When the Canucks put Andrey Pedan on waivers, it opened the door for Troy Stecher to make the Canucks out of camp. But when Stecher played the final game of the pre-season with Alex Edler instead of Luca Sbisa, the door was slammed shut. If Stecher was going to stick with the Canucks, he would have had to play at least one game with a likely third-pairing defence partner.
As for Pedan, he got through waivers on the weekend without being claimed, as did Mike Zalewski, Jayson Megna, and Michael Chaput. Goaltender Richard Bachman also got through waivers this morning and will report to Utica. We’ll get to those five players in a moment, but let’s face it: everyone wants to talk about Stecher.
The 22-year-old defenceman was the talk of training camp, showcasing his well-rounded game in the Young Stars tournament and pre-season alike. He looked NHL-ready in every aspect, but particularly on the power play, where his mobility and vision made him look like a legitimate power play quarterback.
First impressions mean a lot to fans, and Stecher made a great one, scoring a goal and adding two assists in his first game at Rogers Arena. Whether he would make the team quickly became the story of the pre-season.
In the end, starting the season in the AHL is probably the best move both for the Canucks and for Stecher. For the Canucks, this means they’re not going to lose any defencemen unnecessarily, like they lost Frank Corrado last season. Keeping Stecher would mean waiving Alex Biega or sending Nikita Tryamkin to the AHL, kicking in his out clause and risking him fleeing back to the KHL. Was Biega likely to be claimed? Well, no, but why bother taking the risk? Besides, Biega is a better candidate to sit in the press box than Stecher and they can get him in a few games to make him eligible for the expansion draft.
As for Stecher, playing top minutes in the AHL will be better for his development than rotating in and out of the Canucks lineup on the third pairing. The jump from the NCAA to the NHL is a big one, particularly for a defenceman. Yes, Ben Hutton managed the leap, but that just speaks to how good Hutton is.
Stecher and Pedan, once competing for a spot in the Canucks lineup, should make for a strong top pairing in Utica and it’s entirely possible that we’ll see both of them back in Vancouver before the end of the season.
Pedan looked good in the preseason from what little we saw of him. The problem is we saw him so little. He got minimal playing time, appearing in just two games. His most notable moment, when he dropped the gloves to defend Chris Tanev after a hard hit, made him miss an entire period of action with an instigator minor, fighting major, and ten-minute misconduct.
I still like Pedan and would like to see him get a real chance in Vancouver, but he’ll need injuries for that to happen. Which means it’s almost guaranteed.
It’s no surprise that Mike Zalewski, Jayson Megna, and Michael Chaput got cut, as those three player are just in the organization to provide forward depth. They are each solid AHL players with a pinch of NHL experience and they can each even play at both centre and on the wing, giving them some versatility in case of a call-up.
None of those three really stood out during pre-season, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Zalewski in the few games he’s had with the Canucks over the last couple seasons and wouldn’t mind seeing him called up in a fourth-line role if injuries occur.
Finally, there’s Richard Bachman, who was always Utica-bound this season. He put up a .946 save percentage in his two appearances in the pre-season, but he wasn’t battling for a job. Bachman is a solid AHL goaltender whose size is really what holds him back from being an NHL backup. He’ll split starts with Thatcher Demko in Utica this season, providing veteran mentorship to the Canucks’ blue chip prospect.
