Wake With Elias

Wake With Elias: OEL was Slow and Other Camp Stuff

People are mad because Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Olli Juolevi couldn’t skate well enough.

By Markus Meyer Sep 24, 2021, 6:00am PDT

NHL: Arizona Coyotes at San Jose Sharks

Canucks News

The big talking point out of training camp yesterday was that the newly acquired OEL was moving slow on the ice. It probably doesn’t matter. Maybe it does. We’ll see. But it got everybody talking.

First camp bag skate left OEL on his hands and knees in corner gasping for air. Those AZ camps must be different. #Canucks
— Ben Kuzma (@benkuzma) September 23, 2021

Speaking of skating, Olli Juolevi appeared to be tuckered out. This also made people angry. Will it end up mattering? Who knows. But we’re starved for content.

The real story from the bag skate was Will Lockwood and Nils Höglander’s excellence.

That, or multiple veterans being vocal towards Olli Juolevi about getting up off the ice as he was completely bagged. They didn’t want him to show weakness during the conditioning. pic.twitter.com/pL4Fi59IrE
— Faber (@ChrisFaber39) September 23, 2021

Daniel Wagner on dark horse forward Phil Di Giuseppe:

Canucks camp dark horse Phil Di Giuseppe is set on making the team https://t.co/vjHghAkCJa pic.twitter.com/XkvQ6pEuSb
— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) September 24, 2021

Some notes from camp from CanucksArmy:

Updating throughout the day but early on:
-OEL and Poolman appear as though they'll indeed form the Canucks' go-to shutdown pairing this season.
-Nic Petan is greatly benefiting from Elias Pettersson's absence
-It could be Tanner Pearson's spot to lose on Bo Horvat's wing https://t.co/e0ieNfBywN
— David Quadrelli (@QuadreIli) September 23, 2021

Some camp updates from The Athletic:

"I know fans and media are going to pick up on it and talk about it for a week, but there’s really nothing to talk about." - Henrik Sedin on the OEL bag skate@TheAthleticNHL's #Canucks training camp notebook. Subscribe now for 50% off and join the VIPs: https://t.co/FwcajUD8lz
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) September 24, 2021

And finally, an important W for Conor Garland:

Conor Garland wins the Troy Stecher memorial upchuck trophy from another round of the #Canucks’ infamous Day 1 “40s” bag skate.
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) September 23, 2021

Hockey News

A preview of the NCAA women’s program [The ice Garden]
Some big news on the Jack Eichel front, with him losing the captaincy:

BUF GM Kevyn Adams confirmed Jack Eichel is not cleared to play. He said there remains a dispute on medical options — with Eichel declining a fusion and Sabres not interested in disc surgery. (Adams also backed team doctors.) Eichel is no longer captain of the Sabres.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 23, 2021

Some news on the COVID front, in terms of building capacities:

In a memo sent to teams by the NHL, the league says it expects to have all but two arenas operating at full capacity this season.https://t.co/biwQTPzrey
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 23, 2021

And the Oilers are dealing with Josh Archibald’s refusal to get vaccinated [Sportsnet]