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Time of India
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Basile Sansonnens Memorial Cup performance raises questions for Vancouver Canucks
Canucks prospect Basile Sansonnens faces crucial test at the 2025 Memorial Cup (Image via: Getty Images) When the puck dropped to start the 2025 Memorial Cup, all eyes were on Vancouver Canucks prospect Basile Sansonnens, who plays defense for the Rimouski Océanic. Expectations were high for Sansonnens to make a strong impression, but his performance left many fans and analysts puzzled. Paired with 20-year-old defenseman Jack Martin, Sansonnens struggled throughout the game as Rimouski fell 4-3 to the Medicine Hat Tigers. His final plus/minus rating was a disappointing -2, raising questions about his readiness for the next level. A tough start for Canucks prospect Basile Sansonnens PATRIK ALLVIN MAKES A VERY MYSTERIOUS DECISION… VANCOUVER CANUCKS DRAFT BASILE SANSONNENS Sansonnens' debut at the Memorial Cup wasn't just below expectations, it was concerning. The 19-year-old defenseman appeared hesitant and out of sync for much of the game, often trailing the play. For a player who is expected to be a future part of the Canucks' blue line, this was a stark reminder that potential alone doesn't guarantee success. Adding to the drama, the Medicine Hat Tigers featured familiar connections to the Canucks organization. Former Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins is now coaching Medicine Hat, and Ryder Ritchie, son of ex-Canuck Byron Ritchie, was a standout performer. Ryder scored a goal and took four shots on net, showing a level of confidence and composure that contrasted sharply with Sansonnens' shaky night. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo What's next for Basile Sansonnens and the Rimouski Océanic? After the loss, Sansonnens and his Rimouski teammates have a day off before facing the London Knights. The Knights, making their second straight Memorial Cup appearance, boast a roster packed with NHL-drafted talent and are hungry for a championship. Sansonnens will need to quickly bounce back if he wants to prove he belongs among the top prospects in the tournament. The pressure is definitely building for Sansonnens, with Canucks fans watching every move. One tough game can be forgiven, but continued struggles could hurt his chances of standing out in Vancouver. The Memorial Cup is a place where players make their names or lose them. Also Read: Best NHL Bets and Props for Game 2 tonight: Why backing Oilers as underdogs vs. Stars could pay off big With so much talent and competition in this tournament, Sansonnens is at a crucial crossroads. It's a make-or-break moment, and how he responds could shape the future of his NHL career. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
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
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rangers 5, Canucks 3: A drunk hockey game puts playoff hopes on edge
You gotta get these ones done. That's the simple truth about the Vancouver Canucks' loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. The Canucks were without question the better team. They were all over the Rangers. But they couldn't put the game away early and then didn't bear down quite enough as the Rangers never went away. The Canucks were up 1-0 after one but couldn't find a second goal and ended up losing because they gave up four goals in the third, including an empty-netter. Four goals on six shots to be clear. And of course the empty netter was scored by ex-Canuck J.T. Miller, the ultimate salt in the wound. Not only is he a player the Canucks desperately miss, but the Canucks also lost Pettersson to an injury. Listen Igor Shesterkin is a great goalie. But he's become fallible. He's not having a great season. The Canucks should have had more than three goals in this game. They probably should have led 2-0 after two. Shesterkin is some of the story, but shooting luck is surely some of it too. At the other end of the rink, Kevin Lankinen wasn't bad and he had little chance on a couple shots, but did he give himself the best chance to stop any of those? This is a rough shot chart, either way: the Rangers generated little and still scored four goals. Basically all the prediction models saw this game as a 20-point swing in the Canucks' playoff hopes: a win would boost their chances 10 percentage points or so, a loss would drop them 10 percentage points or so. This was a bad loss. Realistically the Canucks need to win the remaining three games on their road trip. It's hard to win when your No. 1 centre only plays 6:43 at five on five. Elias Pettersson suffered some kind of arm or shoulder injury in the second period Saturday and barely played after. On a team that's now very thin in the middle, losing any centre would be bad enough. But to lose your best centre, who has been highly impactful of late, was a brutal blow. Brock Boeser's value has been very evident the last week. Sure, he was in a brutal slump, but now that he seems to have found his game again and his ability to score huge goals at gut-check time is once again highly evident. He has five goals in three games and they've all been key. pjohnston@ Canucks: Elias Pettersson is ready to face off against J.T. Miller Canucks mailbag: Fans weigh in on J.T. Miller's legacy
