A Look at Andrew Alberts

The Canucks went out looking for another defenceman, especially with the uncertainty that looms around Mitchell’s return, and came back from the deadline party with Andrew Alberts now formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Take a look at the video’s below. He’ll be the first real threat of size the Canucks have had this season, and come the playoffs that’ll help when other teams try running Luongo to throw him off his game.

Albert is a big boy. He’s 6 foot 5 and around 230 lbs. He’s 4th in the league in hits, leads a horrible team in plus/minus and is one of the league’s top shot blockers. The Canucks need size, something that will really help come playoff time. The fact that he’s one of the top shot blockers also is an positive considering Ryan Johnson the Canucks shot blocking machine from last season, has looked out of sync at best this year.

The Canucks will be Albert’s 4th team after he’s spent time in Boston, Carolina and Philadelphia. This’ll be his first West Coast team and I think he’ll really get to use his size as the Western Conference is a whole other beast. When you’re playing teams like San Jose, Calgary or even Chicago you need that aspect of size and it’s clear players like Hordichuk aren’t working out. While Rypien is the best hitter and fighter pound for pound, the Canucks needed size and I think this is the first big player the Canucks have really had since Gillis came in. Alberts should fit in right at home and is a great replacement for Mitchell who’s as good as gone for the rest of the season at this point.