Thomas Drance on the Canucks final pre-season game, Evander Kane and more

Thomas Drance on the Canucks final pre-season game, Evander Kane and more

Donnie and Dolly. The team is supported by abblections.ca. Closing your business. We can help. [Music] Friday’s edition of the program underway. All of our guests today brought to you by the Whistler Golf Club. A reminder, follow them on Instagram to keep up to date with their renovation which is ongoing. Now I tell you Rick, well first of all a lot of people in the Bayside Ocean Front Resort inbox absolutely ripping you for somehow getting Macan out of you texted me mace one. I I just read the text. Anyways, it’s Muin. Okay. And then but then also a lot of people are saying are backing you up on the seed thing. Pumpkin seeds are very healthy. I do a lot of research on longevity, eating the right foods. Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are very good for you, right? And every day I I pumpkin seeds, I grab some nuts, I put them in there, and then I put the yogurt in. Bingo. Yeah. You see a lot of baseball players with the uh sunflower seeds, right? Spitting. The sunflower seeds. Exactly. But you don’t want them salted. You don’t want too much salt in. Get rid of the salt and just have the pumpkin seeds. You’re fine. Health tips with Rick. I I’m I’m on a health basis. One guy that’s a healthy individual. We know this is Thomas. I wouldn’t go that far. He He joins us now from the Athletica Sports Center 650. Tom, are you big seed guy? I’m a big papa seed guy. I’m team Rick on this one. What Rick’s talking about. I like my smoothie game. I’m I’m a big I’m a big wake up and smoothie guy. I I I like the mango. I like to freeze my bananas. I buy I buy big bananas, not the small bananas that Rick favors, but I buy the big bananas and then I cut them up and then I freeze them because they taste better in my smoothies when they’re frozen. Blueberries, some mango, some banana, a ton of spinach or kale, some yogurt, and then I like to do chia seeds and papita seeds. That’s my That’s my jam. And almonds and and uh walnuts. Oh, I I love almonds, but almonds uh high cal, so I don’t I don’t I use papitas instead of almonds, Rick. Uh but I’m on the pumpkin seed kick right there with you. Yep. Bingo. This segment brought to you by Magic Bullet. Your smoothies coming to you soon. All right, Thomas. Uh let’s talk a little Canucks final preseason game tonight. Thankfully, this thing is just about over. Uh god. Yeah, it looks like an NHL heavy lineup tonight for the Canucks and Adam foot said so yesterday. Who has the most approved though tonight? One game final, maybe push final. Hey, look at me. Who is the most approved for the Canucks tonight? I I I think it’s got to be one of the following four names and and we’ll see once we know exactly who’s in, but it’s going to be one of the four following four guys because none of them require waiverss and I think all of them have something to prove in terms of jobs to earn uh perhaps spots in the lineup to earn. Uh Jonathan Leeraki uh right at the top of my list uh you know will the Canucks start with eight defensemen? Will they start with seven and 14 forwards? If it’s 14 forwards you know Leer Mackey I I think would probably be on the team and if he’s on the team given his age he’s probably going to play on opening night. And to be honest with you I think he’s earned it with what we’ve seen in preseason and on it. I just think he’s one of the you know nine best forwards on this team or or has been throughout camp. I I think he deserves a shot, but I think he’ll have a lot to prove assuming that he gets a look tonight. Uh and then the 3D, whichever of Mancini, Elias Person, the defender, uh or Tom Vander are in the lineup, they’re going to have a lot to prove. And and likewise, I mean, you know, you you sort of look at it. 13 forwards I think we feel pretty confident in making this team. Six defenseman I think we have a good handle on. We’ll see about P. Joseph uh club or Adam Foot. not noted that he was dealing with a groin injury. So, six assuming that he’s healthy. Uh that leaves, you know, two spots basically, right, for for those four gentlemen. Uh so, that’s uh that’s going to be hotly contested, I would imagine, when the Conucks play their final preseason game against the Oilers. The Oilers certainly are going to bring a dress rehearsal NHL lineup tonight to Rogers Arena. And yeah, those four gentlemen will be the ones that I’m watching most closely this evening. Thomas DR joining us from the athletic sports 650. Thomas, we lost you during that Evander Kane answer. So maybe just another 30 seconds on if there you think there’s anything up with Kane, please. Well, because I was doing sort of a a compliment sandwich, so I want to make sure that I get it in. But I was watching him at training camp and and thought his pace was low and thought, you know, this is probably nothing, but I’m going to watch it when the preseason begins. And then we saw him against the Kraken and he was one of Vancouver’s best players. Certainly one of their most creative players in that game. had no issue with the pace uh in that game at all. So, I I don’t look into this at all. I think this is a 16-year vet who knows exactly how to get himself ready for when the games matter. And I I I don’t I don’t read a single iota into it whatsoever. Hey, Thomas, the Conucks are trying to trade Kratz off right now. They’ve called a ton of teams on him. I I don’t think uh there’s any interest. What was the thinking of bringing this guy back? Well, I think there was interest in the summer a after his, you know, sterling KHL campaign and I think, you know, back in July or August, I suppose, after he’d sort of signed in Vancouver, um, you know, the Canucks thought he’d be a pretty high risk of getting claimed were he to be placed on waiverss. Now, if there was no one willing to pay, you know, that conditional seventh to jump the queue, uh, that suggests that his percentage chance of clearing once we find out sort of today’s waiverss is pretty low. Uh, you know, I I guess that reflects that he didn’t make an impression on the Conucks or anybody else in preeason. Uh, I think the Conucks just looked at him as a a guy who, you know, was at a low eb of their confidence when we last saw him in a Conucks uniform, uh, back sort of the, I guess, the early part of the Rick Tocket experience, the the tail end of the Bruce Budro era. And I I thought I think the club viewed it as, you know, maybe he’s found some confidence with two successful seasons in the KHL. Maybe maybe he’s sort of developed. He’s got size, he’s got hands. uh for whatever reason it just has he hasn’t been able to put it all together in terms of the hockey IQ side or the toughness side or or actually using leveraging his skills to produce at the NHL level and based on what we saw in the preseason I don’t know that that’s fundamentally changed even though it does look like his skating stride is somewhat more powerful today than it was two years ago. So, I think they just wanted first look at him in in case he’d sort of leveled up and, you know, if he ends up down in Abbottzford because he doesn’t have a European Outlaws in his deal. Um, you know, we’ll see if this experiment gets a longer time horizon. Yeah, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens with them. All right. Uh, the trade route, they’re still talking. They’re talking to teams possibly a second line center. If Person or Heedle ever got hurt, um, Thomas, um, Bluger would end up being in the top six. That’s that’s of of concern. Um Gary Yeah. Uh but second line centers don’t grow on trees. And if you’re going to go get one, Thomas, they’re very very expensive. They’re very expensive. Uh the club is definitely still keeping, you know, a line in the in the fishing pond as it were, hoping hoping to get a nibble or or perhaps an outright bite. Uh you know, the Braden Coots part of this is is going to be interesting to unpack here, too. uh he’s only played center throughout training camp in the preseason. Uh I’d expect if he makes this team, it it will be as a center and I do expect him at this juncture to make this team. So, you know, does that help at all? Atu Ratu’s had two strong games to close the preseason. Uh you know, there’s obviously still some skating limitations there, but big body responsible defensively and as we’ve seen, he can finish. I mean, he’s got skill in there as well. So, you know, club’s been comfortable with its center options from a hold the fort standpoint, but at some point here, whether it’s this week or or, you know, over the weekend before the 23man roster deadline kicks in, a frame of time in which this team has historically been very active on the trade market or if they wait 10, 15, 20 games to start the season. Like the the hunt to upgrade the center depth of this lineup is is going to continue. And it’s not just hunting for center depth. I sort of phrased that incorrectly there, gentlemen. It really is looking for a second line center or plus third line center, right? They you either want a guy who can push Heedle to the third line or you want a really good third line center who can complement Heedle and and make your middle six, you know, a little bit more robust. And that’s what the club’s been shopping for for months. They’ll continue shopping for that over the weekend. And they’ll continue shopping uh for it, you know, in through American Thanksgiving once the regular season begins, too. We We all know it. and they know it as well. I mentioned tonight final preseason game. So Thomas, tomorrow when you’re celebrating that the preseason is finally over, you add an extra what was this? Papaya seeds. What was it? Papita. That’s pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds. Add an extra scoop tomorrow morning to your smoothie to really An extra scoop of papita seeds. Sounds good. Don’t Don’t forget the nuts. Uh Thomas, they’re really really healthy. You’re talking to one right now, Thomas. Well, uh, uh, Rick, I’m telling you, try some chia seeds. I know. I I I have tried chia seeds, but they’re too small. I I know, but they’re too small. Just put more. They’re like little They’re like little pebbles, you know? It’s not good for me. Get to the nuts. You won’t almonds. And I’m telling you, walnuts, they’re the best. Thomas, I I I love them, but they’re just high calorie. I’m telling you, chia seeds, baby. Okay. So, with the high calorie and the high fat saturated, you have to just a little bit. Just a little bit. Don’t don’t go don’t go 21 almonds and just three or four or five. That’s it. I have to Hey, look. I drink enough calories uh after work that I don’t want to drink too many before it. Awesome stuff. Thanks, Thomas. This cooking session is over. We’ll talk to you next Friday. Smoothie time with Rick and Dance. You never The segment you never know you knew you needed. Yes. Thanks, Thomas. Appreciate it.

Thomas Drance from The Athletic and Sportsnet 650 joined the guys and set up the final pre-season game for the Canucks tonight and who has the most to prove.