The Vancouver Canucks made the cuts of Reid Boucher, Jonathan Dahlen, and Michael Garteig official on Wednesday and, with them, four more cuts. Thatcher Demko, Jalen Chatfield, Guillaume Brisebois, and Joseph LaBate will join the other three at the Utica Comets training camp.
That brings the Canucks training camp roster down to 36 players. That includes the injured Brendan Gaunce, as well as Cole Cassels, who left Friday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. He’ll eventually report to Utica, but he’s likely to stay on the Canucks roster on the IR for now.
Cole Cassels will be out for 3-4 weeks according to Travis Green. #Canucks
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) September 27, 2017
That leaves eleven more cuts to get down to a 23-man roster. Some will be easy — Michael Chaput, Jayson Megna, and Richard Bachman are certain to start the season as Comets — while others will be a little tougher. Is Jake Virtanen going to make the team or will one of the PTOs get signed? Does Darren Archibald have a legitimate shot of making the team? Are the Canucks going to keep Olli Juolevi around for at least nine games?
As for Demko, Chatfield, Brisebois, and LaBate, all four were expected to play in Utica this season, so there are no surprises here, but it’s possible we’ll see each of them in a Canucks jersey this season.
Thatcher Demko had an .848 save percentage in his two preseason appearances and an .857 save percentage in two appearances at the Young Stars tournament. That’s not great, but it’s tough for a goaltender to shine during the preseason, particularly someone like Demko, who was mainly playing behind an AHL-level roster in the preseason.
You can see areas of Demko’s game that still need polish, while simultaneously see the potential in his size, agility, and positioning. He could stand to tighten up his stance: he presents a few too many gaps that could be exploited by NHL shooters.
Last season, when the Canucks had goaltender injuries, it was Richard Bachman that got the call-up from the farm, while Demko got almost all the starts in Utica. This season, Demko will be aiming to get the bulk of the AHL starts once again and this time be an option to get called up to the NHL in case of injuries.
Jalen Chatfield was the biggest pleasant surprise of the preseason, playing solid defence while simultaneously racking up points. The Canucks certainly weren’t expecting Chatfield to score 2 goals and 5 points in 2 games, but it certainly put him on the radar of Canucks fans.
The 21-year-old defenceman comes highly-lauded for playing the type of mobile defensive game that is in vogue in the NHL right now, along the lines of Chris Tanev or Niklas Hjalmarsson. Those are two of the best defensive defencemen in the NHL, so that’s not to say that Chatfield is that good, but that he plays a similar style.
Chatfield is a great skater and puck-mover and seemed to step above the likes of Jordan Subban and possibly even Evan McEneny on the defensive depth chart.
Guillaume Brisebois wasn’t anywhere near as impressive as Chatfield in the preseason and it’s hard to tell what exactly the Canucks have in the 20-year-old defenceman. He’s got good size at 6’3” and can skate well, but he was prone to defensive miscues in the preseason. He’s one of those players that others are enthusiastic for that I just don’t quite get.
Brisebois is known for his leadership, captaining his QMJHL team for the last three seasons. He also took a step forward offensively last year, putting up 10 goals and 47 points in 63 games, and he showed some of that offensive acumen at camp, jumping up aggressively into the offensive zone.
Brisebois will get plenty of opportunities to prove himself with the Comets this year and could potentially be a call-up this season, but it’s more likely he spends the entire year in Utica.
Finally, there’s Joseph LaBate, who was an eye-catching player at last year’s preseason, running over opponents with big hits and establishing himself as a potential fourth-line call-up. Sure enough, he got called up for 13 games with the Canucks last season.
LaBate definitely didn’t stand out in the same way this year, partly because he only played in one preseason game. Instead, Darren Archibald stood out for all the reasons LaBate stood out last year.
LaBate could still be an option for a call-up if the Canucks are looking for a physical fourth-line type this season. If Archibald earns an NHL contract, however, LaBate will have a tough time out-shining the Comets’ leading scorer last season.
