It’s time for “Stick in Link”, the feature where we just plug in a bunch of stuff written by others! Featuring a smattering of links from around the Smylosphere and beyond every Tuesday and Thursday. Warning: our links are so hyper, they change colour when exposed to heat. (Have something for us to share in the next edition? E-mail us at [email protected] or tweet us @passittobulis. Or tell us some other way. The point is: we'll probably link it if we know about it.)
• The Canucks have only one injury to be concerned about heading into training camp: Willie Desjardins' hip. Iain MacIntyre, a hip guy, investigates. [Vancouver Sun]
• No link here. Just wanted to let that hip joke breathe a little. It's a very good joke, I think.
• More Iain MacIntyre, who smartly asked Ryan Miller about Eddie Lack's popularity. But Ryan Miller doesn't care about that. He just wants to play well. Ironically, if he starts to play well, people will like him, so maybe he should rethink his ambivalence towards popularity. [Vancouver Sun]
• Ben Kuzma spoke to Miller too, mostly about his age, but the real money quote here comes from Jim Benning: “I don’t like mentioning this in this market, but when we won the Stanley Cup in Boston (2011), Tim Thomas was 35 years old and nobody ever brought that up." Boom. Roasted, Vancouver. Not only do I not share your concerns, Benning says, but remember when my team beat your team? So shut up. Jim Benning is a stone-cold killer. [The Province]
• Three reasons Jake Virtanen proved he was better than Nicolaj Ehlers at the Young Stars tournament, the kid the stats community wanted the Canucks to draft instead of him. This article's a little tongue-in-cheek, so I'm not ripping it -- it's good and you should read it -- but I have little time for the suggestion the Canucks even had the option of drafting anyone else. Virtanen was practically an auto-selection. A local kid, a power forward type, playing in the WHL? Can you imagine what would have happened if Benning had skipped over him? Sure, the stats community and the bloggers would be mad. But we don't buy tickets -- our dads do. And our dads wanted Jake Virtanen. [Canucks Army]
• With a sudden wealth of prospects, fans are mostly focused on the Canucks' kids. But let's not forget about the old guys. [Nucks Misconduct]
• Omar Rawji's three-parter on former Canucks prospect Prab Rai and his life after hockey is engaging, moving, and just really well done. Do yourself a favour and go check it out. [Vancity Buzz]
• Projecting the Canucks' top six forwards. [The Hockey Writers]
• We've talked a lot about Jake Virtanen. So let's talk about him some more! [Always 90 Four]
• Is it October yet? (No, seriously, I don't own a calendar. I see the leaves are changing colour. Is it October yet.) [Nuck Said]
