Canucks & Beyond
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Canucks End Mid-Season Vacation
by Alanah McGinley on 01/08/08 at 05:03 AM ET
Comments (10)
The Canucks end a 4 night vacation to return to action Tuesday, healthy, practiced and ready to stomp the Islanders…
Or not. After all, this is the Canucks we’re talking about:
The Vancouver Canucks’ blue-line corps, already reeling from the indefinite absence of Mattias Ohlund (concussion) and Kevin Bieksa (lacerated calf), has another potential problem on its hands.
Outstanding rookie Alex Edler left the ice late in Monday’s practice with back spasms. He was immediately dispatched to the chiropractor to determine the severity of the ailment. Edler leads the Canucks in plus-minus with a lofty plus-17.
The photo is from the Canucks Superskills competition last weekend. He looks awkward, doesn’t he? (I’m convinced this is the exact moment he injured himself.) And for what? Hell, the Canucks probably shouldn’t even be allowed to practice at this point. They’re all so prone to injury, it’s a wonder they’re not all stored in padded cells each night, let out only in time to lace up their skates at puck drop.
But it’s all a minor blip at the midseason mark, apparently. Scott McKenzie at the Bleacher Report argues this Canucks team is a “contender”:
I’m going to throw this out there. There have been three Canuck teams that have been legitimate cup contenders, and this is one of them.
Now at the half-way point of the season, this newly-clothed team is drawing honourable comparisons to the ‘94 team who came within a goal post of winning the holy grail.
Ummm. Well, McKenzie’s an optimist, but I suppose that’s actually sort of refreshing. (Vancouver fans may be cocky and annoying on occasion, but we’re certainly not optimists). And besides, it’s not like injuries have been the death knell of the team so far. Damage to top players has been a consistent reality from the start of the season.
So maybe this really is the year the Canucks win that elusive shiny Stanley Cup?
After all, they’ve already got this thing…
...and clearly, after a giant, freakish clown dressed in Team Sweden’s future 3rd jersey gives you a block of wood with a giant shoe attached to it, there really is nowhere else to go but up.
P.S. The Canucks/Islanders game will be liveblogged tonight by myself, probably joined by a couple other rabid hockey bloggers. Feel free to join in, poke fun, contribute wisdom. Or just belch. Whatever.
Update 9:35am PT: As expected, Canucks call-up Nathan McIver to help out.
*photos from Canucks.com, taken during the Superskills competition last Saturday
Filed in: manitoba moose, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: alexander+edler, clowns, injuries, mattias+ohlund, vancouver+canucks,
Comments
Not good… Edler’s done a great job of filling in on defence (good enough to get some Calder consideration even). Ohlund and Bieksa aren’t going to be back any time soon, so I guess this meets the “Canucks need to have three good defencemen injured at the same time every season” rule. Hopefully, Edler won’t miss too many games: I haven’t seen too much of Nathan McIver, but I don’t think he’s ready to play at Edler’s level yet. Also, those back spasms seem to be contagious: Isbister’s caught them too, according to the above Province article.
(By the way, on the skills competition: I was absolutely shocked to see Mike Brown almost win fastest skater (and beat Kesler). Did anyone know he was this fast?)
Posted by Andrew Bucholtz from Kingston, ON on 01/08/08 at 09:18 AM ET
Hey what is that guy in the yellow suit doing on the ice? Doesn’t he play for Calgary?
Adversity builds champions.
Posted by Ryan from The Puddle, BC on 01/08/08 at 11:51 AM ET
John -- Thanks for pointing to your great photos. I should’ve linked them myself. Oops. 
Andrew -- Edler’s been spooky good. But of course he would have to be… the current karma of the Canucks appears to be that “the better you are and the better you’re playing, the more likely it is you’ll be injured in the very near future.”
Thanks for pointing out the Isbister thing - I didn’t realize. Stupid Superskills…
Ryan -- “Adversity builds champions”? Perhaps I was wrong—maybe Canucks fans are capable of general and irrational optimism on occasion.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 01/08/08 at 12:51 PM ET
HA haha...a great, great post. That last photo and caption were just what I needed this morning.
Posted by Jeremy from Summerland, BC on 01/08/08 at 12:55 PM ET
That goalpost mentioned earlier, was that 1894 or 1994? After all we are talking about another millenium right?
I mean Calgary and Edmonton were in game seven’s of the final way more recently. Oh yeh, both those teams have actually won the Stanley Cup not just come close. Oops very ow baby!!
Posted by E. E. Slosher from Victoria, BC on 01/08/08 at 03:53 PM ET
Jeremy -- Thanks! I’m glad you got a laugh.
E.E. Slosher -- Well, it’s a Canucks’ fans cross to bear… Calgary and Edmonton fans can throw their past success in our faces all they want. It doesn’t change the fact that a Canucks fan is entitled to hope, right? What else do we have, for godsakes?!
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 01/08/08 at 04:34 PM ET
Off topic: what’s with the weird old school radio sales pitches on 1040?
Posted by sean orr from gastown on 01/08/08 at 09:49 PM ET
I haven’t heard it. Or haven’t noticed it, anyway. (So I guess the pitch ain’t working so well on me.)
Note: For anyone who wants to join, the liveblog is set up here
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 01/08/08 at 09:56 PM ET
I guess that they have won the big prize, the Royal Caribbean prize as it would be said in the UK. What could I say more than congratulations and that is a nice success to build on.
Posted by Cristian from Romania on 05/16/08 at 09:41 AM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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Alanah’s Twitter: Not really hockey-ish. [LINK]
Other Canucks Blogs
You can also catch some of my photos from Superskills as well.
Posted by John Bollwitt from vancouver, bc on 01/08/08 at 09:15 AM ET