Latest news with #KieferSherwood
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canucks: Trading Vasily Podkolzin wasn't bad. Not drafting Matt Boldy wasn't good
Vasily Podkolzin is in the Stanley Cup Final. It's a testament to second-chance tenacity for the affable winger, who initially teased of potential with the Vancouver Canucks, but struggled to find consistency in decision-making and finish. He beat himself up mentally and was demoted to Abbotsford of the AHL, where he rebuilt his game and confidence. Somebody obviously noticed. One school of thought is did the Canucks give up on the winger too fast by trading him to the Edmonton Oilers last August for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft? The answer is no. They got what they could for Podkolzin, who had two assists in 19 games last season and 15 goals in 44 AHL outings, which seldom equates to NHL success. And Podkolzin wouldn't have been waver-exempt this season on a club that added wingers. Third-line menace Kiefer Sherwood led the NHL in hits the season with 462 and had a career-high 19 goals on a bargain US$1.5 million salary cap hit. He is 30 but is everything the Canucks need in that lineup position to push, lead by example, and also be a key penalty-kill component. Podkolzin has become a serviceable third-liner for the Oilers, but that's not the career projection for any 10th overall pick. He did manage eight goals and 16 assists this season in 82 games, and has had effective playoff playmaking moments, but where does he project? 'He's hard on the forecheck, he's able to make a nice pass on the breakout and goes to the net when it's in the offensive zone,' said encouraged Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. Podkolzin had three head coaches in Vancouver — Travis Green, Bruce Boudreau, Rick Tocchet — and systems varied as much as expectations. Green and Tocchet were tough, Boudreau was encouraging. Maybe it's why departed bench boss Tocchet called Podkolzin a bull and a moose. He wasn't quite sure what he had. 'If he plays predictable hockey, he'll be good,' said Tocchet. 'If he knows exactly where the puck is going, that's where the moose comes in. If he's waiting to go, he's standing around. And he'll be late everywhere. He needs to be aggressive and not read the play after it happens.' At 23, age is on Podkolzin's side, and so is understanding career ascension is seldom a straight line. He could have pouted when demoted by the Canucks last season but found needed perspective. 'The first two weeks were really hard,' Podkolzin told Postmedia. 'You start thinking too much. 'What should I do? What's happening?' I had two ways to go. Give up or work. It was good for me to get AHL games to remember who you are and start appreciating.' A more important and pressing query is what were the Canucks thinking at the Rogers Arena draft table in 2019? There must have a been debate. They passed on enticing options — especially with a bumper crop of U.S. National Development Team prospects accounting for three of the first nine picks and seven of the first 15 — but made the surprise selection of Podkolzin. It was somewhat stunning because highly-coveted USNTDP right-winger Matt Boldy was sitting there and taken two picks later by the Minnesota Wild. After his rookie season of 39 points (15-24) in 47 games, compared to 26 points (14-12) for Podkolzin in 79 games, Boldy took off. He had 31, 29 and 27 goals respectively the following three seasons and point totals of 63, 69 and 73. That's nearly a point-per-game pace of 244 in 285 games, the true measure of potency and consistency plus future promise. Boldy became a first-liner for the Wild, was on the U.S. roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off and could warrant Olympic team consideration. Team scouting efficiency is a pick piling up 200 career NHL games for its club. Podkolzin had 137 here and Boldy already has 285 with the Wild. The Canucks have had limited success with drafting forwards 10th overall. They got three successive 20-goal seasons from 1975 pick Rick Blight. They also traded rookie Cody Hodgson, a 2008 selection, after he amassed 16 goals in 63 games in 2011-12. The kicker in all this what-could-have-been hindsight is the current status of Canucks unrestricted right-winger Brock Boeser. He will test the market July 1 and could leave a considerable scoring void, unless he pivots back to the Canucks, which is hard to fathom. After a concussion, too much drama, odd management optics at the trade deadline, and still managing 25 goals, he may need a change of scenery. Boeser, 28, is looking for term and salary and there's a gap between a five-year offer and the seven he covets. The money isn't as big a stumbling block as term. AFP Analytics projects Boeser could get a six-year deal at $8.5 million annually in free agency. The Canucks offered $8 million so the gap isn't huge. If that's still too rich, free agent Nikolaj Ehlers could get six years at $8.1 million annually, if he doesn't re-sign with the Winnipeg Jets. bkuzma@ Abbotsford Canucks recap: Artūrs Šilovs does it again, Abby wins 1-0 to go up 2-0 in series What the Abbotsford Canucks' strong AHL season may mean in the long run
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Canucks: Trading Vasily Podkolzin wasn't bad. Not drafting Matt Boldy wasn't good
Article content One school of thought is did the Canucks give up on the winger too fast by trading him to the Edmonton Oilers last August for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft? The answer is no. They got what they could for Podkolzin, who had two assists in 19 games last season and 15 goals in 44 AHL outings, which seldom equates to NHL success. And Podkolzin wouldn't have been waver-exempt this season on a club that added wingers. Third-line menace Kiefer Sherwood led the NHL in hits the season with 462 and had a career-high 19 goals on a bargain US$1.5 million salary cap hit. He is 30 but is everything the Canucks need in that lineup position to push, lead by example, and also be a key penalty-kill component. Podkolzin has become a serviceable third-liner for the Oilers, but that's not the career projection for any 10th overall pick. He did manage eight goals and 16 assists this season in 82 games, and has had effective playoff playmaking moments, but where does he project?
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Canucks 2024–25 Memorable Matches 4: December 16, 2024
Dec 16, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Danton Heinen (20) and Vancouver Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood (44) celebrate Sherwood's third goal of the game against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images Welcome back to another Memorable Match from the Vancouver Canucks' 2024–25 season. Last time, we looked at the team's match against the Detroit Red Wings on December 1. This week, we'll take a look at Kiefer Sherwood's December 16 domination of the Colorado Avalanche. Advertisement Latest From THN's Vancouver Canucks Site: Why Lack Of Head Coaching Experience Should Not Deter The Canucks From Hiring Manny Malhotra Vancouver Canucks At The 2025 IIHF World Championship: May 12 Report: Canucks Projected To Narrow Head Coaching Search This Week The 2024–25 season was a spectacular one for Sherwood, who hit career-highs in goals (19), assists (21), points (40), and more. His NHL record-breaking hit total on the season has been spoken about at length, earning him the fan-voted title of the team's unsung hero. The Canucks were high on Sherwood long before they signed him in free-agency, noting that their first-round playoff series against the Nashville Predators opened their eyes to his skills. Advertisement Early on in the season, Sherwood got off to a bang, expressing his confidence in possibly breaking the NHL season hit record. By December 15, Sherwood was already at eight goals, six assists, and 179 hits. On December 16, Sherwood broke his career-high in goals scored in one season. Previously, he'd scored 10 in 68 games with Nashville in the 2023–24 season. On the 16th, he scored his first NHL hat trick to set a new personal record. His three goals propelled the team past the Avalanche, whose only goal came from Valeri Nichuskin. Sherwood's effort in this game resulted in fans starting a 'Kief-er Sher-wood' chant. After the game, he'd discussed how hearing the chant was 'a pretty special honour. 'I was trying to take it in,' he said at the time. 'I really appreciate the fan support. Obviously, passion is something that Vancouver is known for, and that's pretty cool. I will definitely remember it.' Advertisement Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golden Knights 4, Canucks 1: One last letdown in a sorry season gone astray
It was fitting that Wednesday's 2024-25 season closer for the Vancouver Canucks was a joyless, dour affair. In a season where very little went right, where most of the hockey was tepid and uninspiring, of course the final game of the year would be exactly that. The Canucks lost 4-1 to the team that unseated them as division champions, the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas are headed to the playoffs. They also dressed a minimal lineup. They started their third-string goalie. They had ex-Canuck and No. 8 defenceman Ben Hutton playing his 11th game of the season and his second game in two nights. And they still won in a cruise. All three of their goals came from turning the juice on at just the right moment: Victor Olofsson picking the top corner on a rush late in the second on Kevin Lankinen, Pavel Dorofeyev sniping a similar goal but on a pretty cold Nikita Tolopilo — in for Lankinen after a muscle strain — and then Jack Eichel beautifully tipping in a point shot moments after taking a hard hit from Kiefer Sherwood. The Knights are built to win. The Canucks thought they were going to be a team like that. Turns out they're still a long way off. 'A team like Vegas that's what you strive for,' head coach Rick Tocchet said post-game. 'They wear you down.' That said, even if the results weren't there, Tocchet said he saw a lot of good things from the young players they'd gotten a look at the last couple weeks. 'The first thing you look for is effort. Right away. I think that's the easiest one to pinpoint,' Tocchet said. 'And then there's digesting a game plan and can they execute? Or can they retain the information and apply the next game? Things like that you look for.' Another telling fact about this game: the Canucks had just 14 shots on goal with two minutes to play. We get this game means nothing. But there are still fans in the building paying a lot of money to be there. They get the players to praise the fans for their support — surely they could show show sweat on the ice and find more shots. The remarkable thing in this was there were 13 shots between the two teams in the first 8:39 of the game. It was loose off the top. You thought it was going to be at least an entertaining evening. It didn't deliver. 'The microcosm is when we have the goalie pulled. We got three guys not moving in the middle of the ice,' Tocchet said. 'Sometimes that happens. And we got to go through that barrier.' Missing the playoffs was tough to swallow for Kiefer Sherwood, whose motor kept running to the end. He kept throwing hits, kept making smart plays. He was exactly what the Canucks wanted him to be: an impactful bottom-six winger. Of course, he made an impact in the playoffs last year for Nashville against the Canucks and figured switching jerseys would take him back to the playoffs. But it didn't. 'Definitely humbling,' he reflected about missing the playoffs this spring. 'You don't realize how hard it is until you're in it, and you're thrown a lot of adversity. You only get so many cracks at it as a player.' 'That was something special be part of on the other side,' he said of last spring's playoff series between the Predators and Canucks. 'Like I came across the video today of that 2011 series, and just got chills watching it, because here's so much love for the game that everyone breathes here, and you just want to give them something to keep cheering for.' Cole Schwindt nailed the empty netter. It's his first career NHL goal. This was his 49th career game. He's played for Florida and Calgary as well – and was an extra piece in both the Noah Hanifin and Jonathan Huberdeau trades. Kevin Lankinen was replaced in the third period, to some surprise. He was dealing with a muscle strain. 'He pinched something. He just felt uncomfortable. Didn't want to risk anything,' Tocchet explained. During the second period, the Canucks put up a promo about winning a trip to Oregon. The crowd loudly booed. We all know why. For all the things that went wrong this year, one thing the Canucks nailed night in and night out was recognizing a child who has faced health battles as their Canucks for Kids Fund Star of the Game. It's how sports should be. Uplifting. Supportive. Inspiring. pjohnston@ Canucks: Tyler Myers knows Rick Tocchet is vital for maintaining grind to improve Canucks: With no playoff push, the season ends with a whimper
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Avalanche, Canucks meet with both trying to improve playoff positioning
April 9 - The Colorado Avalanche have a slim chance to overtake the Dallas Stars for second place in the Central Division, and they have Vancouver to thank. The Canucks rallied from a three-goal deficit in the final minute to beat Dallas in overtime Tuesday night, leaving the door ajar. Colorado (48-27-4, 100 points) trails the Stars by six points and hopes Dallas loses its last four games in regulation. The Avalanche would need to win their last three games, starting with Thursday night at home against Vancouver. The Canucks (36-29-13, 85 points) still has something to play for, too. They trail Minnesota by six points in the wild-card standings entering Wednesday's games. Tuesday's comeback win kept their postseason hopes alive. Vancouver became the first team to overcome a three-goal deficit in the final minute of regulation. "It's crazy the resilience," said Kiefer Sherwood, who won it with 1:16 left in overtime. "I've never been part of a team that has so many crazy comebacks, and so much roller coaster come-from-behinds. It says a lot about the group and the quality of players. When adversity hits, we just dig in and guys are able to execute and make stuff happen. "We'll feel good about this but then we've got to move on and start to prepare for the next one. We know each and every game is crucial right now." Center Pius Suter tied Tuesday's game with two goals in the final 30 seconds to give him 24 for the season, which is third on Vancouver. Brock Boeser (49 points) and Jake DeBrusk (45 points) lead the team with 25 goals apiece while defenseman Quinn Hughes' 74 points (16 goals, 56 assists) sets the pace for the Canucks. Colorado also rallied to win Tuesday night, although not as dramatically, beating Vegas 3-2 in a shootout. The two points clinched at least third place and marked the fourth straight season the Avalanche have reached 100 points. They know the chances are remote they can catch the Stars and the last three games could be meaningless in regards to playoff positioning, but effort is important at this point. "We're still doing some good things," coach Jared Bednar said. "It seems like we're having a little trouble getting going for these games, which I understand." Nathan MacKinnon is in a tight battle with Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov for the Art Ross Trophy, and his assist on Colorado's first goal Tuesday gives him 116 points (32 goals, 84 assists). Cale Makar is second on the team in scoring with 91 points (30 goals, 61 assists) and Martin Necas, who was acquired from Carolina on Jan. 24, has 81 points (27 goals, 54 assists). Necas has 11 goals in 27 games with the Avalanche since coming over in the Mikko Rantanen trade. Colorado center Ross Colton missed Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day, but the larger focus is on captain Gabe Landeskog playing his first professional game in nearly three years. Landeskog, who has missed the last three seasons with a right knee injury that has required four different procedures, is on a three-game conditioning assignment with the Colorado Eagles to help determine if he is a viable option for the postseason.
