The Canuck Way Mailbag Part 2: Goalies, taxi squad, playoffs

The Canuck Way mailbag is back to answer any and all of your questions that surround the Vancouver Canucks. Here is part 2 of this week’s return edition.

Let’s jump right back into it. Yesterday, I answered your questions about the Vancouver Canucks and it involved who’s looked good so far in camp, Nils Hoglander‘s position with the team, Travis Hamonic‘s return to hockey, and how Olli Juolevi and Tyler Myers have been a surprising third pairing through camp.

So without further ado, here’s part two of this week’s returning mailbag…

From what I’ve seen from the streamed scrimmage two nights ago and all the highlight-reel clips scattered across Twitter, both goalies look well on their way to getting up to speed under their experienced goaltending coach, Ian Clark.

Obviously, both goaltenders have the same goal in mind — that being to earn the starting position out of camp. But each netminder came into camp under a different set of circumstances. Thatcher Demko is here to state his case as a rising No. 1 goalie in the NHL, while Braden Holtby looks to reinvent himself a little bit.

It’s tough for me to say who gets the nod. It’s up to Travis Green. But from what I’ve seen, he’s got two solid options to choose from. On paper, Holtby should get the start on opening night due to his contract alone, but Green could give Demko the nod if he feels Holtby is still in need of a couple of little tweaks under Clark.

Personally, I would like to see Demko get the start, but my gut tells me Holtby is in the crease in Edmonton on Wednesday night. Either way, it shouldn’t be long until both of them have seen starts. Their season starts off with a back-to-back and six games through nine nights. The Canucks will need both Holtby and Demko to be ready.

What we’ve seen is quite possibly exactly what we’ll be getting come puck drop on January 13th. Especially after the fact that the Canucks Sunday practice was cancelled after a potential exposure to the coronavirus.

If the Canucks don’t hit the ice before their first game of the season, this is what the opening night roster should shape up to be. Coach Green has rolled with these lines through training camp for the past several days (Tweet by Jeff Paterson):

Practices or not, I expect this to be the lineup the Canucks decide on in Edmonton. The ‘Lotto Line’ picked up right where they left off and should be one of the most dynamic lines across the North division. Hoglander has been an excellent fit on line two, and for now, the bottom-six is shaping up as it did for large portions of the 2019-20 season.

I expect the defence pairings to remain the same with the only question mark being newcomer, Hamonic. It appeared that the Canucks were holding a spot for him next to Quinn Hughes, but the 30-year-old defenceman has yet to practice with the team.

If Green opts to scratch Hamonic on opening night, it should be a toss-up between Jordie Benn, Brogan Rafferty and Jalen Chatfield. Out of experience alone, Benn should get the green light. The only problem there being that Vancouver would be dressing five left-handed blueliners, something that’s a little hard to imagine Green doing.

That leaves only the starting goaltender to be decided, but I’ve already given my two cents above.