A Canucks vs. Stars preview
I answered some questions from Richard Durrett from ESPN Dallas and in advance of tonight’s game between our Vancouver Canucks and the Dallas Stars.
Q: Which players should Stars fans keep an eye on during Sunday’s game? Maybe there’s a player or two that doesn’t get a lot of press, but could have a solid season?
A: Mason Raymond is off to a good start. He’s a speedy winger who, over the summer, has also gained weight and some confidence to get to the net.
Another player is Steve Bernier. With Daniel out, Bear will get a chance to play alongside Henrik and Alex Burrows on the top line.
The rest of the preview is here.
It will be interesting to see how the Canucks, currently 11th in scoring in the NHL, will cope without Daniel Sedin. The choice to call-up Guillaume Desbiens is a curious one because of an abbreviated preseason, though from the sounds of things, Desbiens fully deserves the opportunity.
“I talked to (Manitoba head coach Scott Arneil and GM Craig Heisinger) and both of them said Desbiens had been their best player at both ends of the rink,” Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault said. “They played last night, and I think Grabner got a couple of goals. But it was only his first game where he played pretty good. And it was Alex Bolduc’s first game back from injury.
“So, out of the guys who had been there since the beginning, Desbiens had done the best.”
Like Alex Burrows a couple of years ago, Desbiens was the Manitoba Moose’s feel-good story last year. As the first chapter of his NHL career starts tonight, here’s hoping his story writes similar to Burr’s.
