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Vancouver Canucks Daily Rumblings: Stecher Will Have Tough Time Making Roster

By Janik Beichler

Apr 9, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; University of North Dakota defenseman Troy Stecher (2) reacts after scoring a goal on Boston University Terriers goalie Matt O'Connor (29) during the third period in a semifinal game in the men's Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; University of North Dakota defenseman Troy Stecher (2) reacts after scoring a goal on Boston University Terriers goalie Matt O'Connor (29) during the third period in a semifinal game in the men's Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
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It is mid-July, which means Vancouver Canucks news are hard to come by — but there is still lots to talk about.

The Vancouver Canucks are taking their time to announce who the final forward addition will be (or if there will be one at all). Meanwhile, the Las Vegas franchise seems to be taking their first steps toward shaping an actual hockey club.

Las Vegas Wants to Be Competitive

Josh Cooper — Yahoo! Sports: Las Vegas NHL team closes in on two GM candidates

"“We should be able to field a very competitive team in Year One and we’ll make the playoffs as fast as we can,” Foley said after the NHL announced it would expand into Las Vegas for the 2017-18 season. “We’re going to be dedicated, we’re going to be focused. We’re going to take no prisoners and we expect to be successful early.”"

The Vancouver Canucks’ future Pacific Division foe does not even have a name yet, but team owner Bill Foley already talks about being competitive. Actually, calling him a ‘team owner’ doesn’t even make sense, because there isn’t much of a team yet. Oh well.

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While the Canucks finally get to enjoy their summer a bit — though still looking for that final forward addition — people are working hard in Las Vegas to shape their club. Nevada’s NHL franchise is reported to have identified two candidates for the general manager position, after holding a staff meeting in Montana last week. Florida Panthers president of hockey operations Dale Tallon and Chicago Blackhawks assistant general manager Norm MacIver were believed to be the favorites for the job, but Foley doesn’t seem to have to talked to either.

So, there are some rumblings, but we don’t really know much before.

What caught my eye was the above quote. It isn’t new, but I came across it for the first time. And if I understand it correctly, Foley actually thinks Las Vegas can be competitive in the 2017-18 season — with an expansion roster.

Sure, the NHL altered the rules a bit to force existing teams to expose better players than they would have had to in past expansions. But after playing around with General Fanager’s expansion tool for a bit, it really doesn’t seem like they can form that good of a roster. For every team that needs to expose one of Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin or one of Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell, there are three teams who have a hard time protecting the minimum amount of players.

The Canucks will likely end up losing a player like Luca Sbisa or Emerson Etem. That would neither hurt Vancouver very much nor would it make Las Vegas competitive. But perhaps I’m totally wrong here and Vegas will actually be able to get a half-decent roster. Who knows.

Troy Stecher Must Be Patient

Carol Schram — Vancouver Canucks Defensive Depth Explored as Development Camp Concludes

"Stecher’s a right-handed shot, by the way. Here are the defencemen that are currently ahead of him on next year’s depth chart:Left side:• Alex Edler• Ben Hutton• Luca Sbisa• Andrey PedanRight side:• Chris Tanev• Erik Gudbranson• Philip Larsen• Nikita Tryamkin (though he shoots left, he usually plays the right side)• Alex Biega"

On Saturday, I talked about how Troy Stecher seems to think he can win the Stanley Cup with the Vancouver Canucks. That is good for him — but looking at the depth chart, you can see he’ll have a hard time making the team in the first place.

With the acquisition of Erik Gudbranson and the signings of Philip Larsen, Nikita Tryamkin and Alex Biega, Stecher will go into training camp as No. 6 on the right-side depth chart, and No. 10 overall. With only six D-spots in the lineup and a maximum of eight on the NHL roster, he may be forced to play the entirety of his first pro season in the AHL. Now wouldn’t that suck?

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A positive impression at camp could place him in the top eight of the depth chart. But given his two-way contract and waiver exemption, he would be a lock for Utica anyway. His only chance would be to have a good-enough training camp to make Willie Desjardins want Stecher in the starting lineup. Because if the Canucks want to ice the best-possible team every game and think Stecher is a part of that, they won’t get around kicking someone else out instead.

Despite the fact that Vancouver wants Philip Larsen to quarterback the first power-play unit, Larsen is in no way a lock for the opening-night roster. But given his contract, he would likely be a healthy scratch instead of being waived to play in Utica. Likewise, Tryamkin is someone Stecher could beat to a spot, but a European assignment clause prevents the Canucks from sending Tryamkin to Utica.

Next: Predicting the 2016-17 Special Teams

So, Stecher can only hope for two things. First, beat Larsen and Tryamkin and start the year on the third pairing with Larsen and Tryamkin as healthy scratches. Second, injuries. It sounds evil, but hoping for injuries is sometimes all depth players can do.

And after the past season, Stecher can be sure he chose the right team for that.

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