The Forwards Through 41

Coming into the season many people thought that the Canucks would struggle to fill the net, but so far that really hasn’t been the case. Many players are having good individual seasons statistically speaking, however, the problem seems to be with their inconsistency from night to night. A power play that has struggled for the majority of the season has certainly not helped matters. To show the inconsistency of the team, you can look at the 6-0 win on opening night against the Flames and compare it to the November 12th loss where they made Peter Budaj look like a Vezina trophy winner. Don’t get me wrong, Budaj played great that night but he was no doubt aided by the Canucks ability to find the back of the net when the opportunities knocked.

On the top line, Daniel and Henrik Sedin have been their ever reliable selves. They burst out of the gate early and looked as if they were going to play out of their minds in a contract year. They came back to earth after a hot start but in the last month both twins have been by far the Canucks best forwards, as they should be. Their play has been great despite the constant revolving door at right wing. Steve Bernier, Taylor Pyatt, Mason Raymond, Jannik Hansen and Pavol Demitra have all extended auditions on the top line with the twins with none of the bunch managing to stick. How long Demitra remains on that line is up in the air as Alain Vigneault may decide he is better suited with Mats Sundin

The second line in Vancouver has been met with as much change as the third player on the top line. Mason Raymond has been exciting to watch despite his inconsistency, although that is to be expected with such a young and skilled player. Raymond’s speed and stick work has allowed him to put himself or others in prime scoring situations, however his ability to finish a play off has lacked. He seems to lack any kind of accuracy as he has beccome prone to missing the net and outthinking himself as he comes in off the wing. At just 23 Raymond should become a bigger threat in the future.

Also having issues with inconstancy is Pavol Demitra, The Slovak won over the hearts of Canucks fans on the the second night of the season as he scored the overtime winner in Calgary. Unfortunately he has the ability to disappear for games at a time. Demitra’s best games this year have not surprisingly been with Daneil and Henrik, but if he wants to stay on the top line he’ll have to chip in more often than the 11 goals he had in the first half of the season despite missing ten games.

Another player who appears to be gripping his stick a bit too tight is Steve Bernier. Bernier was one of Gillis’ biggest offseason additions that was intended to play on the top line with the Sedins. The 23 year old has done a lot of things right but has seemed to lack the ability to finish plays off in front of the net. It’s certainly not for his lack of effort though as Bernier has been a physical presence on the ice. In the first half of the season Bernier managed 7 goals to go along with 12 assists.

Its hard what exactly to make of the tenure of Kyle Wellwood. Wellwood was claimed off waivers by the Canucks after several injury plagued seasons with the Maple Leafs. In fact his 14 goals is now a career high for the Ontario native. Wellwood’s presence on the power play, where he has scored the majority of his goals this year, has been welcome, however his five on five play could use some work. For a long stretch in November and December, Welly found himself playing with Darcy Hordichuk on the fourth line. Despite that Wellwood’s sharp shooting has been needed on the power play despite his reputation of being more of a playmaker.

A lot of people haven’t liked the play of Taylor Pyatt but I think he was starting to come around before his injury. He probably will never reach the 23 goals he scored in 06-07 again but the 6’4, 230lb first round draft choice was effective on the penalty kill and proved that he could be responsible in his own zone. Pyatt had much of the same problems as Steve Bernier did when he found the puck on his stick around the net. The pysical aspect of Pyatt’s game is something that needs to be addressed. With such a large frame it would be nice if he would use it more often and exert himself as a physical force on the forecheck.

The shutdown line of Burrows-Kesler-Hansen has been as good as advertised this season defensively. Burrows and Kesler jumped out of the gate offensively and were the Canucks go to players for a period in October. Both of them have considerably come back to earth on that front, and Kesler has only recently gotten things going again in the opponents end of the ice. On penalty kills the two provide an offensive threat and are by far the best Canucks players on the penalty kill. Burrows especially has a knack for scoring on shorthanded breakaways. In September people had Kesler pencilled in as the Selke Trophy winner and while its questionable as to whether he has lived up to that billing he is certainly one of the better two way forwards in the league. While Jannik Hansen was sent to the minors yesterday I was extremely pleased with him play this season. His grit and willingness to play physical were welcomed and its unfortunate that he was sent down despite other players on the roster being far less valuable.

On the fourth line, Darcy Hordichuk has been a nice signing by Mike Gillis. Hordichuk has been exactly what the Canucks wanted when they signed him, he hits everything that he can without taking penalties and fights when the situation requires it. His 4 goals so far this season is probably 3 more than what the Canucks expected out of him. So far so good. Ryan Johnson who was brought in to be a shot block specialist was solid before he injured his foot and hand. Despite his unorthodox style to blocking shots he was a fixture on the penalty kill that the Canucks have had difficulty replacing. Mike Brown has essentially been a waste of a roster space as he takes bad penalties at bad times. Even his fights are uneventful as they usually involve him falling over to tackling the other player. Why the Canucks are so worried about having someone claim him on waivers in beyond me. In a limited number of games Jason Jaffray has been a nice addition to the fourth line. Chipping in offensively when he can with the talent around him, Jaffray has not backed down from other and despite not being a fighter has held his own in a few scraps this season.

Tommorow night the Canucks take on the Oilers in Edmonton. Will Sundin play or not is the question on everyones mind as the Canucks will try and end a two game losing streak.