Vancouver Canucks Daily Rumblings: Road to the Stanley Cup
The Vancouver Canucks’ blue line is slowly turning into a strength, after being one of the biggest weaknesses last season.
When the Vancouver Canucks traded for Philip Larsen, I didn’t have a lot of hope for the club’s defense. Larsen is supposed to be the great addition after spending two years in Europe? Alex Biega is signed to a one-way contract and is supposed to be in the NHL full-time this year?
First-overall pick 2017, here we come!
But then, everything changed. The Canucks traded prospect Jared McCann to the Florida Panthers for top-four defenseman Erik Gudbranson. Then, they signed NCAA top free agent Troy Stecher, and finally drafted a future top-pairing player, Olli Juolevi, at the 2016 draft.
Those youngsters won’t suddenly make the Canucks a contender, that’s not what I’m getting at. However, the three players above and sophomore Ben Hutton could form the Vancouver Canucks’ defense core of the future. In addition, Vancouver has prospects like Nikita Tryamkin, Guillaume Brisebois, Tate Olson and Jordan Subban to throw in the mix. Sounds good to me!
Troy Stecher even thinks he can win a Cup in Vancouver (at least I think that’s what he meant when he said what he said). But read for yourselves, and let us know what you think!
Hey guys, I’m the top D-man of the 2016 Draft class!
Kevin Woodley — NHL.com: Canucks’ Olli Juolevi brimming with confidence
"Olli Juolevi left a distinct impression on Vancouver Canucks director of player development Stan Smyl this week during development camp.In fact, from the initial time he laid eyes on Juolevi, Smyl was taken by the Finnish defenseman’s confidence, both on and off the ice.Juolevi has rarely lacked in self-assurance, saying he deserved to be the first defenseman picked in the 2016 NHL Draft even before the Canucks concurred by selecting him fifth."
Olli Juolevi was the first defenseman selected in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. But does that make him the best? Of course not, but a) the Canucks’ scouting staff and GM think he is and b) Juolevi himself thinks so, too. Juolevi always said so — in a confident but in no way cocky manner.
One of three Finns selected in the top five of the draft, Juolevi is just as confident as second-overall pick Patrik Laine. The difference is that Laine often comes across as cocky, when he says he will be the best player of his draft class and the Maple Leafs would regret picking Auston Matthews, while Juolevi just sounds confident. I honestly don’t know what it is that makes the difference — maybe it’s just Juolevi’s smile that shines into the camera whenever he talks to the media — but it is definitely a good thing.
Related Story: 5 Reasons Why Juolevi Was a Great Pick
Juolevi went into prospect development camp thinking he could make a first great impression that gives him a real shot at cracking the NHL roster this year. While he is still a long shot, he really did just that. Juolevi’s skating and smarts reportedly stood out in drills and the final scrimmage, and those are attributes that could put him closer to the NHL than many of his peers.
If he wants to make the team this year, being confident is all he can do — he can’t just fast forward in his development and become a more NHL-ready player overnight. So, being confident and working hard is a good first step, and probably the only one he can take.
Road to the Stanley Cup
Iain MacIntyre — Vancouver Sun: Canucks’ under-sized prospect Troy Stecher has drive to thrive in NHL
"“There’s just a drive within myself that I want to prove people wrong and I want to succeed,” the 22-year-old from Richmond said this week at the Canucks’ development camp. “I want to be a hockey player. I want to win a Stanley Cup. I’m not going to let anyone tell me that I can’t do that.”"
Okay, this isn’t really news. A professional hockey player wants to win the Stanley Cup. It’d probably be more noteworthy if Troy Stecher had said he didn’t want to win the Cup. Still, there is more to this statement.
As Iain MacIntyre notes in his article, Canucks GM Jim Benning compared Stecher to Edmonton Oilers captain Andrew Ference. A bottom-pairing defenseman even Oilers fans constantly complain about does not sound like a nice comparison. But looking back at Ference’s 1,127 NHL games (and counting), it would be absolutely terrific if Stecher got anywhere close to Ference’s career.
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Ference also won a Stanley Cup. Which brings us back to the question: what’s so special about Stecher saying he wants to win it?
Well, it’s the fact that he chose to sign with the Vancouver Canucks to fulfill his dream.
Stecher is now 22 years old. Most NCAA free agents play the majority of their first season in the AHL — like Justin Schultz in Edmonton and most recently Mike Reilly in Minnesota. So by the time Stecher plays his first full NHL season, he will at least be 23, which leaves him roughly 10 years to win the Cup before he might reach an age where teams want to get rid of him more than anything.
Those 10 years sound like a long time, but when you spend at least the next three years with the Canucks, you likely only have seven years left to win a Cup. Now, if you try to sign with a Stanley Cup contender year after year, until you win a Cup, you’ll probably have a bad time. No, that isn’t what Stecher wants.
Next: Thatcher Demko Is Vancouver's Top Prospect!
Troy Stecher signed in Vancouver because he believes it is the right place to be to reach his ultimate goal. He believes the Vancouver Canucks can win a Stanley Cup sometime during his career, and he wants to be a part of it.
Let’s hope he was right about that.