a Shis ibsue: (¥ World's most famous sports riots (¥Y NFL notes from June (YW Sport/Schmort: Baseball And more! F4 5enninc Oth =l Lia se Nee Bare a SP BASE Eric Wilkins Sports Editor M sports , @theotherpress.ca im Benning is off to about the : best start one could hope for as the new GM of the Vancouver : Canucks. He’s successfully navigated his first NHL Draft, dealt away two expensive pieces unnecessary for the rebuild, and even grabbed a physical addition via trade. He’s the anti- : : for centre Nick Bonino, : defenceman Luca Sbisa, and : the 24th and 85th picks. Fora : player with a remarkably short : list of teams he was willing : to be traded to, Canucks fans : have to be happy with the : haul. In Bonino the Canucks Gillis. Ryan Kesler, one of the organization’s finest ever draft picks, is finally gone. The increasingly injured star was shipped to Anaheim on draft day along with Vancouver's 2015 third-rounder in exchange fast eae hd Mend Jim Benning By theprovince.com : : pick in an obvious salary-dump : move. The blue-liner didn’t : have a Keith-Ballard-like season : but didn’t exactly set the rink : on fire either. Getting his $4.6 : million off the books willbea —: : huge relief to the club that could : : spend the money elsewhere. ahd ol cl hea a : get a 49-point player with the : potential to fill that no.2 centre : spot while also getting younger : (Bonino’s 26 years to Kesler’s : 30 in August). Meanwhile, : Sbisa will push to be a top-four : defenceman. Not bad. Gillis : likely would have managed to : keep Kesler and trade away Bo : Horvat. Continuing with the trades, : Benning sent Jason Garrison packing to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a second-round Benning’s final trade saw Know the score? Contact: Eric Wilkins, Sports Editor M sports@theotherpress. ca www theotherpress.ca : the Canucks pick up grinder : Derek Dorsett from the New : York Rangers for the third- : rounder he acquired earlier in : the day from the Ducks. As for the draft, the all- : important first round yielded a : pair of top prospects. At sixth : overall, the Canucks snagged : promising power forward Jake : Virtanen and then took centre : Jared McCann when he fell into : their lap at 24th overall. With : the addition of Virtanen and : McCann, Vancouver is steadily : developing a pool of talented : prospects that has long been : lacking in the organization. : Neither is expected to be with : the club next year, but don’t be surprised to see them starring : down the road. Finishing on a final Ryan Kesler // By huffingtonpost.ca : note about Kesler, all the : fans rambling on about his : lack of commitment to the : organization and desire to go : somewhere where he can wina : Cup need to tone it down. Kesler : has earned the right to play for : a winner. He’s well-aware that : his body is breaking down and : wants to have a legitimate shot : while he still can. No one can : knock his efforts over his 655 : games with Vancouver; he’s : blocked shots, played injured, : and come up clutch when : nobody else seemed capable : of it. The 2003 first-rounder : probably only has few years left : in him and the Canucks are : going nowhere fast. And even : if he didn’t leave in the finest : fashion, he'll always be one of : the best the city’s ever had. Clawing for the Cup » Can the Lions take it all this year? y Eric Wilkins Sports Editor iy Mi sports @theotherpress.ca A: seems to often be the case, the BC Lions head into the season with a solid defence but some worrying question marks on offence. The talent is definitely there though, and so long as the key starters can stay healthy the Lions could have a decent shot at the Grey Cup—a Grey Cup that Vancouver will be hosting. Starting with the changes on the offensive side of the ball, the club’s biggest upgrade came from the dismissal of one of the worst offensive coordinators in : football. Jacques Chapdelaine : and his bag of predictability is : finally gone, much to the chagrin : of every defensive play-caller in : the league. The unit will now : havea fighting chance with the : long-tenured thorn in its side no : longer present. Unfortunately for : the Lions, the joy over departures : stops there. Also leaving the den : this off-season were Nick Moore : (Winnipeg), Buck Pierce (retired), : Angus Reid (retired), Ben : Archibald (retired), and Patrick : Kabongo (retired). None of the : linemen are irreplaceable but : seeing as the offensive line wasn't : exactly a strength last year, the : retirement of three contributors : isn’t a plus either. The loss of : Moore to Winnipeg hurts, but : most seem to think of hima great : : deal better than he deserves. Yes, : Moore is a solid receiver who ? can come up with the catch, but : he’s nota game-breaker. He’s no : Manny Arceneaux. Speaking of : which... Arceneaux will start the : season on the sidelines thanks : toa broken hand suffered in the pre-season. The explosive receiver : : will need to come up big this : year for the offence to get any : Momentum going. Even worse : than Arceneaux being out though : : is Travis Lulay being placed on the : : six-game injured list as the star : pivot continues to recover from —: : off-season shoulder surgery. Kevin : : Glenn, picked up from Ottawa for the Lions’ first-rounder is a good : stopgap, but make no mistake : about it, BC’s Grey Cup dreams : will live and die with the health : of Lulay. The backfield—stocked : with Andrew Harris, Stefan : Logan, and Tim Brown—is about : the only part of the Leo’s attack : that is set. On defence the Lions can be confident. Hulking defensive : tackle Khalif Mitchell rejoins : the squad after being released : from Toronto, as does ferocious linebacker Jamall Johson after Hamilton deemed him : expendable. Anton McKenzie was : finally shown the door and, the Korey Banks trade to Winnipeg : aside, Josh Bell (Calgary) was : the only real loss. Khreem Smith : and Eric Taylor will continue to : be devastating presences on the : line with Mitchell; the Lions still : boast the finest linebacking duo : in the league with Adam Bighill : and Solomon Elimimian; and the : secondary, led by 10-year veteran : Dante Marsh, will be upstanding : as usual. Special teams note: Paul ? McCallum and his walker will : continue to handle kicking duties. With one of the best : defences in the league and a pair : of impressive starters on offence : waiting to come back from : injuries, the Lions could very well : take home the championship as : hosts.