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.)
• You're going to hear a lot about the Canucks getting younger this year. But how about their kids? Well, they're getting older every day. Kids tend to do that. But on the whole, their farm team is about to get a whole lot younger, especially on the back-end. Jeremy Davis looks at the changes coming to the Utica Comets roster. [Canucks Army]
• People are excited about Jake Virtanen. Heck, Jake Virtanen sounds excited about Jake Virtanen. [The Canadian Press]
• Jake Virtanen did a thing at the beginning of the Young Stars tournament (hitting Connor McDavid delightfully hard), and then he did another thing at the end of the Young Stars tournament (delightfully scoring the overtime winner in the final game, above).That's two delightful things! And so well-timed! If anything, this tournament has suggested that Jake Virtanen is prone to doing delightful, timely things, so... good. Good to know. [Vancouver Sun]
• Or if you prefer a more wide-eyed approach to these matters, Jason Botchford goes all-in on the hyperbole: Jake Virtanen had the greatest tournament in the history of tournaments. But he wasn't the only one that impressed. Botchford picks Cole Cassels and Jared McCann as training camp dark horses. [The Province]
• Which probably means Linden Vey is going to have to have one heck of a camp. He's suddenly surrounded by centres threatening to push him out of a job. [The Province]
• Ryan Beich recaps the Young Stars tournament. It's a good read, although it's too many words. A tournament recap need only be two words: Jake Virtanen. [Vancity Buzz]
• Let's shift gears to another WHL draftee: Hunter Shinkaruk. Turns out he too is hoping to have a successful season. Also, he sees you ripping him on Twitter and it probably bums him out. "You kind of just read different things, see different things on Twitter, and people are wondering where you are and if you're going to be able to make the jump," Shinkaruk says. [NHL]
• Willie Desjardins is still recovering from hip surgery, but hopes to be ready to rejoin his team soon. We wish him a speedy, setback-free recovery, but can I say how refreshing it is that the biggest Canuck injury we're waiting to is the coach's hip? [Metro]
• As if you needed it, but here's yet another reminder that Daniel and Henrik Sedin are quality humans. [Vancouver Sun]
• If you missed our introduction to the Courier's readership, we cooked up a press release, of sorts. In keeping with the spirit of the blog, it gets really stupid after awhile. [The Courier]
• Finally, a brief season preview from Sportsnet.
