It might only be September, but the Vancouver Canucks are already right in the thick of it to kick off their preseason.
The first piece of news came out on Monday morning, when the team announced their first set of roster cuts. Like other clubs in the early stages of training camp, none of these names were much of a surprise to the Vancouver fans and media, with only eight players making the list.
Of those eight names were players such as Yushiro Hirano and Chad Nychuk, both of whom were released from their tryout contracts in order to return to Abbotsford, as well as Connor Lockhart, who will be returning to the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League.
Dylan MacPherson, Matt Anderson, Cole Shepard, Ty Young and Kirill Kudryavtsev were also cut, leaving 51 players left on the training camp squad.
Unfortunately, those weren’t the only players who were done for the preseason.
On Tuesday morning, the team announced that forward Ilya Mikheyev was considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The former Toronto Maple Leaf, who inked a four-year contract this past offseason, was hit hard in the second period of Sunday night’s home contest against the Flames. Mikheyev did not return.
And he’s not the only forward to hit the injury list.
Just 24 hours prior, the team also announced that forward Brock Boeser will be sidelined for 3-4 following successful hand surgery.
Boeser suffered the injury on the last day of training camp, forcing him to miss the team’s split-squad contests against the Calgary Flames on Sunday. Initially described as a “day-to-day” precaution by General Manager Patrik Allvin, Boeser now won’t be expected to return until November, putting a major dent on his hope of hitting 30 goals.
And in typical Canuck luck fashion, the hockey gods weren’t done yet, making sure to make their mark on the blueline as well.
According to multiple reports, defenceman Travis Dermott was unable to complete Tuesday’s practice after being on the receiving end of a big hit.
Travis Dermott being helped to locker room by medical staff. Went to bench on his own and then needed help to get to room
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) September 27, 2022
Travis Dermott, shaken up and in obvious pain, being helped down the tunnel #Canucks
— Harman Dayal (@harmandayal2) September 27, 2022
Dermott, who was acquired by the Canucks at last year’s deadline, was expected to slot in on the second or third defensive pairing to start the regular season. Given his previous injury history, we’ll have to wait and see how quickly the 25-year-old will be able to bounce back.
The team was also without Tyler Myers, who was under the weather with non-COVID symptoms.
On a more serious note, the organization now also has to deal with serious allegations surrounding owner and chairman Francesco Aquilini.
The 53-year-old businessman has been accused of child abuse, both physical and mental, by his ex wife’s lawyer. These accusations are coming directly from his ex-wife, Tali’ah Aquilini, as well as his three children, all of whom are now adults. The organization has yet to make a statement on the matter, but Aquilini’s consultant released a statement on his behalf on Wednesday morning.
These are intense allegations levelled against Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilinihttps://t.co/rGJWnPxiwc
— Patrick Johnston (@risingaction) September 27, 2022
Statement on behalf of #Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilini, issued by a personal communications consultant: pic.twitter.com/gkYGfiMVYr
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) September 28, 2022
I got this this statement from the NHL regarding allegations of child abuse levelled against Francesco Aquilini. pic.twitter.com/Sl7ikrDqra
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) September 28, 2022
The Canucks will have one more practice at UBC on Wednesday before taking on the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night for their third preseason contest of the year. Puck drop is set for 6:30pm PST.
What are your thoughts on the latest news from the Canucks? Let us know in the comments!