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.