Many things have gone down over the past little while since the last update, so here’s a summary of what has happened lately with the Vancouver Canucks and Manitoba Moose.
_________________________
Veteran defenceman Mathieu Schneider was placed on waivers by the Canucks yesterday, and cleared them today. What this means for Schneider and the Canucks is up in the air.
Defenceman Kevin Bieksa suffered a cut on his leg during the second period of last night’s game versus the Phoenix Coyotes, so hypothetically, Schneider could end up back in the Canucks lineup. From all appearances though, it doesn’t look like that will happen.
Vancouver could also elect to send him down to the Manitoba Moose or to another AHL squad, much like they did with Brad Lukowich, who the Canucks sent to the Texas Stars at the beginning of the season. Unlike with Lukowich, there’s no guarantee Schneider will report to Manitoba and play for them, even though he would get tons of ice time and instantly become Manitoba’s #1 defenceman.
Considering Schneider’s age, there’s also a chance that he’ll decide to hang up the blades and call it a day. Schneider’s no spring chicken at 40-years-old, so his clearing waivers could spell the end of his playing career.
Schneider has five points (2-3-5) in 17 games for the Canucks this season.
_________________________
The day before Mathieu Schneider was placed on waivers, the Canucks called up forward Alexandre Bolduc from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Bolduc was called up by Vancouver to replace Ryan Johnson, who was put on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury.
Bolduc went pointless in seven games with the Canucks earlier this season, and has picked up three points (2-1-3) in 13 games with the Moose so far in 2009-10.
_________________________
So far, six members of the Vancouver Canucks have been named to their respective country’s Olympic squads.
Goaltender Roberto Luongo (Canada), defencemen Sami Salo (Finland) and Christian Ehrhoff (Germany), as well as forwards Pavol Demitra (Slovakia) and Daniel and Henrik Sedin (Sweden) have so far been named to play in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The United States hockey team will announce its roster immediately after the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston on January 1, 2010. It’s expected that forward Ryan Kesler will make it a lucky seven for the Canucks by getting named to that squad.
The most notable absence, if just for what he said when he wasn’t named to his country’s Olympic squad, is Mikael Samuelsson. As most people have heard by now, when the Swedish Olympic hockey team did not name Samuelsson as one of their 23 players that will suit up in Vancouver, the Canuck forward said in an interview afterward that those who picked the team should perform an act of self-fornication. No word on whether those who made the Swedish roster followed suit, but it’s highly unlikely they took Samuelsson’s advice.
_________________________
The American Hockey League announced today that Manitoba Moose forward Sergei Shirokov has been named to the PlanetUSA All-Star Team for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic, which takes place next month at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. Teammate Nolan Baumgartner will suit up as captain and play as one of the starters for the Canadian All-Star Team.
Shirokov has picked up 23 points (11-12-23) in 34 games for the Moose this season, while Baumgartner has seven points (1-6-7) in 24 games for Manitoba. Baumgartner’s currently out of the Moose lineup with a broken finger, but should return to on-ice action within the next week or two.
A notable absence from the All-Star Game lineups is Moose goaltender Cory Schneider, who started for the PlanetUSA All-Stars last season. So far in 2009-10, Schneider has registered a 16-6-2 record, with a 2.25 goals-against average, a 0.923 save percentage, and two shutouts.
No word on whether Schneider told the AHL All-Star selection committee to fornicate with themselves after not getting picked for the team. 
No comments:
Post a Comment