to July 1st and all through the summer it's been a fantastic way to get instant information, though not always credible. Therein lies the trick.

So, with that in mind,@BoltProspect had this to share:

Defenseman Michael Ward, an 07 7th round pick of TB who wasn't signed this spring, will attend the Vancouver Canucks' camp next month.

I was going to label this unconfirmed, but Ward's player profile on Tampa's website is down and this link from NHL.com works fine and helps to confirm BoltProspect's tweet.

Ward wasn't given an entry level contract by June 1 so I don't know yet if Vancouver signed him or extended a camp invite. I suspect the latter. Regardless, the move is certainly in line with what Gillis has spent a summer doing and not a bad thing either considering the shallow pool of defensive prospects Vancouver has. Ward would naturally be a long shot but aren't most prospects this time of year anyway?

A bit more on Ward:

• Hometown of Shippagan, NB (that should ring familiar to you)
• Height: 6'2''
• Weight: 180 lbs
• Selected by Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 7 (#197) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft
• Had his best season last year (7 goals, 27 assists) in 65 games split between Lewiston and Cape Breton of the QMJHL

Detailed stats are below:

Pavel Bure fodder Grand Pooba of Player Development Dave Gagner was on the TEAM1040 earlier talking about - who else? - the kids. His comments should warm your heart when it comes to Grabner, Hodgson and even Schroeder. But the much maligned Patrick White is still very well maligned.

First up, Grabner who's going to have himself a third-straight crucial training camp from the sounds of it:

Michael Grabner is very close.  He's a guy that can really create a lot from nothing - He's got great speed and a good shot.  It's the smaller things in the tighter areas that are things he's had to work on, and he's improving in those areas. He will play in the NHL, it's just trying to get him on a regular basis.

Next up, the golden one, the Wellwood replacement, the great CoHo. Is he ready for the NHL Mr. Gagner?

In my opinion, he is.  He's proven everything he can at the Canadian hockey league level - Player of the year.  It was the type of year that he was able to experience everything, which is very unique.  At the World Junior Championships, he led that in scoring and played a big part in a gold-medal win.  At the end of the season, he helped get his team in the OHL final and after that played in the Calder Cup final (with Manitoba). In terms of the experience he gained this year, we couldn't have asked for anything more.

Go ahead and squeeeee. You've earned it.

Now what about the hot-headed Schroeder and his summer training?

He's a lot closer than many of the players selected in front of him are...He could play this year (with the Canucks), probably.  It's hard to say the opportunity he'll get, but there's players he's played against and outplayed that are going to be in the NHL next year. So, I don't see why that's such a far stretch.

Can you imagine a scenario where all four of the top prospects - Hodgson, Grabner, Schroeder and Schneider - suit up alongside Luongo, the Sedins, Samuelsson, Kesler and Burrows? Definitely a million to one shot, but fun food for thought nonetheless.

However, it's not all good news on the farm as the Nonis gift that keeps on giving in Patrick White is still struggling:

"He just has to stay focussed [sic] on improving every day and getting better every day. Getting stronger, faster, more skill, and being determined to make those small steps. I mean, it's not going to happen overnight, but if he's determined he can re-invent himself and get something out of his career because he was rated in the first round, he was selected in the first round, so a lot of people saw that skill level in Patrick. So, he's got it in him. He's just got to nurture it and get it out of himself."

Yikes. Though one would hope the possibility of having Schroeder play alongside him in the NCAA next year may help push him towards the improvements he needs.

No ending on a downer though. Let's wash that Patrick White tequila taste out of our mouth with the crisp, cool burst of lime that comes from none other than Mario Bliznak:

I don’t want to speak for anyone else but I don’t think as a group we thought he’d be able to compete in the American Hockey League in his first year out of junior, if ever...He unequivocally proved me wrong and showed some promise that he may be able to compete at the next level. He was the most pleasant surprise on our team

That quote comes from Moose GM Craig Heisinger on Bliznak's play last year. To be the most pleasant surprise on a team that was full of surprises across the board is damned impressive. Bliznak hasn't had a sniff at the NHL level yet. Could that be changing now too?

Check out more of the Bliznak interview at canucks.com and head on over to the TEAM1040 for some .mp3's of the Gagner interview. But just hearing the positive news has me ready for camp to see what these guys got. After a year of waiting on Sundin, the youth movement is a nice change of pace.

Yeesh, the summer days are getting long. It's pathetic that I've taken to NY Ranger re-runs on television to sustain my hazy Saturday mornings.

The Canucks Prospect Camp wrapped up yesterday and the mothership offered some great insight into the kids, including a running list of camp updates, Yann Sauve keeping a blog and (dear god) something about yoga. 

Pleasant news on the Cody Hodgson front (ignoring he came in second on the Grouse Grind): he had a decent camp and, coming off his spectacular junior season, his roster spot is damn near set. Hodgson will continue to train three days a week with Pavel Bure trade fodder director of player development Dave Gagner who is also keeping an eye on Patrick White and Yann Sauve.

Queue up the "Wellwood Vs. Hodgson" debate accordingly. Seems like a good topic for the middle of July.

Elsewhere, I wanted to take a closer look at the newbies courtesy of some of the great minds here at SBN. A bunch of them have certainly followed the newest Canucks far more than we have over the past several months so let's hear what they have to say.

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With a week before the NHL Entry Draft, Gillis is busy stocking the farm as best he can. Yesterday he inked Langley product Matt Pope to a two way deal.

"There were a few teams interested, but the Canucks, I was hoping they were going to make me a good offer," Pope said by phone as he was on his way to Los Angeles.