Wake With Elias: Development Camp Developments and Pacific Extensions

Canucks News

• The Canucks released their all-access video for their prospect development camp and the draft. For those who are glued into the prospects scene, it’s an interesting watch. Patrik Allvin apparently had Jonathan Lekkerimäki at seventh overall, so that speaks pretty highly of being able to get him where they did. On a big picture note, though, I can’t say this year’s camp has been especially buzzy — perhaps a product of not having many impact prospects. Who knows, maybe others disagree.

• Here’s an interesting related quote from Allvin. I think, and hope this speaks to a bigger philosophy of using free agency to fix around the margins rather than to shape the direction of your franchise. A renewed focus on drafting and development, after years of the hamfisted Benning approach of paying top dollar for flashy names, has simply not worked.

• On a media note, there’s apparent silence on the radio rights front. Pre-season, as you will know, is mere weeks away! We’ll wait to see what happens — whether 650 gets them again, they stream on the web, or another station makes a bid. Maybe funny1040 makes a go for them. Maybe they’ll stream on Nucks Misconduct. In any case, it’s an interesting bit of news for those who like following the never-boring Vancouver sports media scene.

• Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal look at what the Canucks’ path to the playoffs looks like. My back-of-the-napkin take is: one of Vegas or Calgary needs to collapse (very possible!), the California teams need to remain stagnant (very possible!), and Seattle needs to keep sucking (likely!). Whether all these things happen is to be seen, but I think there’s a reasonable chance they make it, and they’ll certainly be in the fight.

• Rob Williams on a possible Tyler Motte return. I say, no more than $2 million, preferably $1.5 million, and sure, no problem. He clearly kept that fourth line together, as it fell off steeply after he was traded. I caution, though — if it happens, we will never, ever stop hearing about the strategy of trading players and signing them in the off-season again.

• I’m not a betting guy, but these odds seems like they’re somewhere between middling and good, which, as I mentioned above, is where I think they stand. Maybe a reader with better sports betting knowledge can tell me if this is worth a bet.

Hockey News

• In some Pacific Division news, the San Jose Sharks have re-signed forward Mario Ferraro to a 4 x $3.25 million deal. The organization seems high on him, and he’s a promising young player, so this seems like decent value.

• More rival news: the Oilers re-signed Kailer Yamamoto to a two-year, $3.1 million AAV deal. Seems to be to be a pretty tidy piece of work for a 20 Goa, 40 point scorer with upside.

• Six PHF players will represent their home countries at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. The tournament takes place in Herning and Frederikshavn, Denmark, and is happening between August 25th and September 5th. In addition to the re-scheduled WJC, it’s another tournament worth watching.

• And a new development in the Hockey Canada tragedy. I’m not a legal expert, so my comments on the specifics regarding disclosure are likely unhelpful; all I hope is that there’s accountability, and that the organization can’t hide behind layers of bureaucracy. This does seem serious, though, so here’s to hoping it brings some change.