By: Alex Weber

We find ourselves, again in those first few days of fall, the leaves are changing colour, exhibition season is over, and the season opener is right around the corner. So I've taken it upon myself to supply the rest of you sad, dedicated fools...I mean fans.. with some fodder to keep you going till our season opener. I'll touch on mine, and other impressions of our young players, along with the vets, what you might expect out of our team this year, and even some predictions as to where we might finish.

Impact Players: The Vets
The workhorses that will be the difference makers all year. Much of our hopes for this year rest of these players shoulders.

Roberto Luongo: This should almost go without saying, our playoff hopes rest on the very able shoulders of Bobby Lou.

Hank and Dan Sedin: We can count on Luo to keep us in every game, but we are really counting on Hank and Dan to step up the production. One could argue that we rely on the Sedins for offense and much as we rely on Luongo for defense.

Markus Naslund: Our captain, and former point machine. Naslund needs to improve his offensive production this year or we will not improve on last years playoff results. The key to his success is to shoot more, he needs to start taking those wristers from the half-boards.

Matthias Ohlund: Our #1 d-man, Ohlund had a good season last year, but he has not been that clear cut #1 that teams need. We haven't noticed this a lot, but that's because we've got the depth on defense cope with it. Ohlund needs to have a career year, both offensively and defensively for this team to get to the next level. Ohlund was not an impact player last year, and he needs to be this year.

Willie Mitchell: As dependable as you can ask for, Mitchell is as advertised, and does what he's supposed to.

The Youth Movement: The Future
The players that will be cornerstones of the franchise in 5 years.

Lukas Krajicek: Lukas was, in my opinion, the most underrated Canuck last year. You can talk about how badly we fleeced Florida for Luongo, but we flat out stole Krajicek. He still has that All-Star potential he did when he was drafted, and has not shown any signs that he slowing down. Krajicek does everything you want a smooth skating offensive d-man to do, and is not a defensive liability. Lukas will have a big oppourtunity this year, as he will be the guy who gets penciled into the top 4 when one of the big guys goes down.

Mason Raymond: Even with all the hype before training camp, Raymond impressed with his speed, vision, and defensive competance. Raymond has showed some early chemistry with Naslund and Kesler, the youth on this line should spark Naslund.

Kevin Bieksa: Bieksa could be a #2 d-man on just about every team in the league, and one could argue that he is our #2 d-man. Aside from a few defensive lapses last year (rookie!), he has been far more than anyone thought. We need our d-men to up the physical side of the game this year, and make the oppositions forwards pay the price moreso. Bieksa has just enough Junkyard Dog in him to be the thorn in the side of the oppositions top line.

Ryan Kesler: Kesler seems to be the coaches choice for future captian, he displays all the traits you look for in a leader, his recoverly from surgery last season showed what kind of competitor this guy is, and now that it looks like he'll have the chance to be mentored by Naslund, and hopefully on the same line, he should shore up the only part of his game that is lacking. A lot of people don't realize that Kesler's defensive game is as good as you could hope for, and with his size, speed and vision, if he can become a 50 point guy for us, he is a major peice of a contender. Look for Kelser to have a big year, it's about time.

Alex Edler: Edler is already the Lidstrom of the AHL, he displays maturity far beyond his years, and plays with the poise and patience of a 10 year vet. Edler will probably see 30+ games this year, and will be the #1 d callup, if he doesn't make the team outright, I think it's important for his development to play big minutes with Bourdon on the farm. Edler and Bourdon could be an excellent 2nd pairing very soon.

Secondary scoring: It's about time
Players that will have to chip in on offense if we want to go deep.

Taylor Pyatt: Pyatt has all the tools to be a high end power forward in this league, but to get to that point, he's gonna have to use his towering frame to create space for his linemates. If he can use his size more, we should see jumps in his production. I'm going to predict 50 points. 25/25 would be nice.

Brendan Morrison: Morrison has seemed to struggle, but has really been about as good offensively as one would expect, looks like he and Matt Cooke will the playing together, and they have played on and off together for years now. Morrison will continue to do the little things right, and it sounds like he will center our 3rd line.

Ryan Shannon: It should not be surprising to anyone that Shannon has had a good camp, he was the clear cut best player at the Ducks' camp last year, we are all hoping he can translate that into a decent breakout season. His speed and his shot are 1st line quality, but it remains to be seen if he can stand up to 82 games of punishment from the big defenders in this league.

Sami Salo: While Salo's job is not just scoring goals, he IS our Powerplay, and we need that blast from the point if we hope to score PP goals this year, Salo's kryptonite is staying healthy, but this shouldn't be a huge issue for the team, as we have the depth on D to deal with injuries.

Defensive Specialists: The Grinders
Defense first.

Matt Cooke: Cooke doens't seem to be the scorer we thought he might be, but he is a very important part of our team, a leader, a firestarter, and a huge part of our forecheck, a penalty killing machine, hopefully playing with Morrison will give him a boosts as far as point go, it would be nice to see 35 points from him.

Alex Burrows: Although there was some questions about whether he would make the team or not, he seems to have answered them. Burrows is not going to score goals for us, but he is even more of a pest than cooke, and an excellent penalty kller. Burrows should be a fixture on the penalty kill.

Byron Ritchie: Ritchie plays a lot like Cooke and Burrows, and should start as our 4th line center. Ritchie does all the little things well, and should be able to pot 10 goals, hopefully. Is as advertised.

Rick Rypien: Rypien has earned a spot on this team 2 years in a row, but the style of game he plays takes a toll on his body. Don't expect to see a whole lot of him this year, he'll be a fixture on the moose and may make a few appearances as a call up.

The Savvy Vets: Leadership
Experience, Experience, Experience.

Trevor Linden: Trev had a great playoffs last year, he should play a limited role in the reg. season, but should be a player in the playoffs. The man is getting old, but he still puts it all on the line in the postseason, I just wish some of his teammates would do the same.

Aaron Miller: Miller is that big crease clearing d-man that we've wanted since keenan was GM, he should make sure that Luongo doesn't get Neidermayer'd too badly this year.

Curtis Sanford: Although not the oldest vet, he has a lot of games under his belt, and should provide steady goaltending. Has the ability to steal games.

Dan Mcgillis: Mcgillis is exactly that, a savvy vet. Good defense, good offense. Mcgillis was demoted because of NJs cap issues, and their wealth of young d-men, but Mcgillis could be a #5 d-man on a lot of teams. Mcgillis is an upgrade over Rory, and Rory played good hockey for us last year.

Jeff Cowan: What you see is what you get, Cowan is the worlds streeakiest scorer, he may pot 10 this year, but He'll be a big part of our Penalty kill this year, and with Burrows and Ritchie, will make life hell for the opposition.

Line Combinations
These are the lines I think we'll see at least for a while during the year, it's so hard to commit, because AV will constantly switch around lines, but I'll take a crack at it.

Sedin - Sedin - Pyatt
The Sedins and Pyatt will be back for round 2 this year, and hopefully Pyatt will step it up and make more space for the twins.

Naslund - Kesler - Raymond
Putting Naslund with 2 young players can only do good things for his career, Raymond is an adept playmaker, and Kesler in the defensive center. Kesler has a knack for crshing the net, and those 3 have shown some early chemistry. Hoping for big things from this line.

Cooke - Morrison - Shannon
This should provide us with a 3rd scoring line, but with 2-way ability. I like the idea of Cooke and Shannon centered by Morrison. This line should create a lot of chances off the rush with their speed. Also adept defensively.

Burrows - Ritchie - Cowan
I think it speaks for itself, but this will be a horrible line to play against. Agitation 101, some nights this line will put on a clinic.

I won't go into our defense parings, as It would seem they are already set.

Synopsis

Looking at this years team is, one thing is clear. We are fast, I mean really fast. 9 of our forwards can flat out fly, and the Sedins have looked faster these last few exhibition games. Our defense is big, mobile, smart and great offensively. Luongo is the best goaltender in the west, best in the league depending on who you ask. We have a deep, balanced lineup, a good mix of youth and veteran leadership and a great coach. There is no reason this team cannot challenge for a cup. We will need big years from our impact players, but this is a team that is built to compete with the larger, less mobile teams in the west. While a lot of teams are following the Anaheim mold, it seems as though the Canucks are building a team to beat teams in the Anaheim mold. This years Canucks will have more speed, more offense and not at the expense of team defense.