Vigneault calls out Wellwood, Raymond and Bernier

From the Province:

Alain Vigneault praised another strong performance by Jason LaBarbera on Friday.

As for the line of Kyle Wellwood, Mason Raymond and Steve Bernier? Not so much.

"The only thing we need more is Wellwood's line," the Vancouver Canucks coach said after the combination was listless and pointless and combined for five shots during a 4-3 shootout loss to the Atlanta Thrashers.

"This has been going on for a while. They were a non-factor and they need to give us more."

Wellwood has one goal in his last seven games, Raymond has two in his last 13 and Bernier no goals in his last 11 outings.

This is a fair assessment from AV. The Sedins are flying out there and putting up points. The Kesler-Burrows line is showing lots of hustle even though they are not putting up points. The same applies to the 4th line. Jason Jaffray especially has been terrific, and has never looked better in a Canucks uniform.
Wellwood, I hate to say it, looks nearly useless out there. He gets pushed off the puck easily and is ineffective. Raymond shows a lot of jump, but is not getting any results. Bernier looks more like the 13th forward. He bangs guys around a lot but we needed more scoring from him. That may not happen anytime soon for Bernier.
This is where Mats Sundin will come in handy. If Mats could make Antropov and Ponikarovsky look good, then he can do wonders for any of the 3 "called out" Canucks. People seem to think that a Demitra-Sundin-Wellwood line will be a lock. Don't bank on that. I wouldn't mind seeing Sundin play with Bernier and Raymond. It may just work. I've seen Sundin and Wellwood play together on the Leafs and it was great to watch. But Wellwood's work ethic may soon be his undoing if he doesn't pick it up. You have to admit that Raymond and Bernier are outhustling Wellwood right now.
More than one Nuck is going to get squeezed out of the lineup with the arrival of Sundin and the return of Ryan Johnson and perhaps Taylor Pyatt. The 3 called out players need to realize that and start playing like they deserve to be here, much like Jason Jaffray is.

As for Larbarbera, he is nearly doing everything he can to give us wins in his first 2 starts. One thing you can see about Barbs is his lateral movement from post to post isn't sharp. He tends to over commit to a shot sometimes. Canucks goalie coach Ian Clark will change that, much like he did to Luongo. Barbs is a big guy. If he moves left to right better he is going to succeed even more. I believe he is the same height as Luongo, but he is 20 pounds heavier. The Big Show. Keep up the great work Barbs.

T Tags: Vigneault+praises+Labarbera Calls+out+Wellwood+Raymond+Bernier

THN: Getting to know Kyle Wellwood

A hat tip to a poster at CDC for finding this at The Hockey News site.

First Car: "Old Ford pick-up (gray)."

Current Car: "Mercedes E63 AMG (silver)."

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Vanilla."

Greatest Sports Moment: "Scoring on the Leafs." (smiles)

Most Painful Moment: "Losing the front tooth. (How?) Highstick. (Where?) It was in the minors. And it was the last game of the season. And we weren't making the playoffs. And it was probably my second to last shift the whole year. Going into the summer. And I knocked my tooth out (at St. John's)."

Closest NHL Friends: "Matt Stajan; Carlo Colaiacovo; Darcy Tucker."

Funniest Players Encountered: "Wade Belak; Darcy Hordichuk."
Toughest Competitors: "Mats Sundin; Bryan Marchment."

Most Memorable Goal: "I'd say my first NHL goal was my biggest goal. It was in Toronto against Philly."

Funny Hockey Memory: "Probably singing a song at rookie party, in front of a bunch of strangers. (Which song?) Some Madonna song."

Embarrassing Hockey Memory: "That's probably it, too. Actually, on the ice it would be getting hit and then my helmet spinning around on my head, with the back so I couldn't see where I was going on the ice. I was trying to fix it and I couldn't."

More on Wellwood at The Hockey News.

T Tags: Canucks Kyle+Wellwood+bio interview The+Hockey+News

A Wellwood diet book? Woody laughs at fat jokes

So here I have been ranting at Wellwood haters and mockers calling them immature idiots and Kyle goes on record saying he thinks it's funny. From Slam Sports:

Kyle Wellwood laughs when he recalls the nicknames he was labelled with not so long ago during his, ah, chunkier days.

Like Kyle Wellfed.

Or Pork Chop.

There were so many, he can't remember them all.

"Personally, I liked the Wellwood sign somebody had," the former Maple Leaf recalled yesterday from Vancouver. "The 'W' in my name was the upside down golden arches of McDonalds.

"I think that kind of stuff is funny."

Here's something else that is funny: He recently was approached to write a book. "Actually, they want me to do a diet book now," he said, chuckling. "Everyone is talking about the new Wellwood diet."

A diet book. Wow. This story is insane.
As long as Wellwood's feelings aren't hurt then that is all that matters, right ^

T Tags: Kyle+Wellwood+diet+book Canucks

Wellwood-bashing is pathetic

I'm only going to say this once (hopefully). We all know what Wellwood did and didn't do as far as his conditioning goes prior to the season starting. We all know the various reasons for that (injuries, motivation). But when a guy steps back into the lineup and does what he has been doing over the past few weeks then it's time to let the past go. Temujin was at the Minny game and saw a fan with a sign that said Well Fed. On forums, people keep throwing out the fat jokes. Sure, I made a Wellwood photoshop when the conditioning issue was at it's climax, so I am to blame as well.
But let me tell you something about Wellwood: he's a down-to-earth and honest man. Do you see him hiding in the shadows avoiding the conditioning issue when the hoards of media idiots repeatedly ask him about it? Not at all. In fact, Wellwood takes the abuse like a man and owns up to it. That is more than I can say than most pundits/players out there that were hacking him then and are doing so now still.
I'm not really big into hacking into people's personal lives. Sure, they are celebrities and so they are under a microsope, but at some point here, I want to see Wellwood get angry and say: "You know what? I've talked this fucking issue to death and I'm done talking about it. I am moving forward. Ask me something else for christ's sakes!" Moving forward. That is something that we should be doing as well. Are we hacking Ethan Moreau for his hit and run incident this past summer? No.
Everybody has their flaws. Most people belittle others to feel better about their own pathetic selves (I've been guilty of it too.) It's a sad and cruel fucking world we live in.
To simplify this Wellwood matter, he's here, he's playing very well and working his ass off to succeed, he's never been happier playing here, so how about we back the fuck down on this weight issue and make him feel at home? Let's not be a pathetic hockey city that acts this cruel about a person's personal life. On-ice antics? Well that's a different story. We scrutinize that. But is there any bashing on Woody's play? I'm liking it.
So if you show up at a game with a derrogatory sign like "Well Fed" or "Hey Wellwood McDonalds is the other way", you may be a funny character, but you're also a pathetic, gutless, cowardly shitbag.
End of fucking story.
It's up to Kyle to consistently be in game shape and what not. We'll see if he's for real this time. I'm backing him 100%.

That all being said, let's get to know the Kyle Wellwood away from this weight issue and put a human being behind all this mockery, shall we?

Wellwood was as honest as possible with everything including his father's mental illness on CBC's After Hours last Saturday. If you have not seen them yet, here are the links:

This link should take you to all 3 segments, as the poster put it into 3 parts due to length.

Canucks.com has a new clip up about a spotlight on Wellwood.

Wellwood compilation from his days as a Leaf:



Wellwood is a gamer, who loves Halo.

Wellwood goes 1-on-1 with a serious gamer to play NHL 2K8.

Wellwood decks Spacek.

Catching up with Stajan and Wellwood. Wellwood is the 2nd half of that segment. Worth a look. Woody likes hip hop? Ah man. Used to have a bunch of Mariah Carey CD's? Oh say it ain't so!

All Access- Kyle Wellwood.

T Tags: Canucks Kyle+Wellwood+profile fuck+the+haters

Flashback: Wellwood makes a fool out of Ryan Miller

From back in his AHL days with the Toronto Marlies, here is a clip of Kyle Wellwood's genius. He is one creative bugger isn't he? This is one of the best goals I have ever seen.



T Tags: Kyle+Wellwood Marlies amazing+goal+against+Ryan+Miller AHL video

More love for Woody

You getting tired of me posting Wellwood stuff yet? Remember, it's Wellwood Week here at WFS.
NHL.com named Woody the 2nd star of the night last night.

All about the Wood

He's got the whole team
In his hands
He's got the whole damned team
In his hands...

I'm going to hell ain't I?
See you there!

Go Wellwood!

You know, Wellwood week might be extended if he keeps this up.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault thinks Kyle Wellwood may have gotten a wake up call when he was sent to the minor leagues 2 1/2 weeks ago.
Wellwood says it was more of a much-needed break.
The Canucks' Kyle Wellwood had two goals -- he has six this season. It was his first career multi-goal game.
Whatever the reason, after battling injury and fitness issues for the last two seasons Wellwood is making the most of his latest chance to stay in the NHL.

- Associated Press

Kyle Wellwood has heard the jokes about being out of shape while walking around with his shirt off, and suffering the humiliation of being sent to the minors twice.

All this after coming to Vancouver soon after the Canucks claimed him off waivers in June, spending gruelling weeks with conditioning coach Roger Takahashi and going on a special diet.

Cut adrift after four years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he's feeling good again and making the most of his second NHL tour of duty with Vancouver.

Wellwood, a five-foot-ten, 180-pound native of Windsor Ont., who signed a US$997,500 contract with Vancouver, became the Canucks' leading scorer Tuesday by firing two goals in a 4-0 win over the Nashville Predators.

He has six goals in seven games since being called up from American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose when Pavol Demitra suffered a rib injury.

''For any athlete or professional, it's about yourself personally playing the game and that's where you're going to find the happiness,'' Wellwood said.

''Not being able to play, feeling unhealthy and out of shape you're not going to feel so happy and confident. That was my main goal. I didn't care too much where I was going to play. I just wanted to get back.''

-TSN. And there is more about Woody at TSN.

“I think we just wanted to keep going,” said Alex Burrows. “ I think we wanted to play a solid 60 minutes, and in the third period that second goal really helped us and obviously afterwards Kyle worked his magic. It was nice to see.”

Wellwood rounds into form

-Sportsnet. Still can't stop the fat jokes, hey you fucking jackasses?

..it’s an absolute delight to see guys like Kesler, Raymond, Burrows, Hansen and (ugh) even Wellwood play far better than anyone could have predicted. But as far as Wellwood being a PP God is concerned, I’m still not sold on him yet.

-Yankee Canuck pre game. Mikey, Mikey, NOW DO YOU BELIEVE? NOW DO YOU BELIEVE? This guy is good. Scary good! (Hey, I'll gloat while I have the chance!)




T Tags: Kyle+Wellwood+is+god Photoshop Jesus tribute

Wellwood 2 (plus 2 other Canucks goals) Preds 0

Continuing on with Wellwood week here at Waiting For Stanley...
Yeah, nothing like The Wood erasing the Canucks' PP woes on his own. Love it.
Wellwood is no longer a secret. He is no longer an overweight disgrace. He is no longer that poor kid on the bus that got picked on throughout his elementary school years. No, Wellwood is a god.
-Wellwood manged 2 goals, both on the power play with only 12:28 of ice time.

-Good to see Luongo play as well as we expect him to.
-The Canucks outshot the Predators (while having a 1-0 lead) in the 3rd period 13-4.
-Domination.

-Michel Ouellet was invisible on the 2nd line and the first line whenever opportunties arose. But it was his first game as a Canuck. He saw limited special teams ice time and played only 10:26.
-Wellwood. That's right...chant his name. That's 4 goals and 1 assist in 7 games. Demitra WHO??? Ray Ferraro (bless his heart because he is one cool cat) was saying that the Canucks really miss Demitra to kickstart their power play. Then Wellwood responds with 2 PP goals.


BOXSCORE and HIGHLIGHTS

T Tags: Canucks+shutout+Predators November+4+2008 Kyle+Wellwood+is+god

Gladiator Wellwood

In keeping with this being Wellwood week, you will have to endure Photoshopped images of The Woodster with the theme of him being an underdog, angry, picked on, etc.
Am I overreacting on this whole Wellwood thing? Not really. This guy has been kicked to the curb enough and it's good to see him producing.

T Tags: Kyle+Wellwood Gladiator Photoshop Canucks

Wings' power play proves too much for Canucks

The Canucks could have won the game....had they not taken any penalties at all. Detroit scored a power play goal in each of the first 3 man advantages. And that was the big difference. Penalties happen. The Canucks weren't penalized all that often. It's just that they couldn't kill the Wings' man advantages.
And oh, did Vancouver ever come close to tying it, out shooting the Wings 13-3 in the 3rd and being fueled by King Kyle Wellwood's goal to make it 3-2. So close.
Speaking of Wellwood, I find it very strange how he is always left by himself by the net when the Canucks are on the PP. Why is that? It's almost like the other teams don't give him any respect either. No love for the Wood. But that's ok, because he'll just keep scoring those kinds of goals, and I'll keep laughing. Maybe, just maybe, Wellwood should play on the first line.
His ice time continually increases. Over 17:00 minutes tonight. Good stuff.
There really isn't much else to say except:
- the refereeing sure can be ass sometimes. There were bogus calls on both teams tonight. Lame.
- I thought the Canucks played alright despite the loss. At lot more of a controlled game. 5-on-5 we can tango with Detroit.
- were we 0-for-7 on the PP tonight? Brutal. That should drop them down towards the league basement now. Something's got to give.
- 2 shots and 0 points for Hossa. Impressive coverage.
- I really miss calling Luongo "LUONGOD". He has not really stole a game yet. I wouldn't say he had much chance on the Wings goals tonight however.

BOX SCORE & HIGHLIGHTS NHL.com is so cool now.

T Tags: Canucks, Red Wings, game+review November+2008 Wellwood+is+a+god

Where's your crown King Wellwood?

It's no secret that I have been a Wellwood fan since he first played for the Leafs. It's great to see a story like this where he has been blasted for his lack of fitness, becomes unwanted through waivers, then becomes needed because of a Demitra injury, and then performs as well as he has. That's 3 points in 2 games. That would be the game-winning goal he scored last night. Was that a pretty goal or what? What patience he has with the puck. His talent is undenied. The Canucks have found themselves a power play specialist.
Another thing that I like about Wellwood is that he'll chase the puck in the corner knowing he is going to get hit, but rather than turn the puck over, he makes a smart pass right before he gets whacked. Instinct. Wellwood has it. For as long as Wellwood lasts in Vancouver, this is becoming an enjoyable ride seeing him play.

“For me, the power play gives me a chance to handle the puck and things like that, when you get that early in the game, you get into the game a lot more.” - Wellwood post game

Wellwood's ice time has increased over the past 3 games from 10:54 to 14:58 last night.

MISC

-Luongo looked much better. That game-saver in the 3rd was plain sick.
-Good to see the other kids like Hansen and Raymond really kick it up a notch.
-Still seeing our d-men get caught up ice a lot. I don't like it. Too aggressive. To Jovo-like.
-The power play is so back it's not even funny. 4 PP goals last night. The Canucks went from 29th in the NHL on the PP to 14th in one night.
-the Canucks are 7th in the NHL in goals per game (3.50)
-They are 5th-worst in goals against per game (3.50)
-They are 28th in the League in shots per game (25.8)
-They are 15th in the NHL in shots against per game (30.1)

But it's all about Wellwood for me at this point. The Canucks had blown a 3-1 because:
1. Luongo flubbed a wrister from Robert Nilsson for the 3-2 goal
2. Mitchell got caught up ice on the 3-3 goal and the Oilers had an odd man rush the other way. Staios bagged that one.

The Oilers had tied it and we were worried. The momentum was not in our favor. But leave it to Cool Hand Kyle to save the day.



Even The Yankee Canuck is loving the Wellwood. Or at least, he's surprised.

T Tags: Canucks+kill+Oilers October+25+2008 Wellwood+rules

Canucks should be energized playing the Oilers tonight

Alain Vigneault has been saying that the best Canucks players have been practicing early and with a vengeance since they returned home from a gruelling road trip. They would be Luongo and the Sedins, who have not consistently been the best guys since game 1.
-From Canucks.com:

Since opening night, the Canucks have surrendered 13 first period goals over the past six games. They have surrendered a first period goal in each of those six games, and only in the game against Detroit last Thursday did they limit the opposition to less than two first period goals. Last season, the Canucks had a record of 3-11-1 when allowing more than one first period goal. Conversely, they had a record of 20-11-5 when they did not allow a single first period marker by the opposition.

At some point the Canucks are going to tighten up defensively. I just don't know when.
Jason Krog is going to receive a massive chance to once again prove himself at the NHL level, playing on the Canucks' top power play unit with the Twins.

"They [the Sedins] have such chemistry and seem to know where each other is, but they also are very good at getting the other guy the puck, too, so my job is going to be whenever there is a 50-50 puck, get it, get it to them and after that get open and be an option for them."

Yeah yeah. That's what every guy who plays with them says. We just need somebody to be an Anson Carter one of these days. Steve Bernier was tabbed as Carter 2, but has only shown moments of brilliance at an inconsistent level. He has 2 goals and 4 points in 7 games with only 11 shots. That won't cut it. He has been demoted down to the 2nd power play unit with Kesler, Wellwood, Raymond and co. Not a bad place to be either. Maybe he'll click there. I believe Pyatt is off all power play units.

The continuing saga of Kyle Wellwood.

Now here's a guy that I am really pulling for. There is a Metallica song on their new album that really reminds me of Wellwood. It's called Broken, Beat and Scarred. The first lines are
You rise
You fall
You're down
Then you rise again
What don't kill you makes you more strong.

Here's hoping Wellwood puts out another fine performance and actually breathes some life to that 2nd line. Make us forget that we even have a guy named Demitra, for a month or so anyway!

The Oilers have a bit of injury woes themselves right now.

-Shaun Horcoff is questionable for tonight's game after colliding with Colorado's Ben Guite in the Oilers' 4-1 loss to the Avs.
-Steve Staios has missed the last 2 games for personal reasons.
-Fernando Pisani is day-to-day with back issues.

There are a few Oilers who like to start scoring:

Sam Gagner: 5 games played, no points and 15 shots. The sophomore jinx is alive...for now. A player with that kind of talent has to come around. Not against us hopefully.

Kyle Brodziak: 6 games played, no points and 6 shots.

Ales Hemsky- 6 games played, no goals and 5 assists.

More Oilers stats here.

There are murmurs of Darcy Hordichuk and Rick Rypien returning tonight. That would be a good thing. Those are character guys who showed some chemistry together on the 4th line.
Glass Joe Salo is day to day with a sore groin.

Matching Speed

The Canucks probably shouldn't try to match the Oilers' speed game tonight. Not all of our guys can do that. For once I'd like to see Vancouver play a better puck possession game, slow the Oilers down in the neutral zone and make them turn the puck over, and not get confused in their own zone.

Goalie match up

Matt Garon continually impresses me. He looks like Luongo in stature but he's more agile and flexible. He alone could stop us tonight. Luongo needs to be that guy and has not been yet.

It's going to be a great game. I love watching these 2 teams go head to head. Both teams are coming off losses. The Oilers are finishing a 3 game road trip. The Canucks should have lots of energy playing at home again and having not played since Tuesday.

4-3 Canucks I'd say. Possible shootout again.

T Tags: Canucks+Oilers+preview October+25+2008 Wellwood Krog+promoted Sedins stats

Demitra out with torso injury plus roster updates

You know, it's funny. I was commenting on my semi-live blogging of the Canucks-Hawks game that Demitra was showing a little more grit as the game went on. Then all of a sudden he wasn't on the bench anymore with an undisclosed injury. How ironic. Demitra is no stranger to injuries. Apparently, he hurt his ribs after taking a shot! It's true! I guess he's been passing too much lately and didn't have his shooting muscles up to snuff. (Utter obscenities here) So if Salo is Glass Joe, what is a good nickname for Demitra?
But this is a positive. Yeah, I know there are plenty of people out there who love Pavol with blind faith, but let's be honest: he hasn't even come close to showing his potential here. Not yet anyways. So the Vancouver Province mentions today that Kyle Wellwood could be called up from Manitoba to be the 2nd line center replacement. That means that he would have to clear re-entry waivers to make the Canucks squad. What are the chances he does that? Well, given all the bad press he has received for being out of shape I'd say those chances are quite high.
I would say that Michel Ouellet (who, like a commentor said, has 6 points in 4 games with the Moose) should get a chance, but the problem with him is that he's a right winger and I don't know if he ever plays center. Vancouver's lousy line 2 needs a natural center, which is where Wellwood fits the bill.
Let's hope Wellwood gets the ball rolling on Line 2 and shuts up Mike the Yankee Wellwood hater! (haha)

I see on the CDC forums that the Canucks may be putting Matt Pettinger on re-entry waivers as well to fill in for Darcy Hordichuk, who will be out 7-10 days with a knee injury after colliding with Ryan Johnson. Pettinger is red hot for the Moose right now. Let's see if he also clears re-entry waivers. He should.
This still prompts me to wonder when Ouellet will get a chance.

So we can assume Rob Davison will fill the #6 position on the Canucks' blueline in Salo's absence then? Probably.

T Tags: Canucks+injuries+October+2008 Salo Hordichuk Demitra Kyle+Wellwood Matt Pettinger re-entry+waivers

Bieksa could play Sunday / Wellwood clears waivers

Link to story.

Canucks put Wellwood on waivers

Mike is hacking me already.
Adiose buddy. I hoped for a different fate. But the current Canucks squad is getting the job done. There will be times in shootouts where the haters will miss him I guarantee that.

Link to CBC story on Wellwood.

T Tags: Canucks+place+Kyle+Wellwood+on+waivers

Wellwood draws praise from Vigneault

During the shootout between the Canucks and Ducks I was hollering at Vigneault through a TV screen to put Wellwood on the ice to get a shootout chance. When Salo took a turn I was really irate. I thought there was nothing Wellwood could do to impress AV. Salo misses, Wellwood gets a chance and bags the winner. What moves this kid has.
Now he has gone from a picture of him overweight and recovering on the pages of a Vancouver newspaper and jeers from fans to eye-opening praise from the coach.
From the Vancouver Sun today:

"He is now at acceptable NHL standards, which from where he was coming from the last two months is remarkable," Vigneault said of Wellwood's latest fitness testing done on Monday.

Wellwood has dropped eight pounds in the last week. He had been told by the team that his fitness level had to keep improving if he was to remain with the Canucks.

"I am at 189 [pounds]," Wellwood said after Monday's practice at General Motors Place. "That's exactly where I want to be."

Wellwood has had considerable help from the Canucks in shedding some pounds. He has worked closely with strength and conditioning coach Roger Takahashi and has been put on what could be described as a NHL version of the Jenny Craig diet.

The Canucks are supplying Wellwood with many of his meals.

"They are making sure I get the meals that I need so I can just come to the rink and play hockey," Wellwood said. "There's a lot of vegetables. Apparently, I can't eat a lot of things that normal guys get to eat.

"I have eliminated everything but lean meat and vegetables. If you want to lose weight pretty quickly, just eat vegetables and lean meat. They are doing a good job of making it tasty here."

Off the menu are some of Wellwood's former favourites like pasta and sub sandwiches.

"Those are things I just can't eat," he said Wellwood has three points in three pre-season appearances with the Canucks, which ties him for the team lead. He has also scored a pair of shootout goals.

Good work. Like I said before, I am a big fan of Wellwood. I know he has sickening skills. Now he's becoming a potent weapon for the Canucks. Let's see if his progress continues. Keep it up, Kyle.
He's not guaranteed a spot on the Canucks yet.
Check out the rest of the article here.

In case you missed the shootout, and Wellwood's brilliance...here it is:



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Preseason game #1: Canucks 4 Oilers 3 (SO)

Yes, it's just pre-season, but it was still enjoyable to watch the Canucks take this one. I'll keep this in point form.

- The Souray-Visnovsky combo will be feared all year long, no doubt about it. If Souray can stay healthy he is going to put up serious numbers.
His 25:47 of ice time was second only to Mattias Ohlund's whopping 26:34.

- All the talk surrounds Kyle Wellwood and his conditioning. He assisted on the Canucks' second goal and bagged a beauty in the shootout, showcasing his talent, yet you could see from AV's post-game comments that he's not entirely thrilled with him. Even Ryan Walter said that Wellwood is a "long ways away". That doesn't bode well for the former Leaf. He had better develop a 6-pack and score 3 points per game or he probably won't make the final squad.
He's a small guy too, and really got pushed off the puck easily. Stick him on the PP and he's gold though.

- Cory Schneider was the 3rd star of the game and deserved it. We have a real "keeper" in Schneider. He seemed nervous to start out but really settled down as the game went on.

- For a guy that led the AHL in scoring last year, Jason Krog did not dominate. He looked alright, but not a real standout.
However, his shootout goal was just sick.

-Matt Garon is large and fully capable goalie. He should take over the #1 role in Edmonton.

-Who the hell is Canucks' #54 Dan Gendur?

-Opinions on Don Taylor as a play-by-play guy? I'm not sold on that concept. Sorry Don.

BOXSCORE

T Tags: Canucks Oilers preseason

Wellwood still not in game shape

I go on a 2-day road trip and then the bad news starts coming out of Vancouver.
How hard is Wellwood going to work to get an NHL job? The Canucks have taken a chance on him and so far he hasn't gotten to the fitness level required.

"I talked to Kyle this morning," Alain Vigneault said. "He is going to be re-tested after the first four (pre-season) games. I understand the fact he was injured and is sort of playing himself into shape and as long as we see improvements and consistent improvement we'll work with him and give him the benefit of the doubt. The day that stops, it stops."

God dammit, Wellwood get your shit together!
Thanks Mike for the link (I think). Stop laughing, man! Wellwood is good! (oh crap)
I'm a fan of Wellwood. I saw what he could do a couple of years back. He is one creative S.O.B. But is his lack of preparedness going to cost him his NHL career?
The rest of this unfortunate story can be found here.

T Tags: Kyle+Wellwood+not+in+game+shape Canucks cream+puffs unfit

Can Kyle Wellwood be a top 6 player in Vancouver?

Canucks.com released a video yesterday of an interview with Kyle Wellwood at training camp. It's good to see Wellwood in a Canucks uniform.

This interview has spawned a great conversation about Wellwood at the CDC forum. The original poster stated that he thought Wellwood lacked decisive passion in his interview and that he sounded timid and monotone.
I think Wellwood usually sounded monotone in his interviews with the Leafs. He throws out the cliches like anyone else.
But the lack of passion comment may have some substance to it. Especially when you consider what was said about him in the past.

Case #1:

A year ago, Wellwood was penciled in as Toronto's second-line centre.
But a recurring sports hernia injury held him back. After scoring 45 points as a rookie, Wellwood managed only 21 points last season and often found himself in former head coach Paul Maurice's doghouse for being out of shape. He recently broke his foot playing indoor soccer.

- Michael Traikos, National Post June 24, 2008.

Case #2:

Wellwood showed promise in the 2005-06 season with 45 points and was anointed the Leafs' No. 2 centre by then GM John Ferguson.
What followed were two injury-shortened seasons of 42 and 21 points, respectively, as Wellwood's fortunes followed that of the team's. There were also questions about his work habits in rehabilitating the sports hernia that troubled him, and when he did make it back on the roster, his conditioning came into question as well.

- David Shoalts, Globe and Mail, June 23, 2008.

Case #3:

Lack of conditioning may be the reason why Kyle Wellwood required abdominal surgery for the second time in nine months, surgery that could force the Toronto Maple Leafs centre to miss the first three weeks of the regular season.
After Wellwood missed 33 games with a sports hernia last season, head coach Paul Maurice instructed the third-year forward to hit the weights and get stronger this summer.
According to Wellwood's father, the 24-year-old took a different approach.
"He likes to take the time off to rest himself mentally," Rick Wellwood said in a telephone interview yesterday. "In the past that has worked for him. But maybe he's now going to have to do more in the summer."

Further in the article:

Despite working with Leafs strength and conditioning coach Matt Nichol this summer, Wellwood seemed to accept that he would always be one of the smallest players on the ice.

"Am I one of the weaker guys? Yeah, I'm one of the weakest guys in the league, for sure," Wellwood said in July. "That's just my body type, but I'm definitely fit enough."

- Michael Traikos, National Post, Sept. 2007

Concerning isn't it? Wellwood's health will be in question probably right up to the time he gets hurt for the first time as a Canuck. Hopefully it won't be in training camp.
We'll see what the Canucks training staff can get out of Wellwood. Mike Gillis had said earlier that the Canucks is going to put a lot of effort into Wellwood. At least he is already on the ice getting ready and meeting the guys.
I am not going to judge Wellwood until he plays in game 1 of the regular season. I've seen him when he is motivated. He made it to the Leafs' top line and thrived with Sundin. (Then again, who doesn't thrive with Sundin?) That was in 2005-06. Wellwood's talent just blew me away.
Maybe playing in a new city on a new team will change Mr. Wellwood's tactics. If Wellwood finds himself playing in the Top 6 in Vancouver this season, he will definitely have earned it, as you know how Alain Vigneault works. And I really hope he can get there. Wellwood can be a point-per-game player, if he wants to. He has the skills.

Hat tip to Wetcoaster at CDC for finding all of the above Wellwood news links.

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