Josh Martin

Sports Editor

ith the pre-season underway and
the regular season raring to go
within a week, there are a few

prospects that are worth taking a look at.
Some of the players seem to have come out
of absolutely nowhere while other hopefuls
have been waiting for their chance to shine,
or are trying to crack an NHL line-up after
years of promise. Goaltender Eddie Lack,
veteran winger Owen Nolan, and 2008 first-
round pick Cody Hodgson are among the
main topics of discussion.

Since appearing out of thin-air last
year in training camp and putting in a
solid appearance so far in the pre-season,
prospect goalie Eddie Lack has caught some
positive attention from the coaching staff
of the Vancouver Canucks and the general
media. Last year the six-foot-four Swede,
also known as the “stork,” spent the season
with the Manitoba Moose and posted a -

 

28-21-4 record as the starting goaltender
with a .926 save percentage and a 2.26
goals against average. In the post-season,
Lack played a vital role in the Moose’s
contention, leading his team to the second
round of the playoffs where they fell in
game seven of a triple overtime thriller
that resulted in a 2-1 decision in favour of
the Hamilton Bulldogs. A game which was
deemed as the AHL’s longest game seven

in its 75-year history where Lack stood on
his head to make 55 saves out of 57 shots.
The keeper held an impressive .932 save
percentage and 1.99 goals against average ~
in the post-season last spring in the AHL.
This 23-year-old holds a promising future
in the Canucks franchise and is undoubtedly
slated as the number-three goalie in the
Canucks line-up, behind Roberto Luongo
and Cory Schneider. With rumours brewing
of Schneider being a viable and juicy piece
of trade-bait after this season, Lack could
rightfully be wearing a Canucks jersey as
the back-up to Luongo in the very near
future.

 

Looking back, I still have a clear
image. of watching the dreaded Owen Nolan
in a Toronto Maple Leaf’s jersey scoring a
game-winning goal in the then GM Place
back in the 2002-2003 season while fist-
pumping sporadically with a huge grin on
his face. It was such a vivid event that even
now, after all these years, I can still recall
the image of the winger celebrating the goal
that for some reason really sticks out in my
mind as unbearable. And now the 19-year
NHL veteran is on a professional tryout to
play for the Vancouver Canucks. It’s strange
how that works out... With that being said,
the first overall pick from the Quebec
Nordiques in the 1990 draft is keeping up
with the pace of all the younger players —
who are also fighting to make the squad
— despite being 39-years-old. We’ll just
have to wait and see if he has what it takes

. to impress Head Coach Alain Vigneault

enough to make the club. Nolan played an

impressive game last Thursday night against
the Oilers in a pre-season match, scoring the
opening tally to make it 1-0 for the Canucks

 

Who to watch

on a neat tic-tac-toe play on the two-man
advantage. “It’s a matter of can he keep
up with the pace because in my mind he
understands what he needs to do,” Coach
Vigneault said of Nolan. “The hands are
still there.”

If prime prospect Cody Hodgson
somehow doesn’t impress Vigneault enough
to crack the Canucks line-up this year,
then I’m afraid his future lies with another
franchise. The centre has done pretty much
all he can do and it’s still not enough to gain
any sort.of praise from the coaching staff.
It’s been said before, but give this guy the
quality playing time that he deserves and he
will not disappoint. Look at last Thursday
night’s game against the Oilers: Hodgson
played a solid match playing a total of 17:17
minutes while winning 15 of 24 draws and
creating three scoring chances. Hopefully
when the regular season strolls in, Hodgson
will be able to show what he’s got with
some skilful line mates instead of playing
on the fourth line with a couple of stiffs.

 

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