Halford & Brough in the Morning - Will Tom Willander Be Playing NHL Games Sometime Soon?

Episode Date: April 1, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat with The Hockey News NHL prospects analyst Tony Ferrari (1:57) about what Canucks fans can expect from Tom Willander and when we might see him in the lineup, plus the boys discuss the potential trades the 'Nucks could put together this off-season to try and add to their center depth (27:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

701 what is this? 701 on a Tuesday. We forgot it was Tuesday. Because David Amber was on, we thought it was Euro Dance Wednesday. Euro Square Dance? What is this? I don't know. It's awful. 702 now on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday everybody. Halford Brough Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts.

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We are in hour two of the program. Tony Ferrari, prospect writer from the hockey news, is gonna join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominack at jason.mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at Jason.Mortgage.

We are a company live from the Kintec studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics working together with you in step. So the Frozen Four is set and that means that a bunch of guys are going to be chasing their collegiate hockey dreams and a bunch of other ones who aren't in the Frozen Four get to chase their professional dreams because they've signed with NHL teams. To break down everything that's happened, been a flurry of activity over the last little bit, we are joined now by Tony Ferrari from the Hockey News here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning Tony, how are you? Not too bad. I really appreciate the upbeat intro music I got.

Thanks. Yeah, that was specifically for you. And we're never going to play it again. As a matter of fact, okay, I want to. That's all yours forever now. You can have it. So, you know, I want to, I want to start with a guy that has not signed an NHL deal and is going to be playing in the Frozen Four and is going to be monitored pretty closely by the Vancouver Canucks fans. And that's the defenseman, Tom

Willander at BU. They are on their way to the Frozen 4 and I was flipping through your article talking about the prospects to keep an eye on at the Frozen 4 and it's funny because there's a lot of them, not just in the tournament but on this BU team. I think I counted last night and there's upwards of 12 guys that have been drafted by NHL clubs so Willander and a lot of other guys will be paid attention to over the next little bit. But what can Canucks fans expect from Willander if and when he eventually makes the jump to the National Hockey League? And what are you gonna be looking from him

at this tournament? He's an interesting guy because the draw has always been his skating and his size and just the work ethic that he has he's a guy that always puts in a ton of effort at both ends of the ice and you're not gonna get a ton of offense from him I think at the pro level but he's been a pretty decent producer this year at the NCAA level he had 23 points in 37 games and yeah like you said he's likely to sign once BU season comes to an end and that might not be till mid-April because, well, he's probably going to be in the final, I think. The way that the tournament

is shaping up, at least, it looks like BU is going to be going to the final. They're playing Penn State, who's a very good team. So obviously hockey's played on the ice, not on the stat sheet, but it really is a really interesting game between those two because Willander is going to be tasked with playing a lot of defensive minutes. He's the defensive guy on that team and his ability to move the puck and just seamlessly transition. Um, I think that's the big thing for him is so many guys are good defensively and then they're throwing the puck around like as a grenade.

He's the guy that is able to stop the other team defensively and then make that first pass so, so efficiently. So I think that's what you're looking for. I'm in, that's what you're going to expect at the NHL level. Like I said, the offense may not be there in a high degree, but in Vancouver, you've got Clint East for that. How far has he come in his two years in college? It's really interesting because he has come quite a far

way in my opinion. I was always a big fan of him because the tools were always there. He's a guy that I looked at and I went man, if everything kind of works out there could be a really high-end two-way guy here. And while I get that the offense isn't ever going to be elite, he's more than capable of playing offensively in the offensive

zone moving the puck around and the defensive game has just continued to grow the way he leverages his mobility to cut off angles and just square guys off to the corner and so many times you see him playing defense in transition and the attacker comes in he's got a couple lanes and then he finds himself in the corner with very limited options so I I think Will Anders' progress over the last couple of years has been pretty impressive and I think Vancouver is going to be pretty stoked with him as soon as next season probably. Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. I know this is really tough to decipher from watching kids playing in college, but how quickly is he an NHL

or is he the type of guy that might need some NHL time or do you think if the Canucks have a spot for him, he'll be able to take it? I always recommend the college guys, unless they're the elite of the elite, the Madsen Celebrini's, the Adam Fantilles, that they get some NHL time just because the adjustment to pro hockey is pretty big and at the end of the day, he's going to be playing more games than he ever has next year most likely. So I think it wouldn't shock me if he does sign, he's able to get a game or two, if that's even possible with the Canucks schedule at the end of the season, just to burn off a year of his eligibility because I mean, there's with the rising cap,

it might be a good idea for the Canucks to burn off a year and then sign them to a longer deal earlier on. But this guy isn't going to have to be rushed. I think the Canucks are going to be smart with it. If he wins a job in camp, I think that's great, but I don't think the Canucks are forcing themselves to put them in the lineup anytime soon. Is he physically mature enough for the NHL? I think he's physically mature enough, he's mobile enough. It's just going to be about the speed of the game.

I think that's the big thing. There's two elements of speed in hockey. The speed that you skate with and the speed that you think with. And I think the speed that you, the mental speed of the game is always the bigger adjustment, especially for defensemen coming out of the college ranks because as much as I love the NCAA game,

it's not the AH game, it's not the AHL, it's not the NHL. It's certainly better than junior hockey and guys have transitioned a little bit more smoothly from it, but it's still quite a big adjustment. And is that like, you know, going back for the puck, you got a four check coming in on you real quick and you got to get your head up and make a

decision real quick. Is that the type of thing you're talking about? Yeah, it's the going back to the forecheck or you have a puck freely in the defensive zone. In college, you have that extra one second to scan the entire ice and hit the best option. In the NHL so many times, you see a guy have to make just the quickest play, the easy play, the efficient play, unless you are truly the elite of the elite just the quickest play, the easy play, the efficient play, unless you are truly the elite of the elite, like a Quinn Hughes,

because you don't have that extra time. So I think the guy's forechecking in on them, the guy's just closing off angles. It's just a faster game in general. So making that decision just a split second earlier is always the big thing for these guys. When you watched Quinn in college, did you ever think, like, I'm sure everyone thought he was

going to be good, but he wasn't the first overall pick, in fact, he fell all the way to what, seventh in the draft. Did you ever think he would be as good as he is right now? Quinn, like so many other offensive defensemen, whether we go to Lane Hudson or Cale LaCar or whoever you want to bring up, you always went,

man, like, if, if it works, he's going to be collecting norruses in his career. Uh, if it works, there's, there's going to be a lot of high praise. He's going to be a team's number one or two defenseman. Did I ever think he would be arguably the best defenseman in the NHL? I honestly, I didn't because that's just such a high bar to have. So I think with, with Quinn, just, he always had that mental quickness. He always had the physical quickness.

It was going to be about physically withstanding the NHL and then just being able to pull off some of the stuff that he does pull off the deeks, the dangles, the shiftiness that he has at the blue line, um, all of those things. And we've seen even Quinn's had some struggles, especially earlier in his career with that stuff, doing a little too much. But the last few years specifically, we've seen him really start to just attack and assert himself in the offensive zone, even more than just being that uber creative, uber skilled guy.

He's asserting himself. And I think that's the big difference for a guy like that. On the subject of diminutive defensemen, we've seen what Lane Hudson's done in Montreal this year. So his younger brother Cole is on that BU team with Will Lander. What's the outlook for him at the NHL level? Because I know that he's had a terrific year as well. It feels like half the NHL teams are going to be watching this BU team because they're just absolutely loaded with draft picks. Yeah, they have basically a prospect from seemingly everybody, it seems. It's a really loaded team, like you said. For Cole, it's going to be really interesting to see him come to the NHL level because I

think he doesn't have the upper end, like elite, elite creativity the way his brother does, but he's a better skater, I think. While Lane certainly isn't a bad skater there are moments where his straight line speed specifically it has been an issue at times but he's smart enough to kind of deviate from the plan and let the guy get the puck in and strip the puck off them he does all these things that so many smaller defense would have to do Cole is a bit little a little bit bigger a little bit stronger a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, a little bit faster, but he

doesn't have that upper end creativity the way Lane does. So it'll be interesting to see how he transitions, putting the expectation of coming in and being a Calder trophy favorite possibly when he does join the NHL is a little bit lofty, but he's going to be a really interesting player, especially on that Washington team who seemingly had every player at the World Juniors, every player in college hockey, just absolutely dominant. And they're chasing down the president's trophy to boot. Well, do you think Ryan Leonard's going to be a difference maker

for them in the playoffs? I think he is. I think he's going to fit in perfectly for what that team needs right now. He's going to go in there, what that team needs right now. He's going to go in there playing the middle middle or bottom six. This is a guy that has the tenacity, the physicality to play up and down the lineup. He he's a guy that everyone talks about that. He's a bull in the China shop. He's going to, he's a powerful, he goes in, he puts his shoulder down.

He's attacking like an NFL running back attacks a pack, uh, a linebacker. He really does just take on the game head on, but this is a guy that has so much more skill than I think anyone gives him credit for as well. The guy go back to his draft year and there's always one play that sticks out where he absolutely bowls over a defender at the blue line and then he dangles another one going into it towards the goalie and then absolutely embarrasses the netminder on Adik as well and scores. He has that ability. Will he do that at

the NHL immediately? Probably not, but this Washington Capitalist team doesn't need him to do that right away. He's going to be able to beat that ball in the china shop and then when he does break out that skill, you're going to go, oh, that was such a clutch goal in game six and you're really going to appreciate what he brings to the game. Hey Tony, I wanted to ask you just about your

opinions on kind of the shifting landscape of junior hockey versus the NCAA. Do you have any broad thoughts on how this is all going to shake out? Is there going to be an obvious first choice for top prospects? Is it going to be the WHL or is it going to be the NCAA? Who's going to take advantage of the shifting landscape? I think the NCAA is the big winner here. But with that said, I think you're going to see some of the players that used to go to the USHL, used to play junior A in Canada, not take that route

anymore. They're going to go to the OHL, to the WHL. They're going to play their first few years there. And then they're going to take the step into the NCAA for their draft year or the draft plus one year. And that's when they're going to continue that development. So in general, I think this is a much better development path to these players. It allows them to take that step up after they, like, for for instance a guy like Michael Misa who there's been rumors all year that he's gonna go to the NCAA nothing's been confirmed nothing's been

like found it or anything like that but the rumors have been there and I think he'd be a perfect option for this. He went into the OHL this year led the entire CHL in goal scoring was one of the second in the CHL in goal scoring story led the CHL in scoring scoring story led the CHL in scoring absolutely dominant in the OHL this year as a draft eligible player he doesn't really have much else to prove. Go to University of Michigan or University of Minnesota or BU, BC and take that step next year so that you don't have to take that step right into the NHL. So many times we see these top three top four guys kind of be forced into the NHL.

Look at Jack Hughes, a guy that's been absolutely dominant in the NHL at times when he's healthy. But that first couple of years, it was like, man, like he's really struggling from night to night. One night he's fantastic. The next night he looks like he's overwhelmed by the physicality of the pace and everything. So I think taking that kind of mid step to the NCAA will benefit a lot of these guys in a big way. And for the CHL, the WHL, OHL and Q, I think you're going to see younger players get more

opportunities because now the guys that are 19 that were once the stars of the league, they may be moving on to the NCAA and they may be opening up roster spots for these 15, 16-year-olds, early 16, 17-year-olds that are coming in and giving them even more opportunity. And more opportunity means more playing time and more development. So I think overall it's better for the development of hockey and we're going to see an impact in the game, especially when it comes to skill and NHL rightness for a lot of these prospects. Do you think there's any way we'll ever see a change to that rule where, you know, if you come out of the CHL, it's either the NHL or the CHL and the

AHL isn't an option? Because I've always just thought that's, it's not good for the player. Like I off the top of my, I'm not a prospects experts by any means, but you know, I think about a guy like Kevin Korchinski with the Blackhawks, right? Like they basically had a choice to either send them back to the CHL or keep them in the NHL.

They kept them in the NHL and by all accounts, it did not go well. And then they had to send them back to the AHL the next year. To me, that's not good for the player. No, I agree with you. I think there has been some discussion amongst the NHL teams and stuff that

they are willing to lower that age a year and allow the 19 year olds to go into the AHL and develop there because I do think that would be a big benefit for these guys. Look at Shane Wright a couple years ago. That guy was absolutely gifted to the Kraken and then his development kind of stunted because they were forced to play him in the NHL. Then he was back in the AHL for a conditioning stint. And then he went to the world juniors and then he went back to the OHL. The guy played for like five teams that year. And it's just, you're not going to develop properly when you're playing for five teams in a year. It's, it's tough on a kid.

He's moving around a lot. There's no stability. Um, and he was the guy that had the advantage of having the exceptional status here. And that meant he was able to go had the advantage of having the exceptional status here and that meant he was able to go to the HL a year earlier. So these guys that don't have that have to play even longer in the OHL or the WHL, the QMJHL. So I think it would be wise for the NHL and the CHL to find an amendment

to the agreement and lower that age by a year, but it's a business and these guys are all trying to make money as well. But with the threat of the NCAA, I think more CHL teams are considering being a little bit more open to this. Just to say, yeah, our guy went right from the Barry Coles to the pros. What is the CHL's main selling point? If you're trying to recruit a guy who's like, I don't know if I want to do NCAA or CHL, is it the amount

of games that you play? Because I would have think maybe that's an advantage in college. You play fewer games and you get to go to college and have a good experience there. But what does the CHL sell versus the NCAA? The CHL is still arguably the most competitive junior age league. And for guys that are 16, 17, even 18, maybe you're not ready for college yet.

So obviously you're not done high school for many of those guys. So you still have to finish that part of your life before you get to that college age. You get to those years where you're ready to go to school and stuff. So I think the biggest thing is it's still the most competitive junior league in the world. I still think that although maybe there is a little too many teams with 60 CHL teams across Canada, but you're staying closer to home. So even though you're playing in Barrie, you're only two hours away from where you're home or you're playing in Caneloops, you're only a couple hours away from home. Whereas you go to college, now you're in Boston, you're from BC, that's a far distance. It's a lot for parents to travel. That's a lot for a kid to adjust to.

There's a lot of things on the personal side of life that I think the CHL offers. Just a little bit easier for some of these kids to transition to. That's why I think eventually the CHL's gonna market itself mostly to those 16, 17, 18 year olds and go come play here, play near home, get some experience where you're playing 60 plus games a year, you're competing in the

best junior league in the world, you're competing against the best players in your age group and then you can go to the NCAA, then you can go and develop even further there once you're drafted by an NHL team and maybe the NHL teams like hey we're the Colorado Avalanche, come to the University of Denver, you're drafted by an NHL team and maybe the NHL team's like, Hey, we're the Colorado Avalanche, come to the University of Denver. You're right in our backyard. We can have our hands on you a little bit more. It's a little bit of a more interesting situation that way.

So I think it'll be interesting to see how the CHL adopts to this fully, but speaking to the OHL commissioner in the summer, he was pumped about the NCAA allowing CHL as in, because he saw it as a kind of pathway to the NHL for CHL players that kind of didn't have it before. So many of these guys develop late and they go on to playing the the NCAA and they get NHL contracts out of that tons of NHL free agents come from that way. But so many CHL kids because they played in the CHL they went to to play U sports. And while U sports is a good level and everyone's going to continuously point to Logan Thompson, who

made it out from the U sports level, that's not really a traditional path. Once you get to U sports, everyone kind of sees your hockey career as stunted and that's kind of the end of the line, unless you go to Europe. So I think just opens up a path for more players in general. When you talk about late bloomers, is there

a commonality between most late bloomers? Like, does it mostly have to do with maybe they were small as a kid and they went through a growth stage or is it sometimes, you know, they actually didn't start hockey as early as some kids? Like what is the typical story with a late bloomer, if there is a typical story? I don't know if there's a typical story, but I think it's a lot of times

three factors. I think the first one is smaller guys don't get the attention because they're smaller. It's just the reality of hockey. If you're five foot eight coming out of the draft, it's not really going to be something that NHL teams are looking at. You go to college, you grow an inch or two, now you're five 11 and everyone goes, Oh, maybe it's a little bit more viable, especially when you've learned to tear up the league and you've been a guy that's learned to adapt to the size that you have. And you're learning to kind of play despite being a little bit smaller than everyone else. The other one is these guys that are small growing up and then they have a

growth spurt at 17 or 18 and they're incredibly uncoordinated. They do not know how to control their lens properly and they're just tears in the headlights sometime. But then they play those extra couple of years and they learn to kind of work with what they have and they go, Oh, I'm bigger. I can just throw this guy to the side. I have a little bit more reach when I go to Dika guy. I can make that play or I can put a little bit more leverage on a shot. So I think that's the other example. And then sometimes like you said, sometimes guys just start late or they don't play at a high level very, very early on. So it's going to be, it's a really interesting thing for late bloomers because

there is no exact science behind what makes a late bloomer. But oftentimes it's something to do with your size and your growth and just not getting opportunity when you're young. One final question. Has Michael Misa done enough to maybe take that first overall spot in the draft? I've been on Michael Misa all year as the first overall pick. He's a guy that I have absolutely loved. Last year he was playing with a shoulder injury for the entire day of the season and

everyone was kind of down on him because well he's not as explosive, he's not this, he's not that. This year he's proven everyone wrong. He's put up 130 points or something like that. Like I said, second in the CHL in goals. This is a kid that probably should have been on the world junior team. Yeah, no kidding. He's obviously dominant for Saginaw all year long. And yeah, I think Matthew Shaver is a fantastic player. I think the difference making potential that he has as a defenseman is legitimately there. And I think he's a player worth considering at number one, but what Matthew or Michael Misa has done at this point, it's just for me, that it's a near franchise level center.

You have a guy like that. You can, for instance, a Chicago draftsman or San Jose draftsman, you have the guy to play behind Badard or Mathis Elbrany for the next decade, and you have one of the better one-two punches in the NHL for that span. So I love it for either of those teams but the potential of Matthew Schaeffer will always be there because we only did get to see 30-40 games of him this year between all various competitions. So teams always need defensemen and that's why Schaeffer is going to be a little bit rated higher on some people's boards.

But I think it really is a two-horse race between those two. Tony, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We appreciate it. Enjoy the Frozen 4 and the lead up to the Stanley Cup last. Let's do this again as we get closer to the draft. Sounds good, guys. Anytime.

Yeah, thank you. That's Tony Ferrari from the hockey news here on the Hellford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. I was hoping we were going to avoid draft preview stuff because it's triggering doing it on April the 1st. Well, alas, here we are. Well, it was only the first two picks we talked

about, Matthew Schaefer. You know what? That's two picks too many. That's where the connects are picking, isn't it? Top two. Oh no. Sorry. I thought we were past this as a people, as a

society, but we're not, we're still there. We're here. Draft previews, April 1st. I like the one text we got, I was like, sigh, is there anyone good in the 14 to 18 range? Yeah, we didn't go there. Yet. I got bad news for you, Tech.

Um, we got an open segment on the other side. So text in any questions or comments into the Dunbar-Lumber text line, 650-650 Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and Renault Warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at dunbarlumber.com. We talked a lot in the first segment about the

Canucks' goaltending situation going forward. We'll see how many games Thatcher Demko plays down the stretch for the Vancouver Canucks. They only got eight games left. What do you think the Canucks should do with Thatcher Demko? The options are, explore a trade this off season, just bring them back and see what happens next

season, but then you risk letting him walk for nothing. What are your thoughts on the Canucks goaltending situation? Text it into the Dunbar Lumber text line. You're listening to the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Mick Nazar.

Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets, weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. ["Sporty Time"] Ooh, somebody is stopping. 732 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers.

They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. They can open anything you're looking for sales financing Service or parts We are in our two of the program our two is brought to you by Jason hominac from Jason dot mortgage If you love paying too much for your mortgage then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you visit them online at Jason dot. Is that you plugging in the mask? Oh, did you hear something? Is that you, though?

That's not how this, okay. No, it's not automated in this game. Yeah, I was like, damn, that's pretty impressive. All right, we got an open segment here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. You throw out a couple questions. One, pertaining to the future of Thatcher Demko, you did the Dolly Wall.

There's only three things that can happen here. He can be traded, he can be resigned, or they could keep him. Right. The Dolly Wall. The Dolly Wall trifecta, as I like to call it. So there's a bunch of texts we got in. I'm going to read a bunch of them and some of

them disagree with each other, but they all kind of make good points. Bobby from the docs, bring Demko back for sure. And if he remains healthy, then trade Lankanen. Demko is much better than Lankanen when healthy. It's a gamble and I'd roll the dice and keep Demko. I think the only issue with that plan is that Lankanen has a no move clause that kicks in soon.

Also, who trades for goalies anymore? More people should. You just, instead of training for a Lankanen, you just find a Lankanen like the Canucks did. He's in the middle of training camp. He was just sitting there, unemployed, waiting for a job. Andrew Langley texts in, I'm okay dedicating more money to goaltending. Resign Demko. When he is healthy, he plays like a top five goalie. Having Lankanen and show his body of work indicates we can rely on him to give Demko proper rest as before we couldn't.

Let building from the net out be our strength. Yeah, for me, like if the Canucks want to, if they don't want to go through a rebuild or a retool and, you know, Demko is happy to stay here, then, you know, I think that's probably their best chance of staying in the playoff race next season, considering the challenges they've got in building the forward group this off season is have two goalies that you really

feel good about and two goalies that would get proper rest. I mean, last season Demko gets overplayed, gets hurt. This season, Lankanen gets overplayed, gets hurt. This season Lankanen gets overplayed and gets like a little bit hurt. Like not as serious as the popliteus injury with Demko, but you know, Rick Dollywell's

reported that he's dealing with a hip injury and it kind of looks like it based on the way he's playing. Tatiana in Langley, does Demko really have enough trade value for us to worry about him walking for nothing when the upside of a healthy Demko and Lankton in tandem for a year outweigh whatever we could get in a trade.

I like that point. It's a good one from Tatiana. But we don't, we don't know. Vikingstad texted, I know it's highly unlikely, but if ownership saw the light even a little bit that you have to take the long-term view at least as seriously as short-term, I'd like to see Demko traded for a first round pick.

Vancouver needs to start prioritizing drafting and developing if the goal is winning a championship over just squeaking into the playoffs as pretenders once every four years. Do you think you get a first round pick for Thatcher Demko? No. Although. Yeah, I don't know man. Hold on, the winds of change are kind of blowing around the value of a first round pick.

I think a lot of people are understanding that if it's like the end of the first round, like, doesn't have as much value as it used to. The sticker shock of a first round pick used to be like, whoa, a first round pick. Now people are starting to realize, if you're drafting in the high 20s, low 30s, it's not the prized asset that it used to be. It used to be you get a first round pick, you were over the moon.

That was a key component to every trade. Yeah, the fall off from top five to top 10 and then the rest of the round is quite significant. Not that you can't find good players, but- I'm not trying to yell at Viking stat or anything, but you've also got to consider, I know Demko's got a reputation and that is Vezna Caliber. Netminder went healthy, one of the best, but he's also like creeping up on age 30. He's got one year left on his contract and health concerns. That's going to depreciate the value of that asset in a trade.

Gunner from Kelowna Text in Demco has shown he is injury prone. Better to realize it than keep the hope alive. If he has these injuries at 29, how will he be in two, three or five years? And one final text, there's a lot of good texts that came in from Alex. Seems like the Canucks could be doing a lot of gambling next year on important positions, betting on Petey bouncing back, Demko being

healthy, Lankanen being a true number one. Actually in typical sports talk fashion, what would be the biggest gamble? Petey bouncing back, Demko being healthy or Lankton being a true number one goalie. What would be the biggest gamble? Yeah. Oh.

I think it's Petey bouncing back. I think it might be Lankton being the number one. But long term. Here's the thing. Long term. Like I think you can get out might be Lankton being the number one. But long term. Here's the thing. Long term, like I think you can get out of the Lankton contract. Short term, that might be it, but long term, if you bet on PD bouncing back and then he

doesn't, then you're in real trouble. We were almost going to get through a show without talking about Pedersen. I'm going to circle it back to the goaltending. I think for next year, in a one year short, immediate, present day sample size, I think for next year in a one year short, immediate, present day sample size, I think having Demko and Lankanen at a combined nine and a half million is a great situation for the

Canucks. It's a great situation. For a year. For one year. Yeah. Yeah. And we live day to day, year to year, but for one year.

You could. They still need to find a number three though. Yes. That they trust because if Demko's health can't be trusted, they still need to find a number three. Let's do one thing at a time here before we figure out number three on the goalie chart. Well, it's important. I know it's important, but the number one and number two are significantly more important. The concerns with Demko are pretty well established. I do think that in terms of his contractual future,

the negative would be that he would probably want some clarity on what his future is gonna look like. Maybe he doesn't wanna play out the final year of a contract and go to free agency. Maybe he'd like to have a deal in place or some contractual certainty. The flip side of that is the Canucks could leverage saying, hey, next year for you is a prove it year

in a lot of different ways. It can prove it that you're healthy, prove it that you still got it, prove it that you can get through an NHL season in tandem with a guy. So if we wanna pay you or another team wants to pay you, there's proof of concept that you can do this. Like here's the thing, you would run a risk with Demco,

I think from a mental standpoint of going into the year and telling them like, you're kind of in proven mode and you don't have any contract certainty and that might weigh on you. I mean, we've seen it weigh on players in the past, not knowing what their future has in store. There's a risk there. But from a financial standpoint, if they could get, and again, it's a, it's a big ask,

but let's say they can get 40 starts at a Demco where he's playing at a high level and they can get roughly the same, almost a perfect 50 50 split. Yeah. They may have the best goaltending duo in the league. Conceptually, you could see it. Demco is a Vezna caliber guy, went healthy and Lankton has proven to be a pretty adept guy, maybe not with the amount that they've

stretched out his workload. With appropriate rest. Yeah. Um, I want to move on to a different topic here. Uh, here's an unsigned text that came into the Dunbar lumber text line. Can the Canucks really afford to allocate 11 to 12 million to the crease without first addressing the center depth?

And there was another question that came in from the neurologist. In a recent interview, Alveen said they would definitely add a 2C in the off season. Who do you think they are targeting? I don't know if he said a two C, I think he said an an age appropriate center. Um, who do you think they are targeting? What am I pro scout? Uh, well, I think they looked at Josh Norris and I

think they looked at Dylan Cousins and then Buffalo and Ottawa made the trade for. But like each other, I do honestly, off the top of my head, I can't think of a player, but I assume that they have made a list of potential targets. The question is, what are they willing to give up to get that? And that's why yesterday we were having the conversation.

Would they say give up this year's first round pick plus one of their top prospects to address the center position in a meaningful way? In a meaningful way was key. If you want to address that position, you're going to have to give up something of significance. That's why we went through the prospects. And that let's, so they're top three prospects right now. I think we can all agree. DPD, who's almost graduating from a prospect,

but let's still call them a prospect. Lekker Amaki and Tom Willander, who still hasn't played a pro game. Now think about what you've got in those three players. Tom Willender, right shot defenseman, maybe the hardest thing to find in the NHL. So you don't want to give that up easily. DPT, we all love DPT. He's big, he's tough and he can move.

He's a big man who could really move. And I think he's got that swagger that the Canucks, like if this guy, he just turned 21. If he can keep progressing at the level that he's progressing at the rate he's been progressing, man, what a player this guy is going to be and Lekarimaki, what do the Canucks need most right now?

They need goal scoring. Yeah. They need someone who can score goals. And that's what that guy does. He does play the position that's easiest to replace. Address and free agency. Yeah, yeah, yeah. However, other teams know that when trading.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But like all three of those prospects make a good case to not trade them. Yeah, but- Do you know what I mean? But the blue line is the one now where you look at it and I don't wanna say surplus, but there are... I mean, it's gonna be difficult now moving forward with what the Canucks have. Suddenly, it's not gonna be as easy for any guy to step in and discover a role right away. I guarantee the Canucks have had conversations

with other teams where they've called the Canucks and said, we want one of those three guys and the Canucks have been like, could I interest you in a Kudryadzev? Right. Do you know what I mean? Sure. But you, I mean.

And then that is where the disconnect has occurred in some trade talks. Yeah. Cause what do you always hear Patrick Alveen or Jim Rutherford say like, wow, they wanted some of our players that, you know, we didn't, young players that we didn't want to give up. I'm going to be dead honest with you. I wonder if

the Lander might have the most potential for return and it might be the way to go because the biggest difference between him and D. Pete right now is you've seen D. Petey at the NHL level and you're intrigued by that. You haven't seen it from Will Ender yet. It might even be more intriguing, but you just don't know because you haven't seen it.

Yeah. Right. He could be anything. He could even be Tom Willendor. Yeah. Right. The Bollocks, the Bollocks. But it's, it's one of those things where not

knowing and the, the intrigue and the, the upside is, but it's, it's one of those things where not knowing and the, the intrigue and the, the upsides almost more than when you haven't seen them at the NHL level because he hasn't been able to ruin your confidence yet. Like so many guys do. And I wonder if that might end up being the move. I am fully prepared for a, um, a deal this off season that includes either one of the prize defensive prospects, the first round pick, a combination of both.

But I mean, I've read the tea leaves on this and they're staring you directly in the face. The things that they need to do and want to do, the only way they're gonna be able to do them as an organization is again, sell off futures for the present. And I can hear your collective groans through the radio.

Yeah. I know that a lot of you hate this. I don't yell at us. Don't shoot the messenger. I too am apprehensive about this because I see the next wave of teams that are ready to take that leap. And you look at what the, you know, the slow

and methodical rebuild of Montreal is done and how well that's turned out. And I understand the idea and notions of stockpile, stockpile, stockpile. You always got to have players in reserve because you never know what's going to happen at the NHL level. And I get it and I'm with you.

I'm just saying based on past history and what the future has in store, I wouldn't be surprised if it's Willander gone or a first gun or a combination of both. Uh, Torgy texts in DPD is off the table. The upside is way too high. Lekker-Mackie is also a guy who could haunt us. Willander is the only possible guy in my opinion.

Other people will see it totally a different way, right? I'm kind of with Torgy on DPD. I really like the upside potential of him. Sure. Um, but Lekker Mackey, what if he gets a little stronger this off season? You know, I anticipate he will. You know, the Canucks are going to need goal

scorers and then Will Ender, you know, it's so difficult to find a right shot defenseman. Now granted the Canucks have one signed long term in Philip Peronik, they've got Tyler Myers for a couple more years and Mancini could be a player as well. But, but like, if you trade away Will Ender and then, you know, maybe Mancini doesn't pan

out like you want, and then Tyler Myers only has a few years left in the league, then you're going to sit there and go, like you better knock it out of the park with the trade. Otherwise you're going to be sitting there going like, well, we had a good right shot defenseman and we traded that right shot defenseman and it's so hard to find these

right shot defensemen. Sure, but depth chart wise, you've got your top three defensemen for the foreseeable future. Right? Like. Yeah, but you can't trade Will Adner unless the return's awesome. Well, the return is going, right? Yeah, but you can't trade Will Einer unless the return's awesome. Well, the return is going to be a young center.

What's happened over the last year or two is somehow, by the grace of God, the Canucks have turned their blue line where it's no longer the Achilles heel of the team. I mean, how many times over the last two years prior to making the trades that they made, specifically for Hronik and Marcus Pedersen, if we said like, it's just so thin, right?

Behind Queen Hughes is just nothing there. And now you're looking at it and you're like, you may be able to, begrudgingly I say it, move off one of your young defensive prospects because you've got a better blue line now. And all of this exists in a two year window max. And I, and everyone should understand that. Yeah.

Qualicum golf guy just texting, great debate, which one to trade. I don't want to trade any of them, but at the end of the day, it's all about keeping Quinn, the best defenseman in the NHL and having him as a lifetime Canuck. You got to do what you got to do to get that second or first line centerman to compliment

Pedersen and Heedle. Like I wonder if they might circle back on Norris because I'm not a hundred percent sure that Norris is long for Buffalo. Have you've heard him talk about the trade? He's still jarred by the trade. Yeah, they could circle back on that. I don't think that he has any love for

being in Buffalo right now. They've had conversations with Buffalo, clearly. Right. Well, yeah, that's the thing. They had conversations about cousins. Right. The look is different now for Buffalo. I'm not sure that the Canucks were as interested in cousins as they were, at least reportedly in Norris. Now, the issue with Norris is that he's a band-aid. He's hurt constantly. Yeah. Well, him and Heedle can handle it.

Well, that's what I'm saying. Can you get like another Hedl in the mix where you're tantalized by the talent, but you know that the next injury is one hit away? By the way, we don't talk about that much. Like Hedl came to Vancouver with a concussion history and now he's got another one. You know how some guys come. That's concerning for him and it's concerning

for the Canucks going forward. I don't want this to sound callous, but I'm going to say it anyway. You know how some guys come as advertised? concerning for him and it's concerning for the Canucks going forward. I don't want this to sound callous, but I'm gonna say it anyway. You know how some guys come as advertised? Yeah. Phillip Heetle came as advertised. You were tantalized by the tools and the raw ability. And Larry Brooks, remember when we had him on the show,

he's like, I love the guy, I love the player, I think he's got a ton of talent, but you're always wondering if the next hit he takes is gonna be his last, and what's happened? So when he took that hit from Jason Dickinson, I was actually at the game and I was sitting pretty close to when that happened and the frustration. Oh man, he was furious going down the tile.

When he kicked the door, like he kicked the door going into the bench. Well, he knows because he knows his career. He was like, are you kidding me? Yep. Like at the end of a blowout game, I get boarded and now you can probably tell I'm back in this, you know what? I'm back in it.

If it wasn't for bad luck, I don't know if the guy would have any luck. He just does not have good luck. Yeah, when I was talking about the injury, it's not- I hate talking about this in a way where it's the of like, it's the lineup, you know, but it, but it is for the Conoxy, it's a consideration. We talk about, can you count on Demco? Can you count on Hedl to be healthy? I cut you off again.

I apologize. I had nothing. You're just, just rambling along. Well, I was feeling bad about, you know, saying like Hedl came as advertised, but that, I mean, again, I'm just parroting what Larry Brooks said on our show. Well, it was like, remember when the Canucks signed Michael Furland?

Yep, that's fair. Came with the concussion history and you could tell right off the bat, like the first game, this guy ain't right, this isn't right. And do you remember that? We played the first game up on a top line with Pedersen, I think, and everyone was like, oh, he's going to be a perfect compliment for Pedersen.

And I go, he doesn't look right. And then his ice time dropped, his ice time dropped, and then it ended up in a fight. And he, at some point. Yeah. And he hasn't played again. So it's yet another, let's call it another wild card situation and another gamble that the

connects are going to have to take. So you think about the gambles and you know, gambling, if you keep Demko that he can stay healthy. Gambling that Pedersen can bounce back. What was the other gamble we were talking about? There was one. There was one. Lankton is number one.

Lankton and like gambling, if you trade Demko, you gamble that Lankan is number one. It's too many gambles. It's too many gambles. There's a lot of gamble. I don't like this. I love gambling. Can the Canucks go into another season without any gambles? Could they just have a straight,

what's the opposite of a gamble? Sure thing? Yeah, like a municipal bond. Yeah. Which is like 3% kick it off. Can the Canucks have a bunch of municipal bonds this season? Yeah. Because there's way too many gambles. I don't like it. By the way, I know we gotta go to break

and Brandon Batchel is gonna join us on this. I did wanna just mention this because, although he's like a goofy guy and I'm not sure he's long for the NHL, former Vancouver Canuck, Andre Kuzmanko, is playing great, great hockey right now for the Los Angeles Kings. If you had ever told me that Kuzmanko would go

to a defensive-oriented team that's on its way to the playoffs and has aspirations of doing something in the playoffs, I'd be like, well, Kuzmenko's a healthy scratch for that. I love the headline you sent along. Was Andrei Kuzmenko the missing piece in LA? Oh, great. Didn't he go like eight games without a point

when he got there? I know, and now he's on fire. He's got, I think seven. On fire. Seven in his last six. Seven in his last six. He's plus five. He's playing more.

Amazing play on one of the assists he had the other day. He's playing like 16 minutes a night. He was in Philadelphia languishing on a terrible team. I'm actually really looking forward to that King's Oilers series. Could you imagine if Andrei Kuzmenko was the game breaker they needed. The piece to put them over the top.

It's unbelievable. Anyway. I mean, he was always a likable guy, right? And no problem with the way that he approached life. Very likable. No problem with the way that he approached life. He was the A dog of the Vancouver Canucks. That's why he got along so well.

Yeah. Him and Turpal and all his buddies, they were the best, right? They, there was, there's a handful of guys that like love their jobs and are not afraid to like acknowledge it and express it, right? Like that was, that's the thing. He loved being in the NHL. He loved playing hockey for a living. It just, you know, sometimes you wondered

how seriously he took it, but I can't believe that he's doing this with the Kings. I did not expect that. When that trade happened, it was one of those ones on trade deadline day where it just kind of happened and no one paid any attention to it. It's like, Oh, well, Kuzmenko's on his third team. People scoffed at it. Yeah.

It's he's on his third team this year. Who cares? He's probably going to be a depth piece. We'll see if he's, we'll see if he's trustworthy in the playoffs. The playoffs is a, is, is a different situation. Brendan Batchelor is going to join us next on the Halford and Brock show on Sportsnet 650.