[MUSIC] Back in on Knock Central, it's Dan Reicho and Satyar Shah. We're in the Kintek Studio. Kintek Canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Soarfeet, what are you waiting for? Knock Central is for Enzine Pacific. Vancouver's premier Chrysler, Dodge Ram and Jeep Superstore on 2nd Avenue between Canby and Maine, or at EnzinePacificChrysler.ca. We're bringing our next guest to you. The play-by play man here on Sportsnet 650, it is Brendan Bachelor. Are you ready for WrestleMania this weekend, Batch? I am, although I need to put a call out now to whoever it is that keeps calling into the post-game show with spoilers from the wrestling shows, they need to stop because can I have to play on Saturday night? I'm not going to be able to watch it live. I've got some other things happening on Sunday too, so I'm going to have to fit it in here and there over the weekend, so don't call into the post-game show and ruin it for everybody that can't watch it live, especially me. I'm just like, the rock is coming back for WrestleMania. I haven't cared about WrestleMania in years, but if the rock is going to be there, I'm kind of interested. How do we watch WrestleMania again? Is it paper views still? Yeah, I think so. No, it's Sportsnet Plus. Sportsnet Plus. Can you get it? Sportsnet Plus. That's right. I'll be watching it. Then I'll watch it on Sunday. There we go. I'll watch it. Exactly. I've been watching it forever. The rock is going to lose, right? That's usually how it goes. I don't know about that. He's got to put somebody over. Come on. We'll see. We'll see. I think things will end the way most people want them to at the end of the weekend, but the rock matches on Saturday night, and it wouldn't surprise me to see the rock win. So has his return been ahead? I saw the bit he did with Cody Rhodes, and he's like yelling at the cameras. No, we're not off. And he's doing F this, F that going off and everything. Is that going over well with wrestling fans? I think it is. They kind of had to pivot. So like without wasting the whole segment, talking about wrestling here on Canucks Central. People wanted Cody Rhodes in the main event, and it looked like they were going to put the rock in the main event, and people didn't want that. And then they kind of turned the rock heel and made him a bad guy, and Cody Rhodes is the big, good guy. So I think that pivot that they made has been well received, and I think the rock is doing a great job as a heel, in spite of the fact that he's one of the most popular people on the planet. So it's all turned out well, and it's going to be an exciting weekend, I think. Well, so the reason I wanted to start on WrestleMania is because the Canucks offense, but it hasn't really, well, it's not bringing people out of their seats in the way that it was earlier this season. It's still scuffling, and it's probably the biggest concern going into the playoffs here. Batch, what is ailing the Canucks on the offensive end of the ice right now? Yeah, well, I think part of it is the game tightening up a bit, and the way that you get goals at this time of the year, and how you have to get to the inside to create them and maybe score some dirtier goals or goals off broken plays like Rick Talkett has referenced, is not necessarily the style of this team or the way that they've generated offense this year. We could also talk about the shooting percentage coming down and how that was eventually going to happen no matter what. But this is still a young team, or if not young, then inexperienced at playing meaningful hockey at this time of the year, so they are learning. And I think regardless of what happens, the rest of the way down the stretch, regardless of what happens in the postseason, they will be able to learn from it and be better for it going forward. And part of that learning experience is working through the fact that goals are harder to come by at this time of the year. The good news for their prospects in terms of trying to have a successful playoff run this season is that their defense has been so good with a few exceptions, the Vegas game being one of those, that you can still find a way to win games without being the offensive juggernaut that they were early in the season. And I think when you get to the playoffs, being able to win games like that and being able to rely on your defense is more important than being able to shoot out the lights. Ultimately, that's what's going to win you games, right? And it's really fascinating because we're stuck in a part of the season where we talk about end-to-season hockey and how important it is, and it is important, right? We want the team to be trending in the right direction going into the playoffs. You want guys feeling good about their game going into the playoffs. But if you start looking back at NHL history, for instance, last year, the Vegas gold tonight, they were incredible. They're final like 10, 15 games like they barely lost. They were just red-hot, got onto the playoffs, and obviously won the Stanley Cup. The year prior, the Colorado Avalanche actually only won one of their last nine games. And then they only lost four games in the playoffs and won the Stanley Cup. So it really depends on like what you look at teams. Can you find examples of teams being dead-cold, red-hot, not having success in the postseason? Ultimately, it comes down to, can you be healthy and can you have good fundamentals as a team? And the question really is for this Canucks squad, especially with how Patterson is playing, are they going to be healthy enough to find their high-end P? Because if you subscribe to everybody being able to take a step in the playoffs, if you have good fundamentals, to me, it comes down to our guys' healthy enough. Are they going to be healthy enough to come play off time? Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, there's no formula to winning a Stanley Cup, right? Like, that example you give there illustrates that teams win it different ways. Sometimes teams sneak in as a wild card, but they're hot because they've been rolling and they go on a great run. Sometimes it's the top teams that just know how to turn it on and reach an extra gear at the right time. So I would much rather have the Canucks struggling now than struggling in three weeks because, you know, obviously, if you're struggling in three weeks, then you're in real trouble. So, you know, not that I'm going to sit here and say that maybe guys don't have their foot on the gas as much as they would like or, you know, that they're trying to rest up and get ready for the playoffs. But to a certain extent, when your team that's clinched, you're one of the first teams to clinch, now you've got that seven-point cushion atop the Pacific Division, you're probably going to win the division. The focus for the playoffs should be being ready for the playoffs to perform as well as you can. But there's a fine line between winning a bunch of games and coming into the playoffs and playing hot and playing the style that you want, but also being healthy and not, you know, being exhausted from the stretch run and preparing yourself for what will be a grueling postseason if you want to go on the kind of run that this team hopes to go on. And then there's also being healthy, right? So like Elias Lindholm not in the lineup right now. Will they get him back before the end of the regular season or is it more important for him to sit out and be as healthy as possible and get as much rest as possible and then come back to the playoffs? If Pedersen is playing through something, and I think it's probably fair to assume that he is based on the fact that he missed the practice last week and Rick Talkett said he wasn't sure at that point, or I think the quote was, "I'm pretty sure he'll play tomorrow." You know, so, you know, it wouldn't surprise me if Pedersen's playing through something regardless of whether it's a small thing or a more significant thing. And then getting Demko back here is going to be the other big factor for them. You know, when you look at this team and some of the struggles they've had in the last month, and I'm not going to hang it on Casey to Smith or Archer's She-Lobs, but I don't think it's a coincidence that the last time they beat a team that's currently above the playoff bar was Demko's last game in the net. So you're right. And this time of the year, as much as you'd like to be hot, as much as you'd like to win a bunch of games here, lock up the division, you know, and be rolling going into the post season, it's much more important that your top guys that are maybe a bit banked up right now be healthy and ready to go for what could be a long run into the spring. Well, I think you're so right about the Demko point because I wouldn't sit here and say that Casey to Smith has been bad by any stretch of the imagination. I think he's been pretty good. I think he's done exactly what's expected of him, even maybe a little bit better. But at the same time, he hasn't gone out and won a game for the Vancouver Canucks. And you know, there are some big saves that Demko can make that Casey to Smith doesn't always make. So, you know, that distinction, well, it's essentially, you know, one of the reasons why Casey to Smith has been a 1B at best in his career and Demko's a guy that is likely going to be a finalist for the Vesna this year. Yeah, I mean, you know, I think even Casey to Smith would be willing to admit that to a certain extent that there's a reason Demko plays the number of games he does, gets paid as well as he does, has the contract that he does, he's given the ball to run with it like he does because he is one of the best gold tenders in the world right now. Now, I don't necessarily have time for some of the debate lately about, oh, should they be starting she loves against the Kings, you know, I don't have time for that just because a young gold tender goes in against two bottom feeders and plays well and I'm not trying to take anything away from she loves because I think he's played well, but I think, you know, based on some of the Canucks struggles of late, you can tell that it's very different to play Anaheim or Arizona as opposed to LA or Vegas and for a young guy, you know, that you want him to continue to build and grow, you know, first of all, I don't think you want to kill his confidence by putting him in against a tougher matchup and potentially having it go south and I think you need to build Casey dismissed confidence back up after a disappointing game against Vegas because he's the guy you're going to need if anything goes wrong with Demko down the stretch and I don't think that at this point in his career it would be prudent to put Arthur She loves in that sort of a spot. All of that said, yeah, they need Demko, they need Demko as healthy as he can be, they need him ready to go because he covers up for a lot of things in their game and this is not me taking away from what they've accomplished this year as a team. They're 100 point, you know, they've had 100 point season, which I would not have predicted coming in the year. They've been fantastically successful. A lot of things have gone right for them. They've got a lot of guys pulling on the rope in the right direction, but when you get into a game of inches, when you get into a goal here or there determines whether your season continues or not, you want an elite goal tender between the pipes for you and that's what Patrick Demko is, so I'll be interested to see when he's able to return, how many games he gets in, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is that he can be in the crease for game one of the playoffs come April 20th, 21st, whenever it's going to be. You know, when you just spend some time talking about, you know, your form at the end of the season, whether it's good or bad, may not be indicative of playoff success, but one big guy who is really taking to heart the notion of playing your best hockey down the stretch is their leader, Quinn Hughes. And I know we run out of superlatives to describe how incredible he is, another strong game for him, of course, being a huge part of their win, but it really looks like he's taking it personally, the notion of trying to close the season out strong right now. Yeah, and that's exactly what you want to see from your leader and from your captain. And you know, think about some of the great captains in the history of this franchise, and a guy like Trevor Linden and how he was willing to put it all on the line and sacrifice whatever he had to to try and help his team have success in the playoffs. And, you know, he's not the only one, but he's the first one that comes to mind because you sort of think of that photo of him and Kirk McLean in the 94 finals and just how exhausted and worn out he was and all the battles he'd been through. And you know, Quinn Hughes hasn't had to go through those battles yet, but he seems like a kind of guy that really wants to meet that challenge, really wants to lead this team. And he's showing it with his play on the ice and, you know, we're getting to the point now where I think I said in his rookie season that he may already be the best defenseman the Canucks had had in their franchise history, but we're getting to the point now where it's undeniable. He's going to probably next season become the all-time points leader for the franchise in terms of defenseman. He's breaking his own records every day. Like last night, he got his 70th assist of the season, so he's now got more assists in a single season than any defenseman in Canucks history. And he's still so young and he's still got so much room to grow that, you know, I think sometimes when you watch this team so much as we do, it's, you know, you get used to Quinn Hughes doing the things that he does, but I think we really need to take a moment and step back at times and appreciate how elite he is because he's not going to be here forever. His career is not going to last forever. And he's a player that when his time in the NHL and his time in Vancouver has come to an end, we will look back on and say, wow, that was pretty special that we got to watch that guy night in and night out. And the fact that he's elevating his game at this time of the season is no surprise to me. And I'm sure we'll see him take it to, you know, another level once the games get into the postseason as well. I think he deserves some hard trophy votes as well. Yeah. I don't think he's not going to finish this as a finalist, you know, I can sit here and accept that, but he might push to be a top five heart candidate. I looked at some of the voting in years past, like Carlson did get votes last year even on the San Jose Sharks when he scored 100 points. Yosey got he was six place finish in heart voting in his 96 point season. So I mean, if people have been paying attention, you know, you can see that that Quinn Hughes deserves that. And right now, like he is the offensive engine of this team and they're just, they're not getting enough out of Patterson as we've talked about almost ad nauseam. You've loaded up that one line with Miller Joshua and Garland. So they, it feels like the Canucks just have that one forward line that can, that can really generate offense and until Patterson gets going, batch, I'm not sure it's, it's going to feel all that different. Yeah. And it'll be interesting to see how much more Rick talk it toys with the lines over the next handful of games and where he ultimately falls in terms of how he deploys his lines come game one of the playoffs. And I think part of that is going to be determined by Patterson and his form and whether he can get his line going and help drive play. And this is something Randi talks about all the time, but I think it's a very good point that, you know, Patterson driving play or needing to drive play more effectively, he is one of the biggest storylines or should be one of the biggest storylines around this team. Now, you know, we could sit here and go over potential line combinations all day and try to figure out who are the best guys to put with Patterson to get him going. But at the end of the day, Elias Patterson has to drive that engine himself and, you know, I always say, you know, whether he's hurt or not, whether he's banged up or not, he's good enough to be in the lineup. And if he's good enough to be in the lineup, then the expectations are going to be there for him and he needs to meet those expectations more effectively than he has lately. Now, I do think at the same time, some of his struggles are blown out of proportion and he's kind of scapegoated at times by this fan base. But we're also talking about a guy that I think it's 12 games now without a five-on-five goal in that stretch. He's got two power play goals and an empty netter and, you know, for a guy that was flirting with being on pace for 100 points this year and, you know, obviously did it last year. It's not good enough. And it's disappointing that that's happening at this time of the year. But all of that said, he's got time to figure it out. He's got time to get his game back. He's got time to trend in the right direction. And based on how well he performed in the bubble playoffs, and I know that was very different and it was four years ago now, but, you know, I believe that the best players find a way to elevate their game when it matters the most and it wouldn't surprise me at all if we see that from Pedersen come the postseason. Regardless of how his form goes, the rest of the regular season, much like you talked about a team like Colorado who had a really disappointing end of the regular season and then, you know, geared up for the playoffs and went on an incredible run. It wouldn't surprise me if Pedersen is able to find that extra level in his game once this team gets to the postseason. Before we let you go, I wanted to spend, you know, another couple moments on Connor Garland and how good he's been and how strong he's finished the season and obviously got the game winning goal last night. I mean, he has 40 points on the campaign, 16 goals. Now, 40 points isn't a marker that, you know, you say, "Hey, that's a good production for a guy making $5 million," but it's a respectable mark. You get 40, that's half a point per game over 82 games. That's a respectable number to hit for somebody that's not making $6 million plus, right? So you can live with the production in those terms, at least for the money he's getting paid as well. But in terms of his effectiveness, and, you know, JT Miller is probably the connect who's had his reputation changed the most in terms of how the fan base feels about him. Garland might be a close second with how things have gone for him this year. Analytically, last year's player and this year's player looked very similar. But I do think there's a fundamental difference in how he's playing this year. Not only the chemistry he's finding, he mentioned himself that the first couple of years he had a hard time generating chemistry with anybody on this team. Now he's finding it, but he's a far more direct player now that doesn't have a lot of wasted motions. And one of the things that drove me crazy about him before was he'd be great at getting his own entry. He'd do a spin at the blue line and just throw a useless shot at the net. The goalie would scoop it. The play would end. And then, hey, it looks good analytically, but you're not impacting the game. Is there a fundamental change too and how much more direct he is? Yeah, I think, you know, I mentioned driving play in relation to Petter said, well, that's an area of Garland's game that I think he's taken to another level. And you have to credit Joshua too, because I think the chemistry between both of them has allowed them to both elevate their games to a level that we hadn't seen from either of them before. And in Garland's case, the production's actually down this year, but I think his importance to this team has grown because of the way that line for most of this season, whether it's at Blueger or Suter or now Miller down the middle, has really been able to drive play, been able to shift momentum, been able to spend time in the offensive zone, been able to establish the four check and grind down low and create offense that way. It's something that this team hasn't had over the past few seasons, you know, regardless of whether it was a first line or a third line or whatever it was. So, you know, the fact that he's found a role, that he's found a guy that he has good chemistry with. And I think maybe role is the key word here because in past seasons and not just with past coaches, but with target as well, you know, was Garland a top six forward? Was he playing in the bottom six? Was he on this line? Was he on that line? And you know, I think you could probably look at the way that the team has deployed the lines lately. And it would be fair criticism to say, you know, keep the lines together, try and build some chemistry. You've been blending them too much. But the one thing that Rick Talkett hasn't really differed from when he's had them both available within the line up is Dakota Joshua and Connor Garland playing together. And I think that's benefited both of their games. So I don't know if I would have predicted that Garland would be as important a part of such a successful team this year when we were talking to him on the eve of the season about, you know, how he changed agents and maybe they were looking for a trade and all of these sorts of things. But full credit to him for blocking out the noise that can sometimes be so loud in this market and just putting the work boots on, he's become an integral part of this team. And you know, now, you know, just a few months later, you wouldn't even dream of moving on from Connor Garland. He's so important to what this team does. And in fact, that contact is going to look like a value deal when you compare it to how important he's been for them this year. So full credit to him for the season that he's had and he's going to continue to be an important piece for this group going into the playoffs, whether he and Joshua are on the Miller line or not. So Bret Hart versus Steve Austin, that's the greatest WrestleMania match of all time, right? WrestleMania 13, the submission match. The iconic. There's the ladder match with Bret Hart and Sean Michaels too, isn't there? Like that's an all time classic. You've got Rock Hogan. You've got Rock Austin. Like, I don't know if I could pick one, there's a lot. Batch of the best. Maybe we'll see the best ever this weekend. You never know. It's shaping up to be a good card. The rock coming back. Why not? Yes, thanks for this. Sounds good. Thanks, boys. And thanks for not mentioning Chelsea beating United today. I appreciate it. Hey, listen, there was a tough match. You brought it up now. Now he just like, that's just so good. You should have seen the smile. I just came over. I was honestly amazed. We got through the whole interview without it being brought up. Well, you know what? It was a tough game. And honestly, it was so chaotic. I'm not sure how to feel about it at the end. Like it's one of those matches. Was that like the wildest match of the season and they have been, right? I think, well, United had that FA Cup game against Liverpool that was pretty wild. Yeah. But that's the problem with United right now is the games are too wild and they're not, you know, boring it up. So give me some boring one-mail wins over the crazy 4-3 score fest any day. You want United to play Canucks hockey is what you want. Exactly. I don't think I thought I would have ever said that in my life. But here I am. So there you go. Dark days. Thanks, match. Thanks, boys. I forget what. Oh, there he is. I missed the United Chelsea match just for context. Chelsea was down 3-2. They were actually up 2-0. Okay. They were up 2-0. Then they were down 3-2 in injury time. Yeah. And they were down 3-2, 7 minutes into injury time. Yes. 8 minutes into injury time. Yes. And they got a penalty and then they scored off a corner in like 2 minutes. Yeah. And like in minute 9 and 11 of 8 minutes they gave 8 minutes of injury time and they scored in the 9th and 11th minute. It just kind of tells you how wild that game was. They went all Vegas on the Canucks in the first period late in that game against United. Stan Richo and Sati Arshah. It's Canucks Central. Some interesting things happening with the Abbotsford Canucks. Ahtu Ratu is on Fuego, Jonathan Lecker O'Macki and Elias Pederson. DPD have made their debuts. Dave Hall is going to join us covering Canucks prospects with Canucks Army. That's next, on Canucks Central. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. We're back on Canucks Central. It's Stan Richo, Sati Arshah here in the Kintec Studio. Roster moved by the Canucks today. Arshteep Baines sent back down to the Abbotsford Canucks after getting a couple of games up with the big club. He was a healthy yesterday and I'd say his first stint with the Canucks this year felt a lot better than this more recent stretch for Arshteep Baines. These last couple of games. Yeah, I think a bit of a reality check in terms of expectations. He's done such a terrific job. He's come such a long way, right? But it's also one of the things where we're looking at his progression. People get so ahead of themselves, right? And we all are guilty of it sometimes. You see somebody new arrive on the scene. They have a terrific first couple of games. But sustaining that level of play is a very difficult thing to do. And the consistency that entails and the rigors of the NHL season. The fact that the games get harder as the season goes on as well, all those kind of factors, they're hard to work through. And it's not always a linear path. And it shows that he's come a long way, but also needs some time still. Let's bring in our next guest, making his Canucks Central debut. It's Dave Hall covering Canucks prospects at Canucks Army. Thanks for this, Dave. How are you? I'm doing great. How are you doing? We're doing well. We're just talking about Arshteep Baines got sent back down to Abbotsford today. Had a bit of a tougher showing in his second go-around with the big club. But what do you see still as Arshteep Baines' trajectory here? It's been a pretty rapid couple of development years for him these last two. Yeah, well, first of all, I wasn't too shocked. I mean, this is kind of what we're expecting, you know, a third line, fourth line kind of progression here at least at the gate. But if you look back on his stats going back all the way to junior, it's always taken him a little bit of time to kind of ease into the next level. And even looking back to last year in the Abbotsford, in a certain Abbotsford, you know, it took him some time to get his gears going. And so, you know, it's not easy to just jump right up to the NHL, especially when you're in the playoff push and, you know, having some injuries and just having, you know, a tough time to adjust. So I'm not too shocked, but I hope he can get back and out of his way and get back to his game. Yeah, and I think in general too, when you look at a player like Arshteep Baines, for instance, and how far he's come, it also kind of shows you that the development program seems to be working really well in Abbotsford, doesn't it? Well, you got to give them massive props. I actually just had an article today at Canucks Army where I talked about a few of the newcomers, but I started out basically saying, you know, you have to give this new regime props for how they're treating their prospects right now. We've been saying for years, you know, begging for all these young kids. And now they've got three stators practicing up in Abbotsford, whether they're taking games or not, they're at least getting in, like, they're getting to soak in that pro habits, you know, getting to see what every day's like as a pro. So even if they're not playing games, they're at least being proactive and taking development by the horns and doing a really good job with it. So yeah, definitely. So the big question everybody wants to, uh, to get a little bit more intel on Jonathan like Romacki. What have you made of his HL debut here? Well, first of all, when you, if you're a stat watcher and you look at his DB, uh, you know, zero points in four games, obviously doesn't jump off the page. But to be honest, he's, he's actually looked right at home. Um, he may not have any points, but it's not for a lack of effort. He's got seven shots, five of which came in one game on Tuesday. Uh, and let me know, last night he's fed, uh, Maxis on with a beautiful foster pass to send him on a breakaway and they're just not happening for him. And that's fine. But overall, what I really liked about his game is the fact that, and you know, the biggest question coming in with him is can he withstand, you know, the size of the HL, you know, can he win board battles? Can he forward check like you, we were seeing from him at the tail end of the season in dance HL and so far, the answer is yes. You know, you might even question him being a little too timid right now. He's playing super responsible defensively. He's winning battles. Um, you know, he, he had a point taken away a few nights ago where you can, he clearly wins a board battle, puts his butt right into the guy, wins the battle. And unfortunately, you know, he ends up getting the assist taken away. But overall, I don't think he could be upset with how it's been going. Yeah, you would like to see a couple goals, but he's looked right at home and I don't think so far I've liked what I've seen. It seems like the details of his game are pretty mature for a player that you look at as being a skilled guy. That's something that people I spoke to in Sweden said about him. It really seems like he's, he's, he understands how to play the game properly, doesn't he? Yeah. And he's really worked on that too. Like as the season progressed, you can really see it, you know, like, especially after the world juniors, you can just kind of tell, he just had this extra motor in his game. And I think he's got a bad rep for, you know, being this, just this pure goal scorer that doesn't really do a lot. But in the reality, he actually is a real energy kind of player that does, you know, put a lot of emphasis on responsibility, you know, even after last game, Sheldon drives was in an interview and he even alluded to the fact that, you know, the first thing he said about McCarrumacki was that he's a responsible two way player, you know, like, that's not typically something that a lot of people put McCarrumacki in if you're just looking at the clips of his goals. So it's been great to be awesome. I'm super excited that he's been over here for just even a couple of weeks just to kind of get at the, at the climatize of the game. Um, Elias Patterson on D. There's still going to be awkward figuring that out over the next couple of years, but also making his debut with Abbotsford recently. And it seems as though he's, he's bringing some of the traits that we've heard so much about and seen in world juniors and whatever else in our, in our viewings of him already to the Abbotsford Canucks. Yeah, I look guys, I, I, if he's not already, I don't really see how he's not everyone's number one fan, like fan favorite by next year, he's just, he just plays a game that you just have to love. You know, he comes in from the Elspent's game, six foot four, 210 pounds, and he's just fit right in. Um, we kind of were expecting his transition to go a little easier because, you know, the type of game that he plays is almost accustomed to that smaller ice. You know, he's, he's a brute out there and, you know, whether it's in front of the net, the board battles or an open ice hit, he's throwing his body around and making sure he's instilling pain. And, you know, even the other day, we saw John Lomacare-Mackie get pelted into the, the opposing teams boards and the first, the first guy that's there is Elias Patterson. And so, you know, it's just, it's just a breath of fresh air to see a guy like that. And the fact that he's just transitioning so smooth, uh, it's, it's just really nice to see. And, you know, another part of his game that's, you know, not as talked about because he is more of a shut down big defense than his ability, you know, his awareness. Last night, he picked up his first assessment. You can, it kind of just shows just how smart he is by the time that putt got to him. He's already looking towards Tristan Nielsen and feeding him across ice paths perfectly on the tape. And so it just kind of shows, um, you know, he's a little bit more than just that defense and sturdy, sturdy defense. And I'm not anticipating a huge point production, but it's nice to see it on the left. I mean, you kind of alluded to, but there's a real edge to his game, right? Like he's one of those guys that not only gets under the other team's skin, but he's like, he's really not afraid of getting involved at all physically, is he? And it's always, um, like not at all. And like I said, whether it's in friends and that just giving guys jabs, whether it's well, no matter what it is, he's always making sure that he's, you know, sort of intimidating his, his, uh, his, uh, his opponents and just, he's just a bully out there to be frank. Uh, uh, to Rati, is he, uh, is he the hottest player in the age? Oh, right now? Well, yeah, he's firing out a two point pace over the last seven games. So it's, he's definitely, he's firing out all cylinders right now, that's for sure. And you know, it's, I guess we always kind of wondered after he gets acquired in the, uh, in the bo-horvat trade, what kind of a player are the Canucks getting here? And, uh, you saw some ups and downs last year and he didn't pop offensively at first, but is, is this the, the breakout that, uh, you know, we thought he could have when he was projected to be one of the highest draft picks in his draft year and ended up falling all the way down to the end of the second round. Yeah. Well, I mean, the nice thing about right now is that he's, he's, uh, Jeremy Colton's kind of rekindled this, this line that they had going or back in November and December and it's with him, Maxisaw and Minnes Carlson, and the three have just found this awesome chemistry where they've just worked together and all three are firing at a ridiculous clip right now. Uh, Maxisaw, unfortunately had it snapped last night, but at the time he was, he had the longest active AHL street going at nine games. So all three of them have just been dominating the AHL right now. And you know, the thing, the only thing about Ratu is that we've seen this a few times this year where he has this really hot spurt and then he goes cold and then he picks it up and then he goes kind of cold. Now, the one thing I do like about his game right now is the type of goals he's scoring. So throughout the year, you know, a lot of his points, you know, this isn't a knock, but he does lead the team in secondary assist. So a lot of his points, he was kind of picking up here, they're, they were fine, but what I really liked about his game right now is that he's scoring some really beautiful shots. And you know, he's, he's showing that when he's given just a little bit of time, he does have a release that's quite impressive. And so, you know, it's one of those things where I see a lot of people on Twitter, you know, call them up. He's our next three C, but I'd also, you know, throw a little air caution to say that he's also not been playing a lot of center. He's a great face-off guy and he's a great two-way player, but a lot of his success this year has actually come while playing on the wing and also playing with Maxisona, Linda Carlson. So while I don't want to knock in his game, he's playing really well and he's made a lot of progress, I'm still worried about his ability to, you know, fully drive the play and be that guy. And so I'm not saying that he can't be there, but I'm just, you know, for me, I pump the brakes a little bit on the call-up option at the end of the season. Let's let him do the playoffs, you know, have a great season, he's, he's hot as heck right now in the AHL and then let him, you know, earn a spot if, you know, let him make his mark next, next training camp. Oh, you mentioned that he's been playing a lot of wing, not necessarily center, especially with a success. Do you think ultimately the projection for him is going to be wing at the AHL level? For me, yes. I know there's some, you know, if the ultimate, you know, question mark, you'll be battled about it. But for me, I just, I haven't seen the skating has improved. Don't get me wrong. It's improved, but I'm still just not seeing a lot of, you know, drive ability. Like I said, a lot of his points were coming off secondary plays and, you know, right now a lot of the plays are being started from Mexico. The one element that I'm a little worried about, at least right now, right? So maybe next year it's different. He develops a little more, but I just think overall I'm thinking maybe the wing is a little bit easier for him. And there's nothing wrong with that either. He is a great face off guy and a good two way center, but I just, for me, for the AHL. It might be a little step up for him. One defense, you know, we talked about DPD a little bit, but, you know, there is, not a lot of players signed through the end of this season on the big club. And, you know, we defense is always something you're going to take a little bit more time developing. But who are the others that are looking to make a play for potential an NHL future with the Abbotsford Canucks currently? Well, right now you got, well, they got 14 signed right now that are currently playing. So it's kind of been a bit of a crapshoot down there, but, yeah, for me, like you definitely will land in a Harose on the left side or are locked up for one more year. And I definitely expect them to play next year. You got Patterson. I also would expect a guy like real cadre says to come up from the zoo. You know, I kind of went for some weapons. He's going to make that jump considering the big, you know, the big log gem that's going on, but he's definitely a player that I think could come up next year and maybe make some waves. But, you know, in terms of NHL next year, there's not too, too many names, like even Elias Patterson, I would caution, you know, toss them right up to the NHL and letting him stew in the, in the NHL role in terms of people that are going to make the jump next year. I'm not too confident that there's any names. I wouldn't mind seeing Nick Ward get a shot at some point. I really like this game this year. Nothing more than, you know, a third line, 60 kind of guy, but I thought he's actually had a nice season. Of course, Jet Woo, he's looked really good in the last couple, a couple of weeks here. He also needs to be signed. So there's a lot of, a lot of balls in the air right now and, you know, I'm not sure if any of them are really ready to make that, that significant full-time jump just yet. You can check out Dave's work at Canucks Army following Canucks prospects and the Abbotsford Canucks who are playoff bound. Thanks so much for this day. I appreciate the time. Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. There is Dave Hall covering Canucks prospects at Canucks Army and doing a really good job with it. Yeah, I mean, keeping us informed on the progress of these players, right? And he does some really good work, so it's nice to chat with Dave for the first time here on Canucks Central. And I think he makes a great point there at the end. As much as we're all like very excited about the progress a lot of these guys are making, it's not that too many are necessarily knocking on the door to play big roles for you. It's still a work in progress. Like, like Keramaki, if he, you know, does come over next season, for instance, as it looks like he's going to, the NHL is probably where he's going to start, right? Hey, he's probably on the, you know, William Neelander played a year in the, in the AHL. Yeah. You know, we've seen some Swedes take their time and at least play a year or the majority of a full season in the AHL. Yeah, and, and then as far as some of these other guys are concerned, like all too raw to even. Is he really ready next year? These are guys that are going to be fighting for spots, you know, knocking on the door. And you can't have too many of them. So it'll be him. It'll be Baines, put Colson, if he's still here too, like if they, if they do retain all these guys that don't get moved in trades or anything, they're going to have all those guys make it. They're going to sign some veterans to bring guys back. So we're talking about one or two spots available. It's not, it's not a ton. But also, it seems like those that are maybe closer to being an AHL ready are on the forward group in the forward group, whereas on defense may be where the need is actually. So you look at the Canucks defense, we talked about Philopronic, you know, Myers is a UFA, Cole is a UFA, Zadorov's a UFA, Freedman's a UFA at the end of this year. So you've got four guys that are gone, poof, gone in the wind. Only Susie Hughes and Julesson currently have a contract that are with the NHL club. Obviously, Philopronic is under control, but we'll have to see what happens with him. It's not as though there's somebody ready to come up from the AHL. If the Canucks are going to, like the Canucks are going to have to essentially rebuild their defense in the off season, it's not going to come with help from their prospects pool. That is still very much in a development stage. Yeah, it very much is, even a guy like a kid or a hero say he showed so well after getting signed last year and showed some promise in training camp, but he's had an injury-played season and has been great for him. He's only played 27 games, but he only has one assist, not to say he's going to be this point producer, but it wasn't this healthy year for him to get better and grow and maybe knock on the door. So that's kind of, we'll see, maybe he has a good off season, maybe next year is different for him, but not somebody you can pencil in next season. Phil McQuard does promising, but again, it's a third pair guy you're talking about here. And who's going to play on the third pair on the right side next season, most likely? Probably Noah Juleson. So he's probably not going to play above Juleson, and as good as Juleson has been, you probably don't want to pencil him in as your second pair right handed defense. Not yet, no. So yeah, is he going to be your seven defense maybe, perhaps? But that's what you're looking at here. So organizationally, the guys they have coming, Pedersen a while away, Kudratzev, some of the other guys have added to the fold seem like longer term. Even for lander, obviously. Yeah, exactly. And like somebody texted in here and said, it sounds like they need to re-up a couple of our current defensemen in order to give the guys, and the miner's a bit of more time. And even if it's not the current guys, it shows you that they're, let's say that they don't bring coal back and it'll bring the door out of the back, I can assure you that if they bring miners back, they'll still bring back, at least they'll go and sign at least one or two free agents. Yeah, it feels like they're still going to have to be players in the D market and free agency. And look, they've got a lot of money to do it. What is it? 24 million in cap space right now, even after signing Alias Pedersen to his big money deal. You've still got to get, of course, Philip Ronik done, but as the number we talked about, even before Pedersen was signed, if you can get Pedersen and Ronik signed for 19 million combined, and that would mean now keeping Ronik under 7.4 million a year, well then all of a sudden you've still got lots of money to play with in the summer. You can maybe still sign an impact forward and fill out the rest of your decoy. And that's probably the avenue you would most like to take, but we'll have to obviously see how much it ends up costing to keep Philip Ronik in Vancouver. And if they don't keep Philip Ronik, then you've got even more work to do on the back end, as I know some listeners have already been texting in, but we'll figure out the big picture conversations a little bit further down the line. I will say, you know, Arstee Baines didn't look as great in his return to the NHL. The SillyPod calls in 13 games now, Sat. I've liked his game a lot more than I would say what we saw out of Arstee Baines. There were some some flashes from from Arstee, especially in those first few games that he got to play, but Podkolzen has brought a physical element and a speed, a pace of play that I think has been somewhat needed in the bottom six. And even though there isn't any production, and it's not like Phil Dijseppe was giving you all kinds of production, he had those two games back to back goals. But beyond that, you know, you hadn't been getting much from from him either. So I'm not too worried about the production, but he's given some, he's given an element to the bottom six that wasn't really there before. Yeah, he's been very consistent and he's not scoring, but he's generating chances. He's driving the net. He's he's doing a lot of things that are very positive. I think the reality to check with him is more about don't expect him to play up the lineup. Like as good as it is, it's like he's still progressing. Now he's showing promise of okay, there's consistency in his game. He understands what he is. He's aggressive. You're right. He's been physical. He's been showing how do you now convert that into production as well. Yeah. That's the next step for him. And not just production in the top six, but like a baseline production to be an everyday NHL player playing on the fourth line. You still have to be able to get close to 20 points. Now he did show in his first campaign in the National Hockey League that he's capable, had 26 points, right? 14 goals, 12 assists. So we know it's there as possible. It's just, can you get back to scoring? Yeah. And that's what I want to see from him. And I'm not expecting him to move up the lineup, but can he claim that spot the rest of the way? But I think he's going to have to get a goal or two here for the coach to get into the postseason and still feel like, okay, this is going to be a guy that plays every day. Can he stay in the lineup every single night? Canucks still looking to find an extra gear offensively. They haven't scored much of late to get more than three goals in a game is asking a lot out of this team. They did it against Calgary and Montreal, but outside of that, they haven't done it much really since they returned home since that five nothing win against the Winnipeg Jets. So the ongoing process of finding more offense continues for Vancouver and they weren't finding it on the power play yesterday, sat it looked like it's still kind of spin in their wheels. I know they scored three goals in their previous two games on the power play, but they scored on the power play recently. With you, though, it hasn't looked overly convincing. They scored a Quinn users goal came at the end right at the end of the power play yesterday. So it's one of those things where it's like, yeah, you know, they were getting some production. It has look convincing. And to me, a lot of it does come down to the fact that right now, Pedersen is not a threat to score. Yeah. So you take a big threat out, he's there, but he's not a threat to score himself. Garland as active as he is individually with his shot, not a real threat to score. You see how teams play off of him on the power play, right? It's like having a guy sitting out for a three-pointer that's not really a threat to shoot a three-pointer. Now, the reason they have him there is he's hunted a lot of pucks down. Yeah. He's been a good playmaker. He's done a lot of good things. Great on the net front for the Hughes goal, right? Yeah. You got him for the screen. But it can be an agitator. But there's not a threat. So all of a sudden, your advantage goes from having two guys not being threats now. And then Besser's playing net front, which means, yeah, he can be a threat, but he's not really a shooting threat consistently, has to be set up for him to be able to get a shot off or a tip off, right? So he's not a consistent threat to shoot the puck. So it's JT and Quinn Hughes in JT's more of a playmaker, right? Now he does shoot the puck, but his first instinct isn't to go downhill and shoot. So that leaves Quinn Hughes to have to really have to force the issue from the point he shoots the puck a bit more, which, you know, it's working, but it's kind of like a, it's an engine not running at all cylinders right now. And like with the conversation 5 on 5, like the conversation about, can they get JT Miller away from Garland and Joshua so they can have those guys play on their own line and then have Besser go back with him and have Pedersen run his own line, what comes down to Pedersen himself becoming more of a threat. And that's really what sets, I think, the power play apart when they're going and also they're 5 on 5 plays. So the conversation just keeps circling back to Pedersen. You know, what was it last year or the year before we said it all comes back to JT Miller? Yeah, this year it's like it all comes back to Leah's Pedersen. Yeah. And Pedersen needs to, they need to find his game somewhere, somehow it's got to happen in the next couple of weeks as once we hit Saturday, we're two weeks out from the postseason beginning. You know, on JT, he's up to 96 points on the year. And that is nine points shy of being a top five point scoring season in Canucks history. I know we've talked about JT's game and how good he's been this year, how he's been their most consistent forward. I still feel like the fact that it could be a top five point scoring season in Canucks history is pretty wild for this guy that was kind of being ran out of town a little more than 12 months ago. Oh, yeah. I mean, like it's been a complete 180 in terms of perception and fan support for this player. Like we're 14 months, like beyond people being like, trade them for a third round pick. Get it. Like just get the contract off your books. That's all that matters. Yeah. People were legitimately saying this. They were mad inside and outside of Vancouver. Well, people were mad that they didn't take whatever offer Pittsburgh had on the table, which even if it wasn't two first round picks, it was at least a first round pick. Right. People were like, how did you not take that? Yeah. And it's like, and now he's like, oh, well, he's, he's been a far better defensive player than we've ever seen him be. And it's like, no, JT always had this in his game. And I remember we talked about it a ton last year, even when he was going through his struggles. He's, he's in the right spots. Sometimes this controller gets unplugged and he's just like staring at something and not making a move, but he's paralysis by analysis. Yeah. You know, he was in the right spots a lot of times and things were crumbling down all around the Canucks organization at the time and JT was kind of the guy that was trying to hold it all together and it wasn't really working out. But now you're seeing with Rick Tockett and a structure being put in place, you're seeing the best version of JT Miller that he's had in his career and he is potentially going to have a top five season in Canucks history by point scored. You know, you can argue, was Daniel Sedine's season better? I mean, sure. You can argue that. I'm not going to, I'm not going to fight you with it. But as far as points scored, it could be a top five season in Canucks history. And it's, it's just remarkable hearing him go out on the road and there's people chanting JT Miller at, at Mallet Arena. It's a wild 180 from where we were 14 months. Yeah. And to your point, he's always had that ability. I mean, he's had like, so his first year in Vancouver, he was a two-way demon on the wing. Right? Like he was such a. You got Salke votes. He did. He was an absolute monster all over the ice, right? Like offensively, defensively along the walls, four checking wise, and he scored a ton plus the physicality, just a power winger game at a high level. And then the North Division year was like chaotic year, right? And then he had a nine-nine point season. Yeah. And during parts of that season, playing center, he looked like a good two-way center too. And maybe not, you know, a Salke caliber, but like can hold his own. And then it fell off a cliff, you know, at last year at the beginning of the year, and then when Talkett came back, you know, all kind of got reverted. Now, I think it is fair to say that maybe this is the best hockey he's played under Talkett, and he give the overall environment a lot of credit. But the nine-nine-point season, he played most of that at center. Yeah. And when he got red-hot in the second half of the season, he was crushing his match-ups. He was carrying guys with him. Yeah. Like Podkolzen and Besser were playing with him, that when Podkolzen broke out and finished that season strong and ended up with what, 16 goals on the year or something like that, 14 goals. And, you know, he was playing with JT and JT had glowing things to say about him at the end of that season. But JT was an incredible engine for this team during that Boudreau run. Yeah. And obviously, like the rest of the team under Talkett, they found a different level when it comes to their details, you know, defensively, but also like how they play the maturity and how they play, right? Like, there has been progress made by JT Miller. It's been remarkable. 96 points on the year. It would be a shock if he didn't get to triple digits and has a chance to catch Daniel Sedine and be a top five point scoring season in Canucks history. More to come on Canucks Central. [BLANK_AUDIO]
