Did Victor Oreskovich Need to be Deprogrammed?

When considering the development of NHL players, we often overlook the influence of environment. Consider Todd Bertuzzi, who developed a penchant for selfish play and an aversion to backchecking under Marc Crawford in Vancouver, nearly falling out of the league because he's couldn't divest himself of these habits afterwards. Thankfully, Bertuzzi landed in Detroit, and has fully taken to Mike Babcock's two-way system.

Babcock's ability to get through to him shouldn't come as a surprise. It's an inevitability--everybody breaks in Detroit. Babcock's system is so transformative that former Red Wings are highly sought. Mikael Samuelsson is one such player whose time in Detroit increased his free agent value. Players that come through Jacques Lemaire's system (former Canuck Willie Mitchell) or Barry Trotz's system (Dan Hamhuis) see a similar effect.

It stands to reason, however, that if a player can develop the right habits in the right system, the wrong system can ingrain the wrong habits. One such environment appears to be that of the Florida Panthers, the team from whom the Canucks acquired Victor Oreskovich.

Sergei Shirokov Fights Nazem Kadri

From the desk of the Bureau of Unexpected Fights: that's Maple Leafs' prospect Nazem Kadri and Canucks' prospect Sergei Shirokov, going at it in last night's game between the Toronto Marlies and the Manitoba Moose. Not since Kym Johnson and Jerry Springer have I seen such unlikely dance partners.

And, if the idea of these two fighting isn't awesome enough, the shouts of "Keep throwin' em!" from the bench put this one over the top.

By the way, don't tell Brian Burke that he drafted a kid who couldn't win a fistfight with a Russian. Truculence indeed.

Consider that the Canucks pulled Evan Oberg out of this game as a precautionary measure, just to ensure he didn't get hurt if they needed to call him up. In hindsight, that was probably a good call. If Sergei Shirokov, of all people, got into a fight, who knows what terrible fate might have befallen Oberg? He could have been stabbed with a trident for all we know.


Thanks to Puck Daddy for sharing this rare footage with the public.

Yann Sauve Evolves from Land Mammal to Sea Mammal

Yann Sauve started the season in the hospital after losing a fight with an automobile prior to training camp. He then played 8 games with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL before evolving from fish to mammal to join the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Now, in the wake of a metric whackload of injuries to the Canucks defensive corps capped off by Andrew Alberts breaking his wrist, Yann Sauve has evolved yet again from Moose to Orca. As all Pokémon trainers well know, the third form is the most powerful and desirable evolution, so here's hoping that is the case for Yann Sauve. Sauve has only 3 points in his 20 games with the Moose, but is meant to be a stay-at-home type and at least has an even +/-.

Sauve joins the Killer Whales tonight as they play against the Minnesota Wild. It's anyone's guess how he'll perform against NHL-level competition after his rapid ascension up the evolutionary ladder, but he will likely see few minutes. Instead, Bieksa, Ehrhoff, and Salo will be expected to shoulder most of the load, with Rome and Tanev on either side in case the whole thing starts to tip. Sauve, on the other hand, will likely have a tough time adjusting to his new fins and blowhole, as well as wondering where his antlers went.

Quick Hits (From Behind)

Quick Hits (From Behind) is an irregular feature on Pass it To Bulis, wherein two hockey fans chip in their thoughts on current hockey news and get assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

Hi there! Do you like links? Because PITB's got a handful of good reads to help you with your chronic e-somnambulism. But come back here when you're done. We need you.

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• The Eh Factor - I Have a Confession Regarding Matt Cooke

Nowadays, he's a gutless puke, but there was a time when Matt Cooke was a fan favourite player in Vancouver. Give Charron credit for bravely being the first former Cooke acolyte to admit the dirty truth:

I used to be a huge Matt Cooke fan when he was with the Canucks, but that was before he morphed into the Matt Cooke he is today. There was a time when he was a pest, but he didn't hit dirty, he just annoyed. There was a time when, in the wake of the Todd Bertuzzi suspension, Matt Cooke was moved to his spot on the Canucks' top line with Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund and scored three goals and was a +9 during a six game winning streak which won the Canucks the division title

[...] Matt Cooke was once what Alex Burrows is right now: a marginal top line player who was a fan favourite. Burrows isn't dirty, just annoying if you're wearing a different jersey, and this is what Matt Cooke used to be, and, while I hate the 'pest' role, a lot of players do it very effectively without putting anyone but themselves in danger.

Oh my, Matt, how things have changed.

Charron is spot on about Cooke once being what Burrows is now, and fans love those sorts of players: underdogs who find chemistry with the stars and find an invaluable niche filling gaps. I've gone on record that Alex Burrows is my favourite player (or was, before a certain fourth-line winger agreed to Scrabble me), and Matt Cooke once was for a lot of the same reasons. I'm not so into him now.

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Running Out of Time, Canucks Call Up Cody Hodgson

Surprise news this morning, as the Canucks announced that they had called top prospect Cody Hodgson up from the Manitoba Moose. Hodgson will be meeting the team in Dallas, and Ian Walker has tweeted that he'll likely play, suiting up as the fourth-line centre and bumping Tanner Glass back to his natural position on the wing.

Fans are excited to see Hodgson finally make his regular season debut with the Canucks, but they're also a bit confused by the timing. Hodgson is recovering from a broken orbital bone that caused him to miss six weeks, and is still wearing a full shield to protect his face.

Worse, in four games since returning to the Moose lineup, Hodgson has 0 goals, 0 assists, and is a minus-2. This from a guy that was the Moose leading scorer before his injury. He's had 10 shots, but if he's not scoring and he's not coming down on the plus side, fans are right to wonder: why now?

In truth, it's either now or never (never being next season). I would wager that the team was days away from calling Hodgson up before he broke his cheekbone, and that the timing of that injury couldn't have been worse. Now, they can't afford to wait any longer.

Recalling Sergei Shirokov

Does everyone remember Sergei Shirokov? Last season's pre-season wunderkind who then stumbled to no points and a -4 in 6 games to start the year? The guy who was being compared to Pavel Bure despite having only his nationality in common with the Russian Rocket? Well, he's back. The man with the imaginative nickname of "Shirok," which apparently translates as "Wide" in Russian, has been recalled in the wake of the Alexandre Bolduc injury. It's a well-deserved reward for leading the Moose in points and breaking a club-record for consecutive games with a point. He was also the only Moose player named to the AHL All-Star Game and has been solid for the Moose in the absence of Cody Hodgson and Jordan Schroeder.

All I ask is that we temper our expectations. While I hope this isn't the case, Shirokov may end up just sitting in the press box as the extra forward. Even if he does slot into the lineup, it might only be on the fourth line. That said, Jeff Tambellini has gone 10 games without a point and it might be time for a wakeup call. It's possible that Shirokov could fit on a second line with Raymond and Kesler, though he'll be hard-pressed to match their speed. Alternatively, he could line-up with Torres and Malhotra, reuniting Samuelsson with Raymond and Kesler. Shirokov has been praised recently for his improved defensive play and is a +10 on the season, meaning he might not be out of place on the third line.

In any case, Shirokov has earned this chance to prove he belongs in the NHL. Here's hoping he makes the most of it.

Yann Sauve Evolves From Fish to Mammal

The news broke late yesterday that Canucks prospect Yann Sauve has been re-assigned from the Victoria Salmon-Kings of the ECHL to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The young defenceman, seen to the left psychotically attacking an innocent cameraman like a young Jack Torrance, played 8 games with the Seafood Royalty and recorded 2 assists, a -2 rating, and 4 penalty minutes.

Sauve joins the Eurasian Elks just 3 months after a car accident (where he was not in a car) knocked him out of Canucks training camp. He was the Canucks' 2nd round pick in 2008 after two solid seasons in the QMJHL, but his development has stalled since then. While initially projected as a two-way defenceman, he's being considered mainly as a shutdown guy. This is not a bad thing by any means, as the Canucks' defense prospects are heavily weighted towards offensive types, with Kevin Connauton, Chris Tanev, Evan Oberg, and Lee Sweatt all playing in Manitoba currently.

Sauve is still a couple seasons away from making the big club, but his status as the lone shutdown defenceman with potential amongst Canucks prospects gives him a good shot. Even if he does not develop as hoped, he could still be a reasonably-priced sixth or seventh defenceman down the road. I am sincerely hoping that he responds well to this call-up to the Moose, unlike another 2nd round Canucks draft pick projected to be a shutdown defenceman.

Canucks Call Up Aaron Volpatti, Buy More Knuckle Tape

There are two possible reasons you may have never heard of the Volpatti Wagon:

1) Its namesake, Aaron Volpatti, was just called up to the NHL, for his first time, this morning.

2) The term originated here at PITB--and nobody reads PITB.

There's the news, though: The Canucks have called up Aaron Volpatti.

Volpatti will take the place of winger Jonas Andersson, the returned call-up that played well in his short time here, but didn't deliver enough of what the Canucks want out of their fourth-line wingers: hits that crush bones, followed by punches that crush the bones that came through the initial crushing uncrushed. That's sort of a good summary of Aaron Volpatti's skillset, too.

Volpatti is a bitter little bastard who hates that people stand upright, and takes it upon himself to stop them. He hits a lot. And, to complement his hitty nature, he is possessed by the spirit of pugilism. In 26 games with the Moose this year, he has as many points as he does fights (6). Fights like this one:

The Dreaded Two-Goal Lead: Cody Hodgson Broke His Face

Canucks news comes fast and furious, and sometimes we find ourselves playing catchup. Thankfully, the Dreaded Two Goal Lead--often called "the worst lead in hockey"--is super easy to come back from. Everybody knows it's a guaranteed death sentence for those that hold it. Well, much like an ice hockey team coming from two goals down, PITB will now effortlessly catch up.

• Cody Hodgson Breaks His Face

Another day, another reason to panic about Canucks' top prospect Cody Hodgson. Fresh off a string of positive results and reports, the young center's luck took another negative turn when he took a high stick to the face in practice. Things got even worse when it turned out he had a chip and a crack in his orbital bone. And, since it wouldn't be a Cody Hodgson story without a smattering of uncertainty and a vast array of conflicting reports, nobody's sure whether he'll be undergoing a facial surgery that would keep him out long-term or hoping it heals naturally so that he can return to the lineup in two weeks or so, in full face-shield. Word is he's going for the non-surgery option, but if it doesn't heal properly, he'll have to undergo the surgery anyhow, just two weeks delayed. It's complicated. Once again, the situation required a specialist's opinion. Tip to aspiring specialists: befriend Cody Hodgson. He'll call a lot.

• Canucks sign Darren Archibald

You've probably never heard of Darren Archibald, and that's because, like John Wayne, he was never drafted. Archibald's potential probably tops out as a third-line winger, but any time the Canucks get a guy with NHL potential for free, it's tough to complain. Not impossible. Just tough. Archibald, a 20-year-old from Newmarket, Ontario, is a 6'3", 195 lb. left winger with his own Hockey Fights page, so you know he's got power forward potential. He's also got 51 goals and 57 assists in 125 games with the OHL's Barrie Colts, so you know he can score a little. Word is that he's a "complete player," which is nice, although that term can also be a nice way to say he isn't particularly good at anything.

Aaron Volpatti Crushes Mitch Wahl; It is Decidedly Not Awesome

It's not the best quality video, but this hit on the Mitch Wahl was perhaps the scariest moment of Saturday's game between the Manitoba Moose and Abbotsford Heat. Wahl comes across the offensive zone and takes a shot, but he spends a fraction of a second too long watching the puck. In that time, Moose forward and Canucks prospect Aaron Volpatti catches him with a devastating open-ice hit (on the right side of the screen).

Volpatti is immediately challenged by Heat defenseman Joe Piskula. Unfortunately for Piskula, Volpatti is good at fighting; preliminary observations indicate Piskula is not.

I was at this game, and the hit was a particularly scary moment. Wahl didn't move for quite some time, and was eventually stretchered off the ice. After removing him to the ambulance, the ice crew scraped away a large pool of dried blood.

The only good news was that the stretcher didn't leave the arena right away, indicating Wahl's injury wasn't as serious as it initially looked.

According to Cam Tucker's Twitter account, Heat coach Jim Playfair said today that Wahl suffered a cracked cheekbone and a cut on his eye, and may require surgery. Playfair also said the hit wasn't malicious or dirty.

But who cares about the legality of the hit? The real issue is that a guy was left motionless on the ice, bleeding from the head. Delivered within the rules or otherwise, head injuries are a do-not-want situation. It's a damn shame when something like this happens.

PITB's sentiments are with Mitch Wahl. Here's to a full recovery.