Canucks Training Camp Roster V

Are you ready for a huge round of shocking cuts? Here goes. According to the Vancouver Canucks Twitter account, Mario Bliznak, Kevin Connauton, Evan Oberg, Prab Rai, Jordan Schroeder, Chris Tanev, Aaron Volpatti have been assigned to the Moose, while Travis Ramsay, who does not have a contract with Vancouver, has been released to them outright. Also, Tyler Weiman is on waivers, which is understandable. While there is a goaltending battle brewing for the second spot, Weiman wasn't a part of it, and he'll back up either Schneider or, more likely, Lack, depending on what happens in these last two games.

As for the rest of them, there are very few unexpected moves here. Let's start on defense: Kevin Connauton showed he's nearly NHL-ready and might be in lie for a callup this season, but his defensive coverage needs to catch up to his offensive acumen before he can be considered a Canuck. Chris Tanev simply needs more seasoning, but he showed some promise. Evan Oberg, who surprised last year and was one of the Canucks' first defensive callups, seems to have either regressed, or worse, shrunk. It will be worth watching if he can get back to last year's level of play. I don't even remember Travis Ramsey, but he was never Canucks property, so that's okay.

As for the forwards, I thought Bliznak had moments, but that's all--he's not an NHL regular. He's a valuable checker when the game isn't too fast for him, so Manitoba will love him. Prab Rai, like Chris Tanev, needs more seasoning, but he got me more excited for him than I was prior to training camp. He'll come through Abbotsford a few times this season. Expect the Lower Mainland's high Indo-Canadian population to go nuts for him. I'm a bit bummed about Aaron Volpatti, who had such a great prospects camp, but, again, he was seven years older than most of those kids. Against men, he just didn't have it. He might be in line for a callup later on this year.

The big surprise is Jordan Schroeder. He was quiet during prospects camp and the early stages of training camp, but I really felt like he got his legs under him in the Anaheim game. He scored a goal, showed some good hands, and demonstrated his NHL skating. I guess it was too little, too late, however. Don't worry, Canuck fans: Schroeder will be a top-line guy in Manitoba, and he'll be in the NHL soon enough.

Now it gets interesting. This leaves the Canucks with 36 guys in training camp, below:

Forwards (22)
Alex Bolduc, Alex Burrows, Guillaume Desbiens, Tanner Glass, Jannik Hansen, Cody Hodgson, Darcy Hordichuk, Ryan Kesler, Manny Malhotra, Brendan Morrison, Victor Oreskovich, Joel Perrault, Mason Raymond, Rick Rypien, Mikael Samuelsson, Peter Schaefer, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Sergei Shirokov, Bill Sweatt, Jeff Tambellini, Raffi Torres.

Defensemen (11)
Andrew Alberts, Keith Ballard, Kevin Bieksa, Alex Edler, Christian Ehrhoff, Dan Hamhuis, Shane O’Brien, Aaron Rome, Sami Salo, Yann Sauve, Lee Sweatt.

Goalies (3)
Eddie Lack, Roberto Luongo, Cory Schneider.