Canucks & Beyond
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Random Reading Material & Goalie Notes
by Alanah McGinley on 01/09/09 at 03:34 PM ET
Comments (2)
—Lindsey Craig at CBC writes about the absence of visible minorities in hockey, and the various reasons, both sociological and economic. She also touches on the fact that—for minorities and everyone else—hockey is increasingly a tough sell for parents to involve their children in with the costs being so high. It’s a good article on a topic seldom addressed in any depth.
—For something completely different, I see that Jason Jaffray’s media blitz at Canucks.com indicates he’s addicted to online hockey sites, specifically NHL.com and tracking everyone’s stats. He’s also a big Jack Johnson fan—the singer, not the hockey player. (Weird, as I’d've thought Sitting, Waiting, Wishing… would be a scary song for a NHLer.)
—Roberto Luongo’s recovery appears to be going well, his return to the ice seemingly just delayed in order to exercise maximum care. Regardless, his eventual return will present a goalie glut, and I thought I’d ask who most fans would prefer as backup in the coming weeks: Curtis Sanford or Jason Labarbera?
—Speaking of J.LaBraBra, I was listening to some TV pundit the other day (on Sportsnet, I think) yakking about how the Canucks’ newest netminder was basically “playing for his life” now, suggesting his career will be tanked if he doesn’t find a permanent spot on this team. But I’m not sure I agree with that assessment.
As far as I can tell, J.L. has already won that battle, his career essentially resurrected and people paying attention to his play—which has been better than good, and not under the easiest circumstances.
It almost doesn’t matter what decision Vancouver makes down the road, they now have an asset in their newest goalie, which is a win-win for both J.L and the team. General Managers around the league have been reminded (or enlightened) about how J.L. can perform when given a chance (and a functional defense) and unless something goes terribly wrong in the coming weeks, Mike Gillis will likely be getting offers for the guy if he decides not to hold onto him.
Come trade deadline time, there’s always someone in the NHL looking for a reliable backup goalie to bet on, heading into the playoffs.
After some rough times in LA, LaBarbera’s career potential appears to be well-ahead of where it was a couple weeks ago.
Filed in: nhl general, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: jason+jaffray, jason+labarbera, roberto+luongo,
Comments
The article on cbc.ca doesn’t seem to reflect what’s going on out here. I see no lack of “visible minorities” in local minor hockey. New immigrants are a little more scarce, many of the new immigrants coming into hockey are of Eastern European origin, but minor hockey overall seems fairly healthy.
Posted by smallguy from Richmond BC on 01/13/09 at 12:39 AM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003 (with a notable gap in time through 2010, kicking it with new baby Lucy while living knee-deep in chaos while reading “parenting for complete idiots” during every spare minute) 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 was one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast. 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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when bobby lou comes back it shouldn’t matter who you keep, they’ll only see the ice 2-3 times the rest of the year. with that in mind try to get your draft pick back at the deadline with whichever one of them nets the best deal possible. as backups i think they’re pretty equivalent, with barbs being a bit better as trade bait.
Posted by bitterguy from san francisco, ca on 01/09/09 at 05:45 PM ET