DON'T READ TOO MUCH INTO PRESEASON

Before anyone starts bashing the Canucks for their loss against the Flames in their preseason opener (crystal ball) have a good look at the roster of players sent to Calgary. Matt Cooke is the star, the enforcer and will probably have to play goal for a couple periods.

The following players will dress against the Flames Tuesday:
Bernier, M-A	Right Wing	Columbia/Manitoba	ECHL-AHL
Bieksa, Kevin	Defense	Manitoba/Vancouver	NHL-AHL
Bourdon, Luc	Defense	Moncton/Val-d'Or	QMJHL
Brown, Mike	Right Wing	Manitoba	AHL
Chouinard, Marc	Right Wing	Minnesota	NHL
Cooke, Matt	Left Wing	Vancouver Canucks	NHL
Dwyer, Gordie	Left Wing	Lowell	AHL
Goren, Lee	Right Wing	Vancouver/Manitoba	NHL-AHL
Green, Josh	Left Wing	Vancouver/Manitoba	NHL-AHL
Fitzpatrick, Rory	Defense	Buffalo	NHL
Flaherty, Wade	Goal	Manitoba	AHL
Kutny, Vladimir	Left Wing	Trencin	CZE
MacIntyre, Drew	Goal	Grand Rapids	AHL
McIver, Nathan	Defense	Manitoba	AHL
Reid, Brandon	Centre	Rapperswil	SWISS
Rullier, Joe	Defense	Hartford	AHL
Rypien, Rick	Centre	Manitoba/Vancouver	NHL-AHL
Santala, Tommi	Centre	Jokerit	FIN
Schultz, Jesse	Right Wing	Manitoba	AHL
Tremblay, Yannick	Defense	Mannheim	GER

I hope everyone can appreciate the fact that this preseason will be the basis for choosing a good number of players for the upcoming season instead of like previous years, when the Canucks would showcase their star players with only a few kids trying to make it. Yikes it's painful to be in a rebuilding phase.

Roster courtesy of Canucks.com