Preseason Game 1: versus San Jose (3-2 Loss)

Two goals on sixteen shots... not going to cut it!  What is it with Vancouver teams dating back to last season not shooting the puck a lot?  You have to shoot the puck in order to score goals.

Here are my Canucks 3 stars:

1. Eddie Lack
2. Frank Corrado
3. Hunter Shinkaruk

Honorable mention: Yannick Weber

I feel that Eddie Lack played a very strong game in net.  He was poise and made some very athletic saves using his new robotic hip.  His only downfall of the night was his rebound control - he let some very juicy rebounds go which almost led to some more goals for the Sharks.  The first goal for the Sharks was set up by a faceoff loss by Bo Horvat, and a poor clearing attempt by the Hamhuis/Corrado defensive pairing.  It is hard to fault Lack for this goal.  The second goal he let up he never saw as he was screened by Andrew Alberts on the play, so it is hard to blame him on that one.  This was a good debut for Lack making 25 saves on the night.

Frank Corrado logged over 24 minutes of ice time and had a very sound defensive game.  It was interesting to see him being used on the powerplay unit.  I would like to see him get some powerplay time once the season rolls around.  He could give the Canucks another right handed shot that they could use at the point.  I was impressed by how much bigger Corrado looks on the ice this season.  He looks like he has added about 20 pounds of muscle.  I do not remember him being that big when he was in the lineup during last season's playoffs.  I believe he stands a good chance to make the Canucks roster for this upcoming season.

Hunter Shinkaruk may be the flashiest prospect Vancouver has in the cupboard.  While he looked a little hesitant to start the game, I feel that he got better as the game went on.  He drove play down the ice and took some hits to make plays.  His top shelf game tying goal on Alex Stalock is a goal scorer's goal.  He used his feet and squared up in order to put the puck top shelf.  He also used his feet as a diversion against the Sharks defense in order to fake a possible cross ice pass in the crease.

Yannick Weber deserves an honorable mention for his underrated defensive play.  He will get some games this year as the #6 defensemen and be of service to the Canucks as another powerplay guy.  He is a smooth skater who is not overly fast but it very good positionally.  He will be a nice addition to the bottom defensive pairing for the Canucks.

Next up is the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night... my coaching advice to the Canucks is this: SHOOT THE PUCK!

Here is Hunter Shinkaruk's goal from last night... sweet moves

Until next time, stay classy! -George