Spitballin’ (or Super Pass It To Bulis: All In, if you love adventurous acronymizing) is a feature that allows us to touch on a multitude of things really fast, because in the world of hockey, there are always lots of things to find and colour. Here are a few quick topics.
Thatcher Demko sets a franchise record for wins
The Utica Comets have only been around for five seasons, so maybe franchise records aren’t super-impressive just yet. Still, it seems notable that Thatcher Demko set a new franchise record for wins in a season when the Comets won their final game of the season against the Binghamton Devils.
Demko’s 25 wins surpassed Joacim Eriksson’s 24 wins from the Comets’ inaugural season. He also set a new franchise record in total wins for a Comets goaltender with 47.
With his win today, @tdemko30 has become the Comets leader for wins in a season as well as wins all-time for a goaltender! Congrats, Thatcher! pic.twitter.com/lgfKwLn62E
— x - Utica Comets (@UticaComets) April 15, 2018
Now, perhaps that says more about the youth of the franchise or how quickly goaltenders have moved through Utica, but it’s still nice to see Demko progressing the way he has in the AHL. His Canucks debut showed some flaws that he’ll need to work on over the summer — his puck tracking and lateral movement need to take another step to match the speed of the NHL — but he’s on the right path.
Thomas Vanek might actually be good in the playoffs?
When the Canucks signed Thomas Vanek heading into the 2017-18 season, they were clearly hoping for two things: that he would provide a pinch of scoring to tide the team over until young prospects were ready and that he would net them a good return at the trade deadline. One of those two hopes paid off.
One of the reasons why other teams might have been hesitant to part with a prized prospect or a high draft pick for Vanek is his reputation for disappearing in the playoffs. It doesn’t seem to be entirely deserved; he had a rough playoffs after a trade to the Montreal Canadiens and didn’t seem to ever fit with the Panthers after getting traded to Florida, but he’s put up points in past postseason appearances.
He got off to a good start in game one against the Washington Capitals, tallying an assist, then scoring a goal to spark the Blue Jackets comeback from a 2-0 deficit. Now his Blue Jackets are up 2-0 in the series as it heads back to Columbus. Through two games, Vanek leads the Blue Jackets in corsi percentage and shot differential.
Elias Pettersson continues to be super-good
Yes, he rides a unicycle and juggles at the same time, but Elias Pettersson is also good at hockey. His Växjö Lakers met Skelleftea in the first game of the SHL Finals on Tuesday and absolutely dominated them.
It wasn’t even close. The Lakers won 7-0, with Pettersson providing a goal and two assists. That brings Pettersson up to five goals and 12 points in 10 playoff games to lead the SHL in points-per-game. He’s tied with Skelleftea’s Oscar Moller for first in total points.
Pettersson’s goal was a tap-in, but that doesn’t do justice to the work he did to create the chance. Pettersson regrouped in the neutral zone, then accelerated to lose his check and gain the offensive zone. He couldn’t quite get past a Skelleftea defender with a fancy move, but he created enough room for his teammates to set him up with a couple quick passes.
#Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson's goal from the second period pic.twitter.com/Jm3hR7qMNh
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) April 17, 2018
His assists lacked that same razzle-dazzle, but one near-assist shows his crazy offensive awareness and playmaking acumen: with three defenders on his tail, he slipped a pass between his own legs to a trailing teammate for a great scoring chance.
Elias Pettersson pic.twitter.com/G5BC6pA1hW
— C More Sport (@cmoresport) April 17, 2018
I’m trying to imagine Pettersson not making the Canucks next season and I just can’t do it. My imagination isn’t good enough.
PITB presents: Sedin B-Sides
I got a positive response from Canucks fans for my musical parody of R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” titled “Losing the Sedin Twins.” While it had some humorous moments, it was admittedly a lot more earnest than previous PITB parodies.
This, however...this is mostly just silly:
Yes, those are some Sedin parodies I considered and rejected along the way to “Losing the Sedin Twins.” Or came up with afterwards because they made me laugh. They might not make you laugh. That’s okay.
Frankowski Pictures presents “Sedinery”
On a more serious Sedin note, this tribute from Frankowski Pictures, who do a lot of the video work for the Canucks commercials and such, is lovely.
