On Friday night, the Vancouver Canucks got their Young Stars experience off to a strong start, defeating the Calgary Flames prospects 3-0 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, with Canucks fans clearly outnumbering Flames supporters in red jerseys. And, despite the fact that it took more than two periods for us to get our first goal, the crowd jumped at the chance to yell “Bruce, There It Is” as soon as Arshdeep Bains opened the scoring, eliciting grins from Boudreau, Jim Rutherford, and the rest of the management team watching from the management suite.
The Canucks entered this weekend’s tournament with the least amount of star power of the four teams competing. Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko were just getting started in the NHL when I was here in 2017. This year, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg all acquired high-profile first-round draft choices, but Vancouver did not.
But Arturs Silovs, a sixth-round pick in 2019, outdueled Calgary’s Dustin Wolf on Friday night, saving all 24 shots he faced to record the tournament’s first shutout. The Flames were dangerous in the first period, and it was no laughing matter to see Chara-sized 6’8″ forward Adam Klapka create a shadow when he lined himself up as a screen at the top of the crease. However, both teams were obviously disorganized in the first frame as players from various backgrounds and ages tried to create some connection.
While the Flames grew less dangerous as the game progressed, the Canucks began to create plays. By the midway point of the game, the top line of newcomers Bains and Linus Karlsson surrounding Abbotsford leader Chase Wouters was connecting on passes. And the puck reached the back of the net in the third. After the game, new Abbotsford head coach Jeremy Colliton appreciated the abilities displayed by all three strikers, as well as their ability to operate together.
It’s hockey intelligence and recognizing the small things you can do to help your linemates and puck support, he explained, “particularly when there’s a lot of hockey being played on this rink, so it got ran down pretty quickly.” You must have assistance. To advance it, you need to make those five-foot plays, and if you do that, you get to play in the offensive zone and don’t have to defend as much, so I think they did a fantastic job of that.